New chip could shrink cell phones

A newly-developed semiconductor could lead to lighter, smaller cell phones with a longer battery life.

Developed by Lucent Technologies, the new digital-signal processor, or DSP, operates at a speed of 100 MHz, yet draws only 1 volt of power.

DSPs translate signals such as light, heat and sound into a digital computer language, allowing cell phones to do everything from surf the Internet to send email.

Analysts predict that demand for cell phones will rise as much as 70 percent this year. One market analyst estimates that the world market for the chips is about $4.4 billion.

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