Without question, the architecture of cellular handsets is looking more and more PC-like with graphics, imaging, and audio subsystems. But the handset still requires far greater integration than even a notebook PC to accomplish such a design. Qualcomm is among the leaders in integrating such specialty processors on a single chip with its QSC (Qualcomm Single Chip) product family. The company claims that the integration in its second-generation QSC family will deliver advanced multimedia capabilities in mainstream phones.

The flagship of Qualcomm's second-generation of QSC chips is the QSC6065, which it manufactures on a 65-nm process and designs to support gaming, multimedia, and location services. The IC supports 3M-pixel cameras with 15-fps video record/playback at QCIF resolution. A dynamic voice-codec architecture called 4GV allows carriers to prioritize voice quality or network capacity. Qualcomm claims that the location features it bases on a GPS (global positioning system) allow for enhanced indoor and dense urban area performance via state-of-the-art -159-dBm GPS sensitivity. The design also supports concurrent voice and positioning operations, enabling seamless E911 calls and voice-based location services.