Freeview and DVB-H arrive on your mobile phone

TO BOLSTER the TV reception capabilities of mobile devices - such as mobile phones, MicroTune has introduced a dual-mode chip with power consumption of 350 mW.

Crucially, the Mobile MicroTuner MT2266 provides access to existing 'freeview' TV broadcasts as well as DVB-H, the new European standard for mobile TV.

It will provide handset users with access a variety of digital content - not just TV broadcasts but also digital radio and teletext. It supports Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial (DVB-T) as well as the handheld version (DVB-H). The tuner supports both the UHF and VHF (Band III) frequency bands and is due to ship in Q2 2006 and will is priced at $5.00/unit in quantities of 10,000. Reference Designs are expected to be available in Q2, too.

Operating from a 2.7V power, it measures only 6 x 6 square millimetres in a 40-pin QFN package.

"[The MT2266] gives consumers flexible TV viewing and multimedia options. At the same time, they can add this capability without the fear of rapidly draining the battery," claimed said James Fontaine, Microtune CEO. µ