Smartphones aren’t generally seen as the best navigation device you can buy, thanks to the speedy battery depletion usually suffered at the hands of a handset, but that could soon change thanks to a new chip.
Developed by Broadcom, the massive component company behind the next high-speed 802.11 wireless technology, the chip will deliver up to ten times the performance of current GPS chips and will be much smaller than existing solutions.
Near-Field Communication technology will also be thrown in as will a form of low-power Bluetooth technology, and Broadcom even says the power requirements will drop substantially for the new processor.
These improvements in the technology coupled with the extra features and tiny size are likely to help smartphones become even smaller, and with Broadcom expecting the new chip in devices shortly, we could see the fruits of that labour by the end of the year.
