The wide application of mobile handset multimedia spurs mobile handset multimedia chip. The development course of handset multimedia chip is to some extent the development course of mobile handset functions. Handset multimedia chip, together with other types of applications, are called application processor among industrial practitioners. As for whether the application processor should be combined into the baseband processor, there is no much argument considering both of them has its own market.

For those who have established proper R & D of mobile handset software and hardware, independent exterior application processor is the certain choice in case to retain technologies and acknowledges accumulated in original handset design. Mobile handset design houses made a great effort on the 2G platform and gained a bettered technical system. Such system contains a number of supporting softwares, also passed a series of tests and authentications. Design houses won't give up the intellectual properties accumulated through years of practice. Therefore baseband processors will continue to be used. The multimedia performance can be making up by application processors. Japanese manufacturers and MOTO all have the ability to develop the overall platform to make full use of their accumulation by adopting application processors. Japanese mobile handsets however, adopt application processors much more than the others. TI launched OMAP2420 in Feb, 2004. Soon after that in Aug, 2005, some Japanese manufacturers launched four types of mobile handset, which also adopted OMAP2420. Until now, over 35 types Japan-made mobile handset adopted SH-MOBILE application processor and 20 types adopted OMAP 1610. MOTO, as well had 40 types mobile handsets adopted application processors.

For those who are accustomed to incomplete development platform of software and hardware, single function integrated baseband processor is the best choice. These manufacturer usually depend on overall solutions from big chip vendors when design mobile handsets since they have little of their own. Function integrated baseband processor helps to approach the market rapidly with fairly low cost. But it lacks flexibility in reacting to the market, leading to severe phenomena of same product quality and poor product performance. 
 
Multimedia chip can now be divided into three categories: the core function of the first category is video process, taking H.264 CODEC chip for example, it is used to record and play the video; the core function of the second category is active images process, which are mainly cartoons and games. Display card manufacturers are particularly sophisticated in this kind of process, especially 3D pictures.

However, the core function of the third category is to deal with still images. When camera phone just emerged in the market, exterior application processor was quite common to deal with the still images. As it is easier to process the statistic images, this function was latter integrated into the baseband or into the video processor. With the increasing of camera phone pixel, exterior application processor still has its place. In addition there are also some auxiliary chips, but they are not real multimedia chips, for instance the receiving chip of mobile TV.

Mobile Handset multimedia chip companies fall into the following five categories:

Mobile handset multimedia IC usually has some major functions, including camera pixel processing, H.264 CODEC, video CODEC and chord; some may support the forming of 3D graphics and the operation systems like Linux and Symbian. According to the disparities in performance and functions of multimedia, we can hereby classify handset multimedia IC into three groups, i.e. common multimedia IC, comprehensive multimedia IC and smart Multimedia IC.

On the target companies: Nokia has been cooperating with TI for a long period to develop OMAP application processor. Even ST, Nokia's intimate partner, seldom has a chance to work with Nokia, thus more difficulty for other vendors.

Sony Ericsson relies on TI for customized baseband; Application processors are frequently adopted by Motorola, Sumsung, LG, Pantech, Sharp, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Kyocera, Bird, TCL, Sagem, NEC and BenQ-Siemens.