June 8, 2011 -- The mobile device explosion seems to continue without a pause. The convergence of functionalities on a palm top device is fueling applications that till yesterday seemed straight from a science fiction story. Several innovations in a wide range of disciplines have enabled this. Innovations in sensors have added a lot of functionality to these portable, handhelds. Touch sensors and stylus are replacing the traditional keyboard and mouse. MEMS microphones are enabling addition of multiple microphones in a device, enabling echo cancellation applications. Improvements in display panels and audio functionalities are making video functionality a given in these devices. And of course, the evolution of 3G and 4G network has enabled high speed data connectivity. The recent revving up of Operating System wars is an indication of how seriously the industry takes this space. It is distinctly possible that these handheld platforms will be the personal computers for everyday use in the near future.

As usual, all good things in life come with at a price. In this case on the price side, power is the biggest one. As more functionality has been added to the devices, the power requirements have increased. As the power requirement grows, the capacity of the battery has to be increased, increasing the space occupied and its weight. This makes the battery one of the bulkiest component in the handhelds.

Process improvements, system architecture improvements etc have helped in keeping the power dissipation under some control. Still it is imperative that no power be wasted in the device. This is the primary function of the power management in the device. Apart from this, it is necessary to keep the cost of the solution low as well as occupy less space.