OMAP-Vox, a new chip being developed by Texas Instruments Inc (TI), is expected to reduce mobile phone handset prices as it uses less power, apart from enabling manufacturing of handsets at comparatively lower prices.

The semiconductor major said it was testing a single chipset, which doubles up as a modem and a processor on a single piece of silicon, replacing two components with one, and, in turn, enabling a reduction in prices of phones with high-end features.

According to company officials, the new chip would help in making a phone that enables video streaming at 30 frames per second or handles third-dimensional (3D) gaming. At present, these capabilities are available only on high-end handsets.

The company said that the chip would help in bringing cost of handsets with high-end features to around $125-150, compared with the existing prices of $200-$225, after subsidies that are offered to subscribers in US.

The chip is expected to hit the markets by the end of the current year, TI said.