New LTE Chips to Decrease Cell Phone Power Consumption 50%

By Paul Thomson :: 8:26 AM

Your smartphone might just be getting smarter, and that battery life – that might be getting better, too.

Recent industry tests have discovered that changes to the new LTE (long-term evolution, a new standard in wireless communications protocol) chips in handsets may increase their battery life and reduce power consumption by 50%.

In addition to added battery efficiency  the new chip technology has special protocols that would improve call quality by reducing some signaling overhead and improving performance in poor wireless carrier coverage areas. The new technology also route calls over your cell provider’s data network, rather than their voice network – this may have implications for current minute-based billing plans on carriers.

Carriers such as MetroPCS have already taken advantage of this new technology, VoLTE, in some markets, and Verizon Wireless  has announced that it plans to begin utilizing the new technology later this year, with widespread availability coming sometime in early 2014.