STMicroelectronics' Powers Innovative IP Phones from snom technology

STMicroelectronics has been selected for next-generation IP telephones from snom technology. Combining an advanced ARM processor core with a rich set of audio, communication and connectivity interfaces, ST's SPEAr 300 microprocessor forms the heart of the newest snom 870 VoIP telephone. The Linux-based phone, which boasts an intuitive user interface with a high-definition touch-screen color display, wideband audio, an integrated XML browser, and plenty of additional features, arrived on the market in September 2009.

The SPEAr microprocessor runs the operating system and Graphical User Interface of the snom 870 phone and handles all the computing-intensive tasks, including Ethernet communication, real-time voice coding/decoding, telephone conferencing, and echo compensation. ST's microprocessor enhances the phone's connectivity and extensibility with Ethernet MAC, three USB 2.0 ports, an analog-to-digital converter, and WLAN through USB.

A companion chip to SPEAr 300 is ST's STM8 8-bit microcontroller, which manages the snom 870's touch screen display, as well as the keyboard and the receiver.