MCU is made for 2.5G and 3G SIM cards

STMicroelectronics has added a new smartcard MCU to its ST22 range.

STMicroelectronics has added a new smartcard MCU to its ST22 range.

The new device is based on the SmartJ Java-accelerated RISC architecture, which integrates 256Kbyte of EEPROM with a high performance CPU to support the demands of multimedia applications on the latest mobile phones.

With sales of multimedia-equipped handsets booming, mobile communications operators supporting 3G and 2.5G mobile phones need universal SIM cards that have sufficient memory capacity to store multimedia messaging system (MMS) data, video, and photographic images, coupled with the capability to transfer and use these data efficiently to provided advanced phonebooks and audiovisual services.

2.5G is an intermediate level of service that uses an enhanced