Wolfson reveals 'crystal clear' chip

WOLFSON, the Edinburgh-based microchip maker, yesterday unveiled a component that it believes will lead to clearer mobile telephone calls.

The WM5100 will allow mobile phone users to make and receive "crystal clear" calls in both quiet rooms and noisy environments, according to the firm, which claimed that the chip is the world's first "audio system-on-a-chip" (SoC).

Mobile phone manufacturers are moving away from having their audio chips integrated into the phone's main processor and are instead choosing stand-alone chips that offer better sound quality. Wolfson made its name developing audio chips for hi-fi systems.

Duncan Macadie, product line manager for audio hubs at Wolfson, said: "As audio components in mobile phones and tablet PCs are increasingly becoming dis-integrated from the application processor, the demand is growing for separate audio SoCs and Wolfson is leading the way with the WM5100."

But shares dropped 4 per cent or 7.25p to 172.75p as analysts braced themselves for Monday's interim results.

Wolfson issued a profit warning last month after delays in the take up of its chips by key customers - which analysts named as Blackberry-maker RIM and Samsung - due to a slowdown in consumer demand for smartphones. Shares in Wolfson shed one-quarter of their value on the day of the profits warning.