China develops its own DSP

Digital signal processors (DSPs) are one of the crucial components in cell phones, digital cameras and consumer-electronics products. The chips take analog data--voice, music and images--that have been converted into the 1s and 0s of the digital world and fine-tune it. Other components then manipulate the data and restore it to its original form. Texas Instruments has long been a leader in the market.

The chip, called the HISYS No. 1, provides about the same performance as midrange chips from Western manufacturers, according to university officials, but it potentially could become a competitive player over time. China is the world's largest cell phone market in the world. Since 2000, foreign manufacturers have sold around $1.2 billion worth of DSPs into China, according to estimates.