Communication system with handset for distributed processing

Abstract

A communication system comprising at least one mobile handheld telephone handset adapted to communicate via a wireless telephony medium with a telephone network handling system. The handset comprises input devices to receive input from a user and produce signals dependent thereupon, an onboard processor to adapt speech input to produce a voice transmission signal as part of a telephone conversation with a third party; and an antenna to transmit the voice transmission signal via the wireless telephony medium. The telephone network handling system comprises a receiver to receive the voice transmission signal, and means to forward the voice signal to a third party. The handset further comprises a first processor to carry out a first processing step on selected input signals and produce data dependent thereupon which preserves predetermined information necessary to carry out a remote second processing step, an onboard processor to adapt the data according to a conventional wireless telephony protocol to produce a transmission signal, and an antenna to transmit the transmission signal via the wireless telephony medium to the telephone network handling system. The system further comprises a remote processor adapted to receive and adapt the transmission signal from the telephone network handling system to regenerate the data, and to carry out a second processing step on the data and produce an output dependent thereupon.