Dual processor system for reduced power application processing

A task processor comprising:

• a low power connectivity processor operative to process wireless packets;
• a low power front end comprising a first baseband processor operative to receive wireless packets coupled to a first Media Access Controller (MAC);
• an applications processor;
• a performance front end comprising a second baseband processor operative to receive wireless packets coupled to a second MAC, the low power front end and performance front end configured to receive wireless packets of same protocol type but different performance packet type;
• a power controller coupled to the low power connectivity processor and to the applications processor;
• a plurality of tasks, each task having a connectivity processor component operative to execute on the connectivity processor and provide a notification and an application component operative to execute on the application processor and perform a task associated with the notification;
• where the performance front end is enabled for performance wireless packets with a maximum available data transfer rate of 100 Mbps;
• and where, for each task operative to execute on the application processor, a mini-task with reduced functionality is operative to execute on the connectivity processor, the mini-task including at least:
• wireless packet retransmission tasks and notification tasks;
• the connectivity processor having less than 1/10th of the processing capability and less than ⅓ of the power consumption of the application processor.

A process operative on a communication system comprising a low power connectivity processor operative to process wireless packets, a low power front end comprising a first baseband processor operative to receive wireless packets coupled to a first Media Access Controller (MAC), an applications processor, a performance front end comprising a second baseband processor operative to receive wireless packets coupled to a second MAC, a power controller coupled to the low power connectivity processor and to the applications processor, and a plurality of processes having a connectivity processer component and an applications processor component, the process comprising:

• the connectivity processor processing an incoming packet to determine whether a notification process should execute or an application process should execute, the connectivity processor also making a determination of whether an incoming packet is a performance packet with a maximum available data rate greater than 100 Mbps and thereafter enabling the application processor and performing the processing of performance packets on the application processor;
• upon determination that a notification process should execute, the notification process being executed by the connectivity processor while the application processor is powered down;
• upon determination that a load of the connectivity processor exceeds a threshold, powering up the application processor and directing packets to the application processor for processing;
• upon determination that the application process should execute, the connectivity processor causing the power controller to apply power to the application processor, the application processor thereafter executing the application process.