Longer battery life or lower power consumption ratings can make the difference between success or failure of a power sensitive product.
Power management is a characteristic that impacts the entire system.
This stop state is key to being able to have the system software adequately support power management. Without a stop state, it is extremely difficult for the kernel to bring the system to a context that represents a low power state. Kernels that do not have the concept of a stop state cannot invoke code that is unique to a low power state. This feature is also valuable for power management. The power policy enforcement module is a user installable system call that works with the kernel to enforce the power policy specified in the power policy module.