Patent ID: 8355757

Claim:
A system for providing low-power operation in a multimode communication device, the system comprising: at least one radio module operable to communicate in a plurality of communication modes and operable in at least a first power-save mode different from the plurality of communication modes, wherein the at least one radio module comprises: a first receiver module operable to consume a first amount of power while processing a communication signal corresponding to a first communication mode; and a second receiver module operable to consume a second amount of power while processing a communication signal corresponding to the first communication mode, where the second amount of power is less than the first amount of power and the second receiver module consumes less power relative to the first receiver module when processing similar signals corresponding to the first communication mode; and at least one module operable to: determine whether a first communication network corresponding to the first communication mode of the plurality of communication modes might be available by analyzing at least one informational signal characteristic of a signal received by the second receiver module; and determine, based at least in part on the determined availability of the first communication network, whether to operate the at least one radio module in an operating mode other than the first power-save mode.