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DRAMeXchange: Meet Qualcomm and Nvidia; Major Players in Smartphone and Tablet Market


11 December 2012 Semiconductors

DRAMeXchange: Meet Qualcomm and Nvidia; Major Players in Smartphone and Tablet Market

March 10th, 2011 - All the launched and soon-to-be launched Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablets are powered with Nvidia (NVDA) Tegra 2. New tablets from Motorola, Samsung, LG, Asus, MSI, Acer and other Japanese makers shared this similar design, established Nvidia Tegra 2 as a major presence in the tablet market. On the other hand, renowned mobile chip designer

Qualcomm (QCOM), known for its outstanding 2G and 3G technologies, did not stand out in the tablet market. Yet Qualcomm maintains a definite market share among the most advanced Smartphones with its prominent Snapdragon line. Qualcomm had previously lacked in the Wi-Fi product range, and Smartphone using Qualcomm chipset noticeably showed higher power consumption and lower connectivity while connecting to Wi-Fi internet access. In 2011 January, Qualcomm acquired Atheros, a company known for its technology in developing Wi-Fi chips. The industry expects the complementary merger to take Qualcomm a step closer to the Wi-Fi chip leader, Broadcomm.

According to SmartMobix, a research division of TrendForce Corporation, Qualcomm will likely to launch Wi-Fi capable chipsets in April, 2011. The 4th generation chipset will be scheduled for mass production using the 28 nm process technology during 2011 Q3. Qualcomm will challenge Nvidia’s position in the non-iPad tablet market for three foreseeable advantages: the reduced price, improved Wi-Fi connectivity and telecommunication (3G, 4G) module integration and cost advantage.

However, Qualcomm charges Smartphone makers an authorization fee (up to one million U.S. dollars) for the technology used in 3G, 3.5G, 4G LTE modules integration. The added fee on the Wi-Fi only product line still depends on Qualcomm’s future pricing strategy. Therefore, Nvidia Tegra 2 was primarily adopted for launches of Android tablets in Q2 2011, providing the renown GeForce 3D graphic capability and without charging extra fees.

Other than that, Nvidia provides a total solution to Smartphone makers, for a relatively small sum of money, makers adopting Nvidia Tegra 2 can purchase the use of its official drivers. At the same time, Google Android 3.0 developers have optimized the operating system to adopt Tegra 2 for a smooth operation. In the future, the strategy and technical support in Tegra 3 will be improved to best promote the product. Tegra 3 will meet face to face with Qualcomm’s new chipset representing the landscape in Q3 and Q4 of 2011.

Finally, Qualcomm’s new chipset might best suit in capturing greater market share in the Smartphone market. After all, its advantages of low power consumption and advanced telecommunication module integration in 3G, 3.5G and 4G LTE will not be challenge by Nvidia in the short-run and its 4th generation dual core Snapdragon processor might still have a chance in becoming another mainstream tablet processor in the next generation tablet PCs.

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Media contact

Angus Hsu
Tel: +886-2-7702-6888 ext 690
Mobile: +886-952532368
angushsu@trendforce.com

Ivan Lin
Tel: +886-2-7702-6888 ext 670
Mobile: +886-983001491
ivanlin@trendforce.com

About TRENDFORCE

TrendForce
TRENDFORCE is a global leading research institution providing market intelligence, in-depth analysis reports and consultant services on technology sector. Our company consists of 4 major research divisions---DRAMeXchange, WitsView, LEDinside and EnergyTrend which cover the DRAM, NAND Flash, PC, display ,LED and Green energy research sectors respectively . www.trendforce.com
 

DRAMexchange
In the year of 2000, the company started to deliver market intelligence services under the name of DRAMeXchange.
This includes the latest industrial scenario, real-time spot trading prices, market trends, capital spending and wafer capacity trends, the impact of DRAM/flash memory products on the market, and other relevant PC industry information.www.DRAMeXchange.com
 

WitsView
Established in the year 2004, WitsView, a subsidiary brand of TRENDFORCE, is composed of a team of TFT-LCD industry analysts covering the development and market trend of upstream components, mid stream panels and downstream system integrators and retailers.www.WitsView.com
 

LEDinside
In 2007, LEDinside,  another  subsidiary of TRENDFORCE ,  was launched and has become one of the most popular and distinguished information platform for the LED market.www.LEDinside.com
 

EnergyTrend
Green energy, also referred to as alternative energy, is the key to creating a clean future for the world. EnergyTrend, the latest research division of TRENDFORCE, is dedicated to deliver market intelligence of eco industry. The research scope includes renewable energy and its applications ( i.e. solar, battery & electric vehicles). www.energytrend.com
 

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