2012年全球手机产业的大事件之一，就是中国市场对智能手机暴增的需求；而在这波浪潮中收益最大的芯片供货商，非联发科(MediaTek)与展讯通信(Spreadtrum)莫属。
时间来到 2013年，智能手机市场的成长力道持续，而且热潮扩及范围更广，进入印度与南亚。展讯CEO 李力游(Leo Li)在日前接受EETimes美国版编辑访问时表示：“我们实在是忙到无法赶上不断成长的智能手机需求。”这可能听起来有点夸张，但李力游是说真的。
今年稍早，市场研究机构 Canalys 预测，中国将在2013年进一步巩固其全球最大智能手机市场地位，年度智能手机销售量估计可达2.4亿支，几乎占据全球出货量的三分之一；至于排名全球第二大智能手机市场的美国，同时间智能手机出货量约1.25亿支。
不过在中国、印度或是南亚等地区热销的智能手机机种，与美国却大不相同；李力游指出，在美国，智能手机“受到苹果(Apple) iPhone与三星(Galaxy) S3影响很深”，而且当地智能手机市场“成熟、饱和程度很高”。
相反的，初次购买智能手机的中国消费者会选择价格较低、通常在50美元以下的机种，一般配备3.5寸屏幕，采用 Android 2.1 版操作系统。在印度也是类似的情况，李力游表示，由印度领导手机品牌Micromax (展讯为投资方之一)售出的手机中，有八成是适用印度当地EDGE网络的低阶智能手机。
2013年各新兴市场智能手机出货量预估
Source：CanalysOrResmc
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：低阶芯片就足以抗衡iPhone 4？
相关阅读：
• Marvell将押注中国移动的LTE计划
• 智能手机及4G LTE崛起，2012手机芯片市场排名大变
• MWC2013第二日：芯片原厂引领行业趋势OrResmc
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当全球几家智能手机芯片供货商如瑞萨通信(Renesas Mobile)、Marvell、Nvidia以及已经消失的意法爱立信(ST-Ericsson)， 奋力挺进由高通(Qualcomm)与苹果主宰的高阶智能手机市场之同时，展讯与联发科则愉快地优游于看来范围更加广阔的中低阶智能手机市场。
尽管低阶智能手机的价格不起眼，李力游却特别吹捧其实用性与高性能；他以展讯的1GHz 低阶Android智能手机平台 SC8810 (TD-SCDMA)与 SC6820 (EDGE/GPRS/GSM)为例，表示两款平台都是以搭载ARM Cortex A5核心的整合型基带/应用处理器为基础，能让所应用之平价终端手机的性能媲美苹果iPhone 4。
等一下…李力游是在说他们家的单核心基带/应用处理器芯片吗？
“当然，我们的手机客户也对我们的芯片CPU/GPU性能抱持怀疑态度，所以在他们决定采用之前都会先测试；举例来说，他们会用Geekbench这样的应用 程序来快速测试处理器与内存性能。”他解释：“测试结果显示我们的1GHz低阶智能手机平台的数据处理速度与iPhone 4差不多；在Geekbench上的分数甚至高过iPhone 4。”
那么，与同样积极抢攻中国中低阶智能手机市场爆炸性商机的联发科相较，展训的致胜策略是什么？对此李力游的回答是：“这个市场大到足够让这两家公司舒适地和平共存。”
展讯通信目前的产品矩阵中包括对应TD/EDGE的SC8810/SC6820，主要覆盖智能低端入门机型，SC8825/SC6825为前者的升级版，主频到1.2GHz,采用双核。另外2013年上半年WCDMA/四核产品出于sampling阶段。
OrResmc
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：现在玩双核晚了，我们直接上四核
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• Marvell将押注中国移动的LTE计划
• 智能手机及4G LTE崛起，2012手机芯片市场排名大变
• MWC2013第二日：芯片原厂引领行业趋势OrResmc
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嗯… 或许不尽然如此。展讯单核心平台称霸中国移动(China Mobile )的TD-SCDMA智能手机市场，据该公司表示，其芯片进驻中国移动 2012年TD-SCDMA手机出货量的五成以上，在2013年的表现估计也差不多。至于联发科，则以双核心解决方案锁定中阶智能手机市场；更重要的是，联发科的WCDMA方案在非中国移动的手机市场上居龙头地位。
李力游表示，展讯将在今年第二季到第三季之间进军WCDMA手机市场：“我们的第一批产品将采用40纳米制程，但到第四季就将快速迈进台积电(TSMC)的28奈米制程。”他指出，展讯的第一批WCDMA智能手机芯片还是会采用单核心，计划第四季会推出四核心方案。
没有双核心？李力游解释：“我们会稍后才提出该类方案；以目前来看，我们认为双核心市场太拥挤，我们希望能抢先跨足四核心市场。”要与联发科在WCDMA市场竞争并非易事，但他表示：“无论我们今年能卖出多少WCDMA芯片，都有益于打破我们目前零市占率的局面。”
OrResmc
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：要打败联发科的Turkey，关键是成为LTE市场先发者
相关阅读：
• Marvell将押注中国移动的LTE计划
• 智能手机及4G LTE崛起，2012手机芯片市场排名大变
• MWC2013第二日：芯片原厂引领行业趋势OrResmc
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在此同时，展讯也在LTE技术领域耕耘了约三年的时间；该公司在 2012年推出了首款 TD-LTE 解决方案(CAT 3)，李力游表示该产品完全符合中国移动需求，并已经进驻数据卡设计。他并透露，展讯的第二代 LTE 解决方案(CAT 4)预定今年第四季推出，采用28纳米制程，将支持五模(TDD-LTE、FDD-LTE、WCDMA、TD-SCDMA与EDGE)通讯。
包括Marvell等其它竞争对手也积极抢推五模方案，展讯难道并不想加入第一波推出五模方案的行列？“虽然我们是第一个开始耕耘TD-SCDMA市场，但不一定要成为先发者；高通已经是了。”李力游认为，中国LTE智能手机市场得到2014下半年才会起飞。
对展讯来说，更重要的是成为LTE市场的先发者，而且要提供媲美联发科的“一站式解决方案(turnkey solutions)”；李力游指出，在这方面：“我们会提供一支手机所有必要的零组件，让只有20~30人工程师团队的厂商也能以非常快的速度推出一款 手机产品。”
据了解，中国移动打算将手机采购来源的五成集中在北京，其余则来自开放市场；而芯片供货商、OEM / ODM 厂商都需要因应此一改变。
李力游表示，通常这样的集中采购对单一机型最小需求量为70万支，而由中小型ODM厂商所组成的开放市场，会要求芯片供货商为大量不同机种提供不同的解决方案，每批订单数量在10万到20万支不等；而且那些机种对功能与使用者接口都有不同需求。
为了因应来自中国本地ODM/OEM厂商的不同需求，李力游的最后结论是：“你得具备灵活度，而且需要在地化。”
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
编译：Judith Cheng
参考英文原文：Spreadtrum flourishes as $50 smartphones boom，by Junko Yoshida
相关阅读：
• Marvell将押注中国移动的LTE计划
• 智能手机及4G LTE崛起，2012手机芯片市场排名大变
• MWC2013第二日：芯片原厂引领行业趋势OrResmc
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Spreadtrum flourishes as $50 smartphones boom
Junko Yoshida
The story of the mobile market globally in 2012 was the big surge in demand for smartphones in China. The big beneficiaries among smartphone chip suppliers were MediaTek and Spreadtrum. SHANGHAI – The story of the mobile market globally in 2012 was the big surge in demand for smartphones in China. The big beneficiaries among smartphone chip suppliers were MediaTek and Spreadtrum.
The story of 2013 will continue to be the growing smartphone market, as the trend spreading far and wide, into India and Southeast Asia.
Leo Li, Chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum, told EE Times Monday (March 18), “We are so busy. We can’t keep up with the growing smartphone demand.” This might sound like a gratuitous remark, but Li actually means it.
Earlier this year, market research firm Canalys predicted that China will cement its lead as the world’s largest smartphone market in 2013, with the nation expected to sell 240 million smartphones, roughly one third of global shipments. In contrast, the United States, the world's second-largest smartphone market, is likely to absorb 125 million, the market research firm said.
However, the hot smartphones in China, India and elsewhere in Southeast Asia are different from those sold in the United States. U.S. models are “heavily influenced by Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy S3,” and their smartphone market is “much more mature and saturated,” explained Spreadtrum’s Li. In contrast, handsets purchased by China’s first-time smartphone buyers are cheaper, usually under $50 per handset, and feature typically a 3.5-inch screen. They run on an Android 2.1 operating system.
The story is similar in India, too. Eighty percent of handsets sold by Micromax, India’s leading mobile handset brand [in which Spreadtrum invested), are the low-end smartphones designed to work in India’s EDGE network, Li said.
Source: Canalys
As global smartphone chip suppliers like ST-Ericsson, Renesas Mobile, Marvell and Nvidia struggle to break into the high-end smartphone market dominated by Qualcomm and Apple, Spreadtrum and MediaTek, are having a field day in sharing what appears to be a wide-open mid- to low-end smartphone segment.
Notwithstanding the price, such low-end smartphones are nothing to be sneered at. Li touted their usefulness and high performance. Good examples are Spreadtrum’s 1GHz Android low-cost smartphone platforms such as SC8810 (TD-SCDMA) and SC6820 (EDGE/GPRS/GSM), said Li. While both are based on an integrated baseband/apps processor using a single ARM Cortex A5 core, they can drive low-end smartphones with performance as good as Apple’s iPhone 4, he claimed.
Wait. Is Li really talking about his single-core apps/baseband processor?
On par with iPhone 4?
“Of course, our handset customers are equally skeptical, when it comes to the performance of CPU/GPU performance of our chips. So before they decide to use our chips, they run a test. They use, for example, Geekbench, an application designed to offer a comprehensive set of benchmarks to quickly measure processor and memory performance,” said Li. “Our 1-GHz low-cost smartphone platforms can process data as fast as that of iPhone 4. Our Geekbench score is as high, or even better than that of iPhone 4.”
MediaTek vs. Spreadtrum
If both MediaTek and Spreadtrum are carving up what appears to be an explosive mid- to low-end smartphone market in China, what’s Spreadtrum’s game plan to compete against MediaTek?
“That market is so big that the two companies can comfortably coexist,” said Li.
Well, not quite. Spreadtrum leads in China Mobile’s TD-SCDM-based smartphone market with its single-core smartphone platforms. The company is said to have had more than a 50 percent market share among China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA handsets in 2012. Spreadtrum is expected to hang onto a similar 50 percent share also in 2013. MediaTek focuses on the mid-range smartphone market, armed with its dual-core solution. More important, MediaTek leads in non-China Mobile segments with its WCDMA solutions.
Spreadtrum is finally ready to move into the WCDMA market sometime between the second and the third quarter this year, according to Li. “Our first product will be using a 40-nm process, but we are quickly moving to a 28-nm process by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in the fourth quarter.” Spreadtrum’s first WCDMA-based smartphone chip will be based on a single core. But the company plans to jump to a new quad-core solution in the fourth quarter, Li said.
No dual core?
“We’ll address that later. But for now, we see the dual-core market is a busy area, very crowded. We want to pick a spot to move into the quad-core segment first.”
Competing with MediaTek on the WCDMA market won’t be easy. But “whatever number of WCDMA chips we can sell this year, we will be contributing to what used to be a zero market share for us,” said Li.
Working on LTE
Meanwhile, Spreadtrum has been working on LTE for almost three years. The company rolled out in 2012 its first TD-LTE solution (CAT 3), which Li said cleared all China Mobile requirements, and it’s being designed into data cards. The company’s second-generation LTE solution (CAT 4), scheduled to be out in the fourth quarter, uses a 28-nm process. It will feature five-mode basebands (TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA and EDGE), he added.
Given that Marvell and others are also hot-to-trot on the five-mode baseband, wouldn’t Spreadtrum like to be first to offer a five-mode LTE baseband chip?
“Although we were the first to cultivate the TD-SCDMA market, we haven’t necessarily been the first mover. Qualcomm is.” In Li’s opinion, meaningful volume for LTE smartphones in China won’t emerge until the second half of 2014.
More important for Spreadtrum than being the first mover in LTE is to be equally effective as MediaTek is with its turnkey solutions, whose playbook MediaTek wrote.
By “a turnkey solution,” Li explained, “We offer all the components necessary to build an entire handset. It allows a company with only 20 to 30 engineers to turn a phone around very quickly.”
As China Mobile moves to split sourcing 50 percent of its handsets through central procurement in Beijing, with the rest from the open market, chip vendors supplying to design houses, OEMs/ODMs need to get ready for that change. While typically central procurement seeks a minimum of 700,000 units per a single model, the open market consists of smaller design houses who ask chip vendors to supply different solutions for a vast array of models, with each order in the 100,000-200,000 range, explained Li. Each model demands different features and different User Interfaces, he added.
To absorb such varying demands from local design houses and OEMs/ODMs, “you need to be nimble, you need to be local.”
Spreadtrum CEO Leo Li, in front of a fish tank at his office in Shanghai
责编：Quentin
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