Bluetooth og WiFi integreres i baseband processorerne
Markedet for combo Wi-Fi chips kommer under stort pres, når førende leverandører som Qualcomm lancerer 3G/4G baseband processorer, der også inkluderer WiFi og Bluetooth (in english).
In November of 2011, Qualcomm unveiled new details regarding its Snapdragon S4 class processors. These new Snapdragon processors will have integrated baseband processors for not only 3G/4G cellular standards, but also Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Qualcomm believes that these new chipsets will enable power savings and improve the manageability of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios. NPD In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) believes that other processor manufacturers, which have been acquiring both cellular and Wi-Fi intellectual property over the past two years, will soon follow suit. Asa result, new In-Stat research forecasts the potential Wi-Fi combo chipset revenue loss, as new processors with embedded Wi-Fi baseband eliminate the need for separate monolithic Wi-Fi combo chipsets, could be as high as $590 million in 2015.
- One of the critical factors in determining the impact from these integrated processors is the impact on the bill-of-materials cost, says Greg Potter, Analyst.
- Not only do you eliminate the need for a Wi-Fi combo chip, you potentially simplify the PCB in phones, tablets, and similar devices. Other benefits include the potential to decrease the number of antennas and the elimination of potential signal interference. The initial markets for these chipsets will be high-end and mid-tier smartphones along with Android tablets. Moving forward, expect these chips to migrate down to low-end smartphones, low-end tablets, and even basic and feature phones.
Potter continues:
- With new processors integrating Wi-Fi, we are also likely to see a benefit to Wi-Fi adoption rates in some markets. Digital home devices such as TVs and set top boxes that are beginning to consider smartphone processors as the basis of their platforms may find Wi-Fi as additional and valuable feature, accelerating adoption and increasing the overall Wi-Fi demand.
Key research findings include:
• The introduction of low-power Wi-Fi chipsets presents a challenge to Bluetooth in certain markets.
• Monolithic chipset revenues and shipments will decline slightly from 2010 to 2011 as more cellular phones switch to combo chipsets.
• Combo chip prices will see a steady decline, and by 2015 they will decrease by over one fourth of 2010 pricing levels.
• 802.11ac will grow rapidly with shipments to surpass 650 million chipsets by 2015.
