2012年全球手機產(chǎn)業(yè)的大事件之一，就是中國市場對智能手機暴增的需求；而在這波浪潮中收益最大的芯片供貨商，非聯(lián)發(fā)科(MediaTek)與展訊通信(Spreadtrum)莫屬。
時間來到 2013年，智能手機市場的成長力道持續(xù)，而且熱潮擴及范圍更廣，進入印度與南亞。展訊CEO 李力游(Leo Li)在日前接受EETimes美國版編輯訪問時表示：“我們實在是忙到無法趕上不斷成長的智能手機需求?！边@可能聽起來有點夸張，但李力游是說真的。
今年稍早，市場研究機構(gòu) Canalys 預(yù)測，中國將在2013年進一步鞏固其全球最大智能手機市場地位，年度智能手機銷售量估計可達2.4億支，幾乎占據(jù)全球出貨量的三分之一；至于排名全球第二大智能手機市場的美國，同時間智能手機出貨量約1.25億支。
不過在中國、印度或是南亞等地區(qū)熱銷的智能手機機種，與美國卻大不相同；李力游指出，在美國，智能手機“受到蘋果(Apple) iPhone與三星(Galaxy) S3影響很深”，而且當(dāng)?shù)刂悄苁謾C市場“成熟、飽和程度很高”。
相反的，初次購買智能手機的中國消費者會選擇價格較低、通常在50美元以下的機種，一般配備3.5寸屏幕，采用 Android 2.1 版操作系統(tǒng)。在印度也是類似的情況，李力游表示，由印度領(lǐng)導(dǎo)手機品牌Micromax (展訊為投資方之一)售出的手機中，有八成是適用印度當(dāng)?shù)谽DGE網(wǎng)絡(luò)的低階智能手機。
2013年各新興市場智能手機出貨量預(yù)估
Source：Canalysil3esmc
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當(dāng)全球幾家智能手機芯片供貨商如瑞薩通信(Renesas Mobile)、Marvell、Nvidia以及已經(jīng)消失的意法愛立信(ST-Ericsson)， 奮力挺進由高通(Qualcomm)與蘋果主宰的高階智能手機市場之同時，展訊與聯(lián)發(fā)科則愉快地優(yōu)游于看來范圍更加廣闊的中低階智能手機市場。
盡管低階智能手機的價格不起眼，李力游卻特別吹捧其實用性與高性能；他以展訊的1GHz 低階Android智能手機平臺 SC8810 (TD-SCDMA)與 SC6820 (EDGE/GPRS/GSM)為例，表示兩款平臺都是以搭載ARM Cortex A5核心的整合型基帶/應(yīng)用處理器為基礎(chǔ)，能讓所應(yīng)用之平價終端手機的性能媲美蘋果iPhone 4。
等一下…李力游是在說他們家的單核心基帶/應(yīng)用處理器芯片嗎？
“當(dāng)然，我們的手機客戶也對我們的芯片CPU/GPU性能抱持懷疑態(tài)度，所以在他們決定采用之前都會先測試；舉例來說，他們會用Geekbench這樣的應(yīng)用 程序來快速測試處理器與內(nèi)存性能?！彼忉專骸皽y試結(jié)果顯示我們的1GHz低階智能手機平臺的數(shù)據(jù)處理速度與iPhone 4差不多；在Geekbench上的分?jǐn)?shù)甚至高過iPhone 4?！?
那么，與同樣積極搶攻中國中低階智能手機市場爆炸性商機的聯(lián)發(fā)科相較，展訓(xùn)的致勝策略是什么？對此李力游的回答是：“這個市場大到足夠讓這兩家公司舒適地和平共存。”
展訊通信目前的產(chǎn)品矩陣中包括對應(yīng)TD/EDGE的SC8810/SC6820，主要覆蓋智能低端入門機型，SC8825/SC6825為前者的升級版，主頻到1.2GHz,采用雙核。另外2013年上半年WCDMA/四核產(chǎn)品出于sampling階段。
il3esmc
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嗯… 或許不盡然如此。展訊單核心平臺稱霸中國移動(China Mobile )的TD-SCDMA智能手機市場，據(jù)該公司表示，其芯片進駐中國移動 2012年TD-SCDMA手機出貨量的五成以上，在2013年的表現(xiàn)估計也差不多。至于聯(lián)發(fā)科，則以雙核心解決方案鎖定中階智能手機市場；更重要的是，聯(lián)發(fā)科的WCDMA方案在非中國移動的手機市場上居龍頭地位。
李力游表示，展訊將在今年第二季到第三季之間進軍WCDMA手機市場：“我們的第一批產(chǎn)品將采用40納米制程，但到第四季就將快速邁進臺積電(TSMC)的28奈米制程?！彼赋?，展訊的第一批WCDMA智能手機芯片還是會采用單核心，計劃第四季會推出四核心方案。
沒有雙核心？李力游解釋：“我們會稍后才提出該類方案；以目前來看，我們認(rèn)為雙核心市場太擁擠，我們希望能搶先跨足四核心市場。”要與聯(lián)發(fā)科在WCDMA市場競爭并非易事，但他表示：“無論我們今年能賣出多少WCDMA芯片，都有益于打破我們目前零市占率的局面。”
il3esmc
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在此同時，展訊也在LTE技術(shù)領(lǐng)域耕耘了約三年的時間；該公司在 2012年推出了首款 TD-LTE 解決方案(CAT 3)，李力游表示該產(chǎn)品完全符合中國移動需求，并已經(jīng)進駐數(shù)據(jù)卡設(shè)計。他并透露，展訊的第二代 LTE 解決方案(CAT 4)預(yù)定今年第四季推出，采用28納米制程，將支持五模(TDD-LTE、FDD-LTE、WCDMA、TD-SCDMA與EDGE)通訊。
包括Marvell等其它競爭對手也積極搶推五模方案，展訊難道并不想加入第一波推出五模方案的行列？“雖然我們是第一個開始耕耘TD-SCDMA市場，但不一定要成為先發(fā)者；高通已經(jīng)是了。”李力游認(rèn)為，中國LTE智能手機市場得到2014下半年才會起飛。
對展訊來說，更重要的是成為LTE市場的先發(fā)者，而且要提供媲美聯(lián)發(fā)科的“一站式解決方案(turnkey solutions)”；李力游指出，在這方面：“我們會提供一支手機所有必要的零組件，讓只有20~30人工程師團隊的廠商也能以非?？斓乃俣韧瞥鲆豢?手機產(chǎn)品?！?
據(jù)了解，中國移動打算將手機采購來源的五成集中在北京，其余則來自開放市場；而芯片供貨商、OEM / ODM 廠商都需要因應(yīng)此一改變。
李力游表示，通常這樣的集中采購對單一機型最小需求量為70萬支，而由中小型ODM廠商所組成的開放市場，會要求芯片供貨商為大量不同機種提供不同的解決方案，每批訂單數(shù)量在10萬到20萬支不等；而且那些機種對功能與使用者接口都有不同需求。
為了因應(yīng)來自中國本地ODM/OEM廠商的不同需求，李力游的最后結(jié)論是：“你得具備靈活度，而且需要在地化。”
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
編譯：Judith Cheng
參考英文原文：Spreadtrum flourishes as $50 smartphones boom，by Junko Yoshida
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• MWC2013第二日：芯片原廠引領(lǐng)行業(yè)趨勢il3esmc
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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
責(zé)編：Quentin
