x86巨頭英特爾在移動(dòng)市場(chǎng)一路高調(diào)進(jìn)攻。5月27日晚間，英特爾宣布將與中國(guó)ARM移動(dòng)芯片設(shè)計(jì)商瑞芯微電子（Rockchip）合作，為平板電腦設(shè)計(jì)x86 SoC芯片。 這一對(duì)雖然看起來(lái)完全不搭，但似乎是一個(gè)雙贏的組合。英特爾與中國(guó)平板企業(yè)的合作越來(lái)越深入，而瑞芯微優(yōu)勢(shì)在于芯片里集成的3G通信功能，這是其他開發(fā)ARM架構(gòu)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手所不具備的，比如全志。 英特爾和瑞芯微本次的產(chǎn)品目標(biāo)是入門級(jí)Android移動(dòng)設(shè)備，支持3G，將在2015年7月前實(shí)現(xiàn)大批量出貨。英特爾首席執(zhí)行官Brian Krzanich在周一的電話會(huì)議上表示，該款芯片將基于英特爾處理器架構(gòu)和3G通信協(xié)議，并有可能使用瑞芯微的圖形處理和連接模塊。 合作雙方將為英特爾SoFIA產(chǎn)品家族增添新產(chǎn)品，包括將于今年底出貨的雙核3G版本，以及2015年的四核LTE版本。更重要的是，英特爾希望借此機(jī)會(huì)，得到瑞芯微的部分客戶資源——那些中國(guó)平板電腦OEM和ODM廠商。 “這（中國(guó)）可能是平板電腦增長(zhǎng)最快的市場(chǎng)，這么巨大的增長(zhǎng)，大概沒有一家公司能獨(dú)立滿足它。 ” Krzanich說(shuō)。 “對(duì)于低端目標(biāo)市場(chǎng)，瑞芯微可以用ARM Mali取代英特爾的圖形核心，減少芯片面積，”Tirias研究所的資深分析師、市場(chǎng)觀察家Kevin Krewell說(shuō)。 雖然與瑞芯微的交易不是排他性的，但英特爾目前還沒有與其他公司有類似的設(shè)計(jì)與銷售計(jì)劃，他說(shuō)。 與瑞芯微合作設(shè)計(jì)芯片架構(gòu)的詳細(xì)財(cái)務(wù)條款仍在商討中。英特爾的SoFIA SoC產(chǎn)品一直在臺(tái)積電（TSMC）代工，隨后會(huì)慢慢轉(zhuǎn)向英特爾自己的工廠，預(yù)計(jì)在2016年實(shí)現(xiàn)自己生產(chǎn)。 根據(jù)國(guó)際數(shù)據(jù)公司（International Data Corp.），瑞芯微與全志在2013年并列平板應(yīng)用處理器出貨第一，每家都出貨約4000萬(wàn)個(gè)移動(dòng)應(yīng)用處理器。目前瑞芯微的產(chǎn)品線包括了10款基于ARM的SoC，從四核A17架構(gòu)到Cortex M3都有。 英特爾可能根本不需要派額外的工程師來(lái)支援這件事，而且可以在中國(guó)發(fā)展培養(yǎng)一批做移動(dòng)x86的工程師，一位分析師表示。 “我認(rèn)為英特爾本可以在自己內(nèi)部就完成這款芯片的設(shè)計(jì)，之所以大費(fèi)周章，只是市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷上的一些考慮?！盜nsight64的市場(chǎng)觀察家Nathan Brookwood說(shuō)到，“啟示在收購(gòu)英飛凌時(shí)，基于ARM架構(gòu)和英飛凌通訊協(xié)議的多核Sofia芯片就已經(jīng)在設(shè)計(jì)中了?！? “英特爾對(duì)于進(jìn)入平板電腦這個(gè)大市場(chǎng)非常認(rèn)真，”Kevin Krewell表示，“但與一家ARM架構(gòu)的對(duì)手一起合作，來(lái)拓展x86平板業(yè)務(wù)——這是一個(gè)不尋常的舉動(dòng)。瑞芯微被稱為成本最低的ARM平板電腦芯片廠商之一。” 英特爾期望2013年實(shí)現(xiàn)10萬(wàn)臺(tái)平板、以及千萬(wàn)片芯片出貨量的突破，Krzanich說(shuō)，英特爾希望今年能出貨4000萬(wàn)顆SoC，其中第一季度達(dá)到500萬(wàn)顆。英特爾目前在90款A(yù)ndroid和Windows平板電腦上擁有Design Win，他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)。 三星Galaxy 3已經(jīng)在使用英特爾的7160獨(dú)立LTE芯片，這是一個(gè)支持載波聚合的版本，將在本季度出貨，Krzanich說(shuō)。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Luffy Liu 參考英文原文：Intel, Rockchip Co-Design Tablet SoC，by Rick Merritt

相關(guān)閱讀：
• 英特爾或通過(guò)投資瑞芯微滲透大陸平板市場(chǎng)
• 移動(dòng)處理器歲末大盤點(diǎn)（下）
• Intel力推低價(jià)平板策略的利好與隱憂wfOesmc

{pagination} Intel, Rockchip Co-Design Tablet SoC Rick Merritt SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a sign of Intel's aggressive pursuit of the mobile market, the x86 giant will co-design an integrated tablet SoC with Rockchip, a China-based designer of ARM-based SoCs. Although an unusual pairing of rivals, the deal appears to be a win/win. Intel gets deeper access to China's tablet makers and Rockchip gets a part with integrated 3G communications, something ARM currently cannot provide Rockchip's rivals such as AllWinner. Intel and Rockchip will ship in volume before July 2015 a quad-core 3G SoC aimed at entry-level tablets. It will use Intel's Atom processors and 3G silicon and may use graphics and connectivity blocks from Rockchip, said Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich in a conference call Monday. The part fills a hole in Intel's Sofia product family which includes a dual-core 3G part shipping late this year and a quad core LTE version in 2015. More importantly, Intel aims to get access to Rockchip's customers, OEM and ODM tablet makers in China. "This is probably the fastest growing segment of the tablet market -- there is so much growth probably no one company can support it," Krzanich said. "For the low end of the market they are targeting, Rockchip could replace the Intel graphics core with ARM Mali to reduce die area," said Kevin Krewell, a senior analyst with market watcher Tirias Research Although the Rockchip deal is not exclusive, Intel currently has no plans in the works for similar cooperative design and sales deals, he said. Financial terms of the Rockchip deal and details of the co-designed chip's architecture are still being worked out. Like the other Sofia SoCs, the chip will be made at TSMC and transitioned to Intel's fabs, probably in 2016. Rockchip tied with China's Allwinner in 2013, each shipping about 40 million mobile apps processors, according to International Data Corp. Today it has a family of 10 ARM-based SoCs, ranging from a quad core A17 to Cortex M3 device. Intel probably did not need the extra engineering help, but may see a side benefit in getting engineers in China to work on mobile x86 designs, said one analyst. "I think Intel could have done this design with its own internal design resources -- I see it more as a marketing play than a development play," said Nathan Brookwood, principal of market watcher Insight64. The Sofia chip is based on a multicore ARM design Infineon's communications unit was working on when Intel acquired the group, Brookwood said. "Intel is very serious about entering the volume tablet business," said Krewell of Tirias. "This is a very unusual move by Intel, though, partnering with an ARM-based competitor to build the Intel tablet business -- Rockchip is known as one of the lowest-cost vendors of ARM-based tablet SoCs," he added. Intel exceeded its goal of shipping 10 million tablet chips in 2013 by 500,000 units, Krzanich said. It hopes to ship 40 million tablet SoCs this year, and shipped 5 million in the first quarter, he said. Intel now has design wins in 90 Android and Windows tablets, he added. The Samsung Galaxy 3 Note is already using Intel's 7160 standalone LTE chip. A version of the chip supporting carrier aggregation ships this quarter, he said.