三星(Samsung)近日發(fā)布了一款新型 LTE無(wú)線芯片，支持 FDD 與 TDD 兩種規(guī)格，采用28納米HKMG制程；值得注意的是，三星在新芯片中整合了自家開(kāi)發(fā)的四核心應(yīng)用處理器，并將之命名為 Exynos ModAP。 也就是說(shuō)，三星以Exynos品牌整并了旗下的蜂窩組件，模仿高通(Qualcomm)的Snapdragon系列手機(jī)芯片；其意圖很明顯──拿下高通。不過(guò)，三星在今日完全由高通主導(dǎo)的LTE市場(chǎng)上能發(fā)揮出何種程度的破壞力，仍然有待觀察。 三星的舉措注定要讓高通的芯片遠(yuǎn)離三星品牌手機(jī)與平板設(shè)備。新型的Exynos品牌LTE應(yīng)用處理器組合芯片甚至還未上市，就已經(jīng)掀起了最強(qiáng)勁的風(fēng)暴，只是受害者并非高通，而是博通(Broadcom)──該公司在6月初宣布放棄蜂窩基頻芯片業(yè)務(wù)。 無(wú) 論我們用哪種方式來(lái)切分LTE市場(chǎng)，高通在手機(jī)芯片領(lǐng)域的地位都難以動(dòng)搖；市場(chǎng)研究機(jī)構(gòu)Forward Concepts總裁Will Strauss表示：“就算有一些2014年才進(jìn)入市場(chǎng)的新競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者，高通在多模LTE芯片市場(chǎng)的占有率仍超過(guò)95%?！绷硪患沂袌?chǎng)研究機(jī)構(gòu) Strategy Analytics的報(bào)告則指出，三星2014年第一季在LTE基帶芯片市場(chǎng)排名第四，全球市占率(營(yíng)收)僅1.7%。

2013年多模與單模FDD-LTE 基帶芯片供貨商市占率
Source：Forward ConceptsT3eesmc

三星在LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片領(lǐng)域并非新手，該公司已經(jīng)推出過(guò)使用在Galaxy 4與5手機(jī)中的多模4G調(diào)制解調(diào)器；但Forward Concepts表示，三星的活動(dòng)僅限于韓國(guó)市場(chǎng)，在世界其他區(qū)域市場(chǎng)銷(xiāo)售的手機(jī)與平板，該公司都是仰賴競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片。 Strauss 表示：“依據(jù)區(qū)域不同，三星有采用高通的4G調(diào)制解調(diào)器，同時(shí)也采用英特爾(Intel)的4G調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片──實(shí)際上是用在10吋的Galaxy Tab 3平板設(shè)備；此外在7吋的Galaxy Tab 3平板設(shè)備則是采用瑞薩(Renesas)/博通的調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片。”不過(guò)現(xiàn)在這種狀況將會(huì)改變。 對(duì)博通產(chǎn)生的劇烈沖擊 對(duì) 于三星推出的LTE/調(diào)制解調(diào)器組合芯片，以及LTE-Advanced調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片──兩者都是采用CEVA的DSP──產(chǎn)業(yè)觀察家Strauss的看法是， 這對(duì)三星來(lái)說(shuō)是首度將基頻芯片業(yè)務(wù)合法化的實(shí)際嘗試。而對(duì)已經(jīng)感覺(jué)到Marvell與聯(lián)發(fā)科(MediaTek)等對(duì)手威脅的高通來(lái)說(shuō)，三星新推出的 LTE應(yīng)用處理器組合芯片又為該公司添了一個(gè)煩惱。 “我完全預(yù)期高通與其他芯片供貨商未來(lái)將會(huì)被排除在三星的智能手機(jī)之 外，”Strauss表示：“不過(guò)三星仍有可能會(huì)在特定的平板設(shè)備采用英特爾等供貨商的芯片。”Exynos ModAP的存在甚至在正式發(fā)布之前就已經(jīng)有其影響力，Strauss認(rèn)為，博通就是因?yàn)檫@款三星組合芯片才決定要放棄蜂窩基頻芯片業(yè)務(wù)。 “我相信博通理解到他們無(wú)法打進(jìn)主流智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)，也肯定無(wú)法進(jìn)駐三星產(chǎn)品；”Strauss 指出：“而且既然三星與蘋(píng)果(Apple)──也就是高通的調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片──主宰4G智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)，對(duì)博通來(lái)說(shuō)僅剩非常小的市場(chǎng)，而且大部分是來(lái)自新興市場(chǎng)的手機(jī)與平板，這根本不足以支持該公司數(shù)百位研發(fā)4G技術(shù)的工程師?！? 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 本文下一頁(yè)：三星營(yíng)收嚴(yán)重依賴手機(jī)

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• 中國(guó)手機(jī)市場(chǎng)分析：本土廠商將唱主角
• 國(guó)產(chǎn)芯片將擴(kuò)大低端智能終端市場(chǎng)份額
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{pagination} Strategy Analytics資深分析師Sravan Kundojjala也同意以上的看法，他指出，除了三星積極進(jìn)軍LTE市場(chǎng)，華為(Huawei)內(nèi)部的LTE研發(fā)活動(dòng)應(yīng)該也是促使博通決定放棄基頻芯片市場(chǎng)的原因之一：“基帶芯片市場(chǎng)非常著重研發(fā)?！? Kundojjala 進(jìn)一步指出：“我們估計(jì)博通自2007年以來(lái)，已經(jīng)花了30億美元進(jìn)行蜂窩基頻技術(shù)研發(fā)，完全沒(méi)有利潤(rùn)；而對(duì)博通來(lái)說(shuō)，甚至在推出Cat 6/Cat 7/Cat 9/Cat 10 LTE基頻芯片與SoC之前就退出市場(chǎng)雖然痛苦，這個(gè)決定事后看來(lái)是正確的?！? 三星營(yíng)收嚴(yán)重依賴手機(jī) 若要讓自家LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器芯片在市場(chǎng)上占據(jù)一席之地，三星必須要擴(kuò)展自家行動(dòng)設(shè)備產(chǎn)品以外的應(yīng)用版圖?！拔覀兿嘈湃窃贚TE基頻市場(chǎng)的成功，要看該公司多快 能爭(zhēng)取到自家品牌以外的客戶，以及能多快精進(jìn)自家的LTE基頻產(chǎn)品藍(lán)圖，好趕上高通?！盞undojjala表示：“這需要花費(fèi)很大的投資與時(shí)間?！? 能進(jìn)駐自家品牌產(chǎn)品是很不錯(cuò)，但這樣的策略無(wú)法長(zhǎng)久。三星最近才公布，該公司第二季營(yíng)業(yè)利潤(rùn)滑落至兩年來(lái)的低點(diǎn)；三星指出這與韓元兌美元與歐元匯率升值有關(guān)，但該公司連四季利潤(rùn)下滑的狀況也暴露了一個(gè)不可否認(rèn)的事實(shí)：三星變得太依賴智能手機(jī)。 三星近日也坦承，該公司的中低階智能手機(jī)在中國(guó)與部分歐洲市場(chǎng)表現(xiàn)不佳，因?yàn)楦?jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈且需求趨緩。無(wú)論愿不愿意接受，三星手機(jī)部門(mén)的衰弱就是會(huì)影響到該公司手機(jī)芯片業(yè)務(wù)的表現(xiàn)，當(dāng)然也包括新發(fā)布的LTE應(yīng)用處理器組合芯片。 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：Can Samsung Get Qualcomm in LTE Market?，by Junko Yoshida

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• 中國(guó)手機(jī)市場(chǎng)分析：本土廠商將唱主角
• 國(guó)產(chǎn)芯片將擴(kuò)大低端智能終端市場(chǎng)份額
• 聯(lián)發(fā)科預(yù)熱首款4G真8核芯片，詳解MT6595技術(shù)T3eesmc

{pagination} Can Samsung Get Qualcomm in LTE Market? Junko Yoshida Casualty is not Qualcomm but Broadcom MADISON, Wis. — Samsung took the wraps off a new LTE radio chip this week. The chip, supporting both FDD and TDD, is built on the 28-nm HKMG process. It's noteworthy that Samsung has integrated its own quad-core application processor and called it Exynos ModAP. In short, Samsung is consolidating its cellular components under the Exynos brand, mimicking Qualcomm's Snapdragon family of mobile chips. The intention is clear: Get Qualcomm. However, the amount of damage Samsung can wreak in today's totally Qualcomm-dominated LTE market remains unclear. Samsung's move is destined to design Qualcomm's chips out of Samsung's handsets and tablets. But the LTE-app processor combo chip, which hasn't even hit the market yet, has already delivered the biggest blow. The casualty isn't Qualcomm. It's Broadcom, which announced plans in early June to shut down its cellular baseband business. No matter how you slice the LTE market, Qualcomm still has a solid lock on the mobile chip market. "Qualcomm still enjoys over 95% of the multimode LTE market, even with new entries announced in 2014," Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, told us. Strategy Analytics reported (subscription required) that Samsung ranked fourth in the LTE baseband market in the first quarter with a revenue share of just 1.7%. Multi-mode and single-mode FDD-LTE baseband supplier share in 2013. (Source: Forward Concepts) Samsung isn't new to the LTE modem business. It has been shipping its own multimode 4G modem used inside its Galaxy 4 and 5 handsets, but the company has done so "only in Korea," according to Forward Concepts. For handsets and tablets sold in the rest of the world, Samsung has relied on competitors' LTE modem chips. "Depending on the region, Samsung employed Qualcomm 4G modems, while they have employed 4G modems from Intel -- actually, the Galaxy Tab 3 10-inch socket -- and Marvell's and Renesas/Broadcom 4G modems in Galaxy Tab 3 seven-ince sockets," Strauss said. That picture is about to change. Bigger impact on Broadcom The industry views Samsung's announcements about its LTE/Modem combo chip and an LTE-Advanced modem -- both based on Ceva's DSP -- as "a genuine attempt by Samsung to legitimize its baseband offerings for the first time," Strauss said. To Qualcomm, which is already feeling rivals like Marvell and MediaTek nipping at its heels, Samsung's new LTE-app processor combo chip is one more worry. "I fully expect that Qualcomm and others will be eliminated from future Samsung smartphones," Forward Concepts' Strauss said. However, "Samsung may still employ Intel and others in select tablets." The Exynos ModAP's existence was evident even before it was announced. Industry analysts say Samsung's combo chip must have prompted Broadcom to divest its cellular baseband business. "I believe that Broadcom realized that they couldn't get in a major smartphone socket, and certainly not in a Samsung socket," Strauss said. Further, "since Samsung and Apple -- namely, Qualcomm's modems -- dominate the 4G smartphone market, only small pieces of the pie, mostly the Third World handset and tablet suppliers, were available to Broadcom, a market not big enough to support the hundreds of engineers they have devoted to 4G." Sravan Kundojjala, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, agreed with that assessment. In addition to Samsung's LTE efforts, he said, Huawei's in-house LTE activities must have also weighed on Broadcom's decision to exit the baseband market. "The baseband market is quite R&D intensive," Kundojjala said. "We estimate Broadcom has spent over $3 billion on cellular baseband-related R&D since 2007 without profit. While it was painful for Broadcom to exit the market before even releasing Cat 6/Cat 7/Cat 9/Cat 10 LTE basebands and SoCs, it was the right decision in retrospect." Heavily dependent on Samsung Mobile For its LTE modem chip to become a truly visible factor in the market, Samsung will have to do more than gain design sockets in the its own mobile division's products. "We believe Samsung's success in LTE basebands depends on how quickly it can diversify its customer base beyond Samsung Mobile and how quickly it can advance its LTE baseband roadmap to match Qualcomm," Kundojjala said. "This will require significant investment and time." Having built-in, internal design sockets is great. But that strategy can't last forever. Samsung disclosed this week that its second-quarter operating profit dropped to a two-year low. The company cited the South Korean currency's appreciation against the US dollar and the euro. But the fourth straight quarter of profit decline has exposed an undeniable fact: Samsung has become too dependent on smartphones. It acknowledged this week that sales of its midrange and low-end smartphones were weak in China and some European countries, due to stiff competition and slow demand. Like it or not, Samsung Mobile's struggle affects Samsung's mobile chip business, including the newly announced LTE-app processor combo chip.