MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which commands more than 60 percent of China’s 3G handset chip market, yesterday unveiled an advanced processor as the company aims to double its long-term evolution (LTE) chip market share in China to 40 percent this year from last year’s 20 percent.
“We have been doing good in mid to low-end markets. Broadening our product line to cover the high-end segment will allow us to increase our market share,” company president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said in a group interview.
The newly launched Helio P10 is an eight-core processor that targets high-end LTE smartphones and supports advanced Category 6 standards.
It is slightly less powerful than the 10-core Helio X20 launched last month by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and expected to hit the market next quarter.
The Helio P10 is to be priced at about US$10 per unit, lower than Helio X20’s US$40, MediaTek said.
The Helio series processors are expected to account for about 10 percent of MediaTek’s total smartphone chip shipments this year, Hsieh said.
He also expects a spike in business in the second half of the year, with revenue and shipments in the second half making up 60 percent of the full-year figures.
“Demand is to pick up slightly this month and next month, given falling channel inventory and stabilizing foreign exchange rates,” he said.
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