Cheap smartphone boom bodes ill for Intel

Rick Merritt, EETimes
4/17/2013 1:00 PM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The keys to success for the next round of smartphone processors will be integration and low cost, and Intel is not well poised for the battle, according to a keynote address from a veteran market watcher.

The market for handsets selling for more than $350 will grow just six percent while the market for sub-$350 smartphones will expand at a roaring 69 percent, predicted Linley Gwennap, principal analyst of The Linley Group (Mountain View, Calif.) at an annual mobile event here.

In a related trend, the share of handsets using applications processors with integrated basebands will expand from 50 to 72 percent from 2012 to 2016. Meanwhile, the market for standalone apps processors will fall from 30 to 14 percent over that period, with many of the devices made by Samsung.

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