Marvell Harbors 3G Global Ambitions - PXA978

| Feb 16, 2011 | Mobile Device Silicon | Analyst: Ron Westfall

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Event Summary

February 14, 2011 -- Marvell announces its world phone platform based on the Marvell PXA978 communications processor with Marvell HSPA modem. Marvell claims the PXA978 product is the industry's first single-chip solution to feature 3G UMTS and China's TD-SCDMA standard with HSPA support and is intended to enable mobile developers to design 3G cellular devices and tablets that can be used and supported globally.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Moderate on Marvell’s PXA978 chip solution, because the PXA978 delivers an innovative mobile device silicon design breakthrough in combining 3G UMTS, TD-SCDMA and HSPA on a single chip in order to address burgeoning demand for 3G devices and tablets that support seamless connectivity on a worldwide basis. Marvell is also touting the integration of the first Mobile MIMO implementation with support of the Avastar 88W8797, an 802.11n 2x2 dual-band Wi-Fi SoC that plays to Marvell’s strengths on the wireless connectivity side. However, the PXA978 chipset unveiling lacked an immediate mobile device OEM endorsement and left sampling and production time frames and pricing unmentioned and unknown. Integrating 3G UMTS, TD-SCDMA, and HSPA on a single chip may produce implementation challenges down the line for Marvell and its OEM partners. Moreover it remains unclear how much influence Marvell’s recently acquired Kinoma software platform will wield in influencing application developers within the Android sphere to devote resources toward Kinoma-based applications. This is an area Marvell where will have much to do to prove its worth.

• Vendor Importance: High to Marvell, since the company needed to unveil the PXA978 chipset to sustain its recent run of producing highly differentiated mobile device silicon solutions (please see Marvell Ups the Mobile Application Processor Table Stakes with the Armada 628, September 28, 2010). Marvell needs to sustain producing these innovative chipset solutions (and eventual wins) after losing some momentum when RIM decided to drop Marvell and switch to TI for supporting its tablet technology (i.e., RIM Playbook). The PXA978 chipset uses the 40nm process and integrates a 1.2 GHz application processor with 3D graphics and 1080p multimedia with the 3G baseband modem technology that could yield time to market and streamlined integration benefits for Marvell’s mobile device OEM prospects and customers.

• Market Impact: High on the mobile device silicon segment and the overall mobile ecosystem, since the Marvell PXA978 chipset launch reminds the market that 3G services will remain a robust and high priority technology for the mobile industry into the foreseeable future, despite all the marketing attention devoted toward 4G technology recently (regardless of the controversy related to marketing HSPA+ as a 4G technology/service). By combining 3G UMTS, TD-SCDMA and HSPA on a single PXA978 chip, Marvell’s rivals will become compelled to counter its ability to better meet a clearly emerging market demand for global 3G smartphones and tablets. The Marvell announcement was heavily geared toward addressing the China market with the invocation of 18 million TD-SCDMA users in China today (according to China Mobile) that is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years. Marvell’s decision to integrate TD-SCDMA on a global 3G chipset directly challenges mobile silicon rivals with deep TD-SCDMA investments, such as MediaTek, ST-Ericsson and Qualcomm, as well as rivals pondering TD-SCDMA development efforts, to produce new product development and sales and marketing efforts to counter Marvell’s ongoing attempt to perform an end run in the China 3G silicon segment via a global 3G chipset offering. The competitive outcomes in the 3G silicon segment will heavily influence the course of 3G technology and service deployments throughout the mobile ecosystem for quite some time.

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Current Perspective

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