Qualcomm takes low-price LTE fight to MediaTek with Snapdragon 210

Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has launched a new SoC designed to be used in ‘entry-level’ mobile devices. The Snapdragon 210 supports LTE Cat 4 carrier aggregation and has a quad-core CPU and is positioned to take on MediaTek in the booming sub-$200 smartphone market.

With almost full smartphone penetration in most developed markets, global sales growth has mainly been driven by developing markets such as China and Brazil in the past year. The lower disposable incomes in those countries means that the sub-$200 price tiers are where much of the action is, and this segment has consequently grown in value to smartphone vendors and component suppliers.

While Qualcomm is the dominant SoC player in the higher price tiers, Mediatek has done a great job of grabbing share in cheaper Android devices. By launching the well-specced Snapdragon 210 at a presumably aggressive price point, Qualcomm will be hoping to take the fight to Mediatek, and others such as Spreadtrum, in this strategically important segment.

“We are committed to delivering high-performance connected mobile experiences across all tiers of our product portfolio,” said Jeff Lorbeck, SVP and COO of Qualcomm Technologies, China. “These announcements further cement our commitment in broadly driving LTE and LTE Advanced to enable our customers the flexibility to deliver high-speed connectivity and an advanced mobile experience at affordable prices.”

Specs include:

Qualcomm has also announced the launch of its first LTE tablet reference design, based on the Snapdragon 410 SoC, which it is hoping will encourage tablet vendors to use more of its chips.

“We are pleased to use Qualcomm Technologies’ expertise in connectivity to help us offer a 4G LTE tablet for the high-volume tier,” said Danny Zheng, CEO, FOXDA. “With such a robust reference design, we will be able to create advanced connected devices with rich features and functionality, and do so in a more cost- and time-effective manner, to the benefit of consumers.”

The Snapdragon 210 and the tablet reference design will start to appear in devices in the first half of next year.

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