News

26 July 2010

 

Handset semiconductor revenue to rise about 4% in 2010

After four quarters of decline, the global mobile handset market began showing signs of life starting in fourth-quarter 2009, according to the report ‘Mobile Device Semiconductors Market Data’ from ABI Research, which expects the trend to continue through the next five years.

“Due to the resurgence of the mobile handset market, the total revenue for handset semiconductors is forecast to increase about 4% this year,” says analyst Celia Bo. “Major semiconductor components such as baseband processors and application processors, accounting for more than 60% of the revenue in this segment, are expected to show revenue increases of 3% and 8%, respectively, in 2010,” she adds.

As well as the baseband processor, the application processor is another key component enabling mobile devices to deliver better performance, more reliable connectivity and longer battery life, as chipsets are becoming ever more compact and competitive, points out the market research firm.

In June, Qualcomm announced the dual-core Snapdragon processor, signaling a new era for technology architecture development, and the market is set to see some significant improvements in application processor performance and power consumption, reckons ABI. In 2010, application processor shipments are forecast to increase significantly while average selling prices (ASPs) drop.

“Connectivity chips will be key drivers of handset semiconductor market growth in the next five years,” notes Bo. “Bluetooth has the highest attach rate: the average penetration rate is expected to be 57% in 2010,” she adds. “The penetration rate of GPS is expected to double between 2010 and 2015. Wi-Fi chips will deliver the highest revenue of the three connectivity chips over the next five years,” Bo concludes.

See related items:

Handset semiconductor sales rebound in Q4/09

Search: ABI Research Handset shipments

Visit: www.abiresearch.com/research/1003883