puzzlecraft:
People should re-read the Qualcomm PR on the seven planned members of the MSM 6xxx family before jumping to conclusions about the effects of the MSM 6000 chipset on royalties:
qualcomm.com
MSM6000 solution, announced on March 12, 2001:
* Optimized entry-priced 3G cdma2000 1x integrated circuit and system software
* Optimizes handset BOM, offering equal or lower pricing of 3G cdma2000 1x handsets compared with standard GSM terminals
* Optimized system solution, allowing manufacturers to rapidly design new entry-level handsets for the 3G market
* Leverages significant traffic capacity benefits of cdma2000 versus GSM
* Fully backward compatible with IS-95A/B
* Optimized to support voice and basic data capabilities
* Two-way Short Message Service (SMS)
* Offers seamless migration path to 3G services and applications
* Sample shipments expected in early calendar 2002, with production quantities expected in the second quarter of calendar 2002
This "entry level" chipset is clearly aimed at the emerging mass markets in China, India and elsewhere, and is likely to be a very high volume product, albeit with lower ASP, and one that probably only QCOM will be able to supply.
OTOH, the other planned MSM 6xxx chipsets will clearly command higher ASP's, and I bet the multi mode CDMA 1x plus GSM/GPRS/WCDMA chipsets will extract a much higher bounty from the GSM upgrade market, a market that, at least for a few years, QCOM will also dominate.
David T. |
