Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and China

Samsung face challenge due to lost business of Apple’s iPhones chips on one side (see October 2012 blog - Apple Cutting Out Samsung Chips )

While on the other side Samsung is squeezed by the rise of local cell phone vendors in china such as Xiaomi, Coolpad, Huawei, Lenovo, and ZTE (see Jan 2013 blog - Apples' Cook in China (MediaTek Impact). In addition see today's introduction of Xiaomi launches MIUI 6, makes Android look more like iOS 7

More on the fast rise of Xiaomi that "in the smartphone market in one of the world's biggest markets, research firm Canalys has revealed that Xiaomi was the market leader in its home territory of China, jumping ahead of Samsung for the first time in Q2 2014.

In the three months to the end of June, Xiaomi held a 14% market share in China with Samsung, Lenovo and CoolPad all trailing with 12% of the market while Huawei creeped into fifth spot with an 11% market share.

While it is not surprising to see Xiaomi at the top of the charts, the speed it has happened is surprising. In the first quarter of 2014, Samsung held an 18% market share while Xiaomi held just over 10%."  

Samsung respond by introducing a smartphone for china mobile as detailed in the article below.

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

Samsung Launches Galaxy Win Pro Smartphone for China Mobile Powered by Marvell's ARMADA Mobile PXA1088 Quad-Core Platform 

February 18, 2014, 8:06 a.m. ET

Marvell's field-proven unified multi-core 3G mobile platform solution enables Samsung's latest world phone, the Galaxy Win Pro, to serve China Mobile's vast subscriber base with global WCDMA roaming capability

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL) today announced the launch of the Galaxy Win Pro Smartphone for China Mobile powered by Marvell's ARMADA(R) Mobile PXA1088 Quad-Core Platform. Marvell's unified multi-core 3G mobile platform solution enables Samsung's Galaxy Win Pro, to serve China Mobile's vast subscriber base with global WCDMA roaming capability. The ARMADA Mobile PXA1088 single-chip platform is designed to drive high-quality and high-performance affordable solutions for mobile devices, furthering the "Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle." The Samsung Galaxy Win Pro is designed for China Mobile's expansive customer base and supports Global System for Mobile (GSM) and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) to enable customers to have seamless Internet access regardless of location. With the Samsung Galaxy Win Pro, traveling is made easy for China Mobile's subscribers since they do not have to carry or lease extra 3G phones for global roaming with WCDMA/HSPA+.

"I am very proud to see the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Win Pro, quad-core-based mass-market smartphone for the world's largest mobile operator, China Mobile. Samsung's global leadership in delivering such affordable mobile devices with outstanding performance has enriched the lives of billions of consumers around the world through better communication and education," said Weili Dai, President and Co-Founder of Marvell. "I am very proud of our close collaboration with all key partners in the mobile ecosystem in driving the 'Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle.' I am very thankful to Samsung for their collaboration and dedication and thankful to Marvell's global teams of talented engineers for the passion, innovation and tireless effort to the successful launch of this great Galaxy smartphone."

The Samsung Galaxy Win Pro is a TD-SCDMA/GSM and W-CDMA/GSM dual-mode design that uses Marvell's all-in-one unified mobile computing platform, including wireless modem and RF transceiver that provide 3G world phone support. This enables the Samsung Galaxy Win Pro to be the choice of China Mobile's subscribers who needs to travel overseas. In addition to Marvell's ARMADA Mobile PXA1088, the Galaxy Win Pro also features the latest Marvell's RF839 3G radio transceiver, Marvell's advanced Avastar(R) 88W8777 IEEE802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, and L2000 GPS. It also features a 4.5-inch qHD high resolution display, a 5MP camera and 8GB MLC storage with 1GB LPDDR2 memory.

About the Marvell ARMADA Mobile PXA1088:

The Marvell PXA1088 is a highly integrated quad-core application and communications mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) designed to provide high-performance, low-power mobile computing; support for all global broadband 3G standards, enabling seamless global roaming; and the latest wireless connectivity technology. Marvell's PXA1088 platform incorporates the performance of a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 with Marvell's mature and field-proven cellular modem, including support for High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Time Division High Speed Packet Access Plus (TD-HSPA+) and Enhanced Data for GSM Environment (EDGE). The PXA1088 enables a breakthrough end user experience for multimedia and gaming applications with universal connectivity. Marvell's complete mobile platform solution includes Marvell's advanced Avastar 88W8777 WLAN + Bluetooth 4.0 + FM single-chip SoC and the 88L2000 GNSS Hybrid Location Processor, and an integrated power management and audio codec IC. Marvell's unified mobile platform, includes the PXA986, PXA988, PXA1088 and PXA1088LTE, thus enabling easy migration from dual-core to quad-core solutions and support for TD-SCDMA, WCDMA and LTE.