The future development trend of combinatorial chip

Now integration of modems with mobile processors has become an emerging trend, as Marvell co-founder Dai has pointed out, which is the future.

"It is important to combine modems with application processors to build a unified platform to address the global need for ' always online, always interconnected ' lifestyles, especially for tablets," says Ms Dai. ”

Marvell has just released a communications platform based on the latest PXA988 and PXA986 chips, combining Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radios, near-field communications (NFC) and GPS chips, which are almost all-inclusive.

The new platform also includes RF transceivers and highly integrated power Management integrated circuits (PMIC) and supports TD-SCDMA and WCDMA standards. In layman's parlance, this means that mobile phones can be applied both to China's two major mobile communications networks and to the rest of the world's communications network, a highly efficient "bilingual" in the wireless world.

This design is very novel. Previously, mobile phones targeting the Chinese market tended to be confined to China, and the same design was unlikely to be replicated elsewhere.

The latest chips, which use 1.2GHz arm CORTEX-A9 dual-core processors, match the Marvell Company's target strategy for the broader mass market, Ms. Dai says sophisticated chips can handle advanced multimedia requirements such as 3D and 1080p high-definition video.

Also, Ms. Dai said lower prices helped consumers enjoy more wireless on mobile devices without sacrificing performance, while the chips were able to cater for the needs of smartphones and tablets, and to give products a good scalability.

"Integration is the future," she says. Affordable price is the main reason for this trend, in fact, the integration of additional wireless functionality on the chip will not cause any trouble, which has achieved higher cost-effectiveness. ”