Phone functionality

Tuesday, August 7th 2007 - 00:02 CEST - Comments: 0

R esearch and Markets has announced the addition of “World Handset RF Semiconductor Markets” to their offering. This Frost & Sullivan research service titled World Handset RF Semiconductor Markets discusses the trends and provides the market analysis of the various handset RF semiconductor markets. Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine market dynamics, including industry challenges, market drivers and restraints, key market and technology trends, and competitive analysis of the handset RF semiconductor markets.

 

Increasing mobile phone functionality drives growth semiconductor markets
The handset radio frequency (RF) semiconductors market has been steadily progressing, with most segments showing significant growth. The growth has largely been due to the tremendous shipment of mobile handsets over the last few years. "Mobile handsets have evolved rapidly, from a simple and voice-only device to a sophisticated one that supports voice, high-speed data, and other applications such as global positioning system (GPS) and Bluetooth," according to the analyst of the study. "The adoption of third-generation technology (3G) has also aided handset and the RF semiconductor manufacturers as 3G phones need components with complex design."

Mobile Phone Technologies covered in this research:

• GSM, GPRS, EDGE

• CDMA

• WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA

• SoC

• SiP

• Wafer level packaging (WLP)

• Chip scale packaging

• Wafer-level chip-scale packaging

• Multi chip module

Research and Markets - World Handset RF Semiconductor Markets

With the mobile phone becoming a multi dimensional device, there exists enormous pressure on both the handset manufacturers and RF semiconductor companies to pack in as many functions as possible in the limited front-end space. To stay in line with the demands on board space and consumer perception, the trend in the market has been an emphasis on reduced component count, form factor, and bill of materials (BoM). A balance of all these factors, combined with cost effectiveness, is likely to assist RF semiconductor manufacturers in revenue generation.

 

Focus on integration likely to drive RF Semiconductor markets
Consumer perception of phones has changed over the years, with an increased demand for the slimmest phones with extensive features and applications. This has reduced the product design cycle, with manufacturers in a virtual race to introduce slimmer phones with more features thereby demanding a quicker time-to-market. Faced with this challenge, handset manufacturers have turned to RF semiconductor manufacturers to combine various components into integrated modules. This has allowed handset manufacturers to focus their efforts on the incorporation of additional applications and software development to differentiate their products from competition.

Integrated modules reduces supply chain complexity
Handset manufacturers also benefit from this collaboration as the use of integrated modules reduces supply chain complexity and eliminates the need to interact with multiple component vendors. "However, the transition to integration has affected the market for discrete component manufacturers by reducing profits since all the companies in the value chain are vying to increase their profits," explains the analyst. "Companies having a diverse product line and skill to integrate discrete components into modules are likely to be successful in this market."

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