Why Mediatek is the phone chip maker to watch

Rating: Time to board the bandwagon before it’s too late

GoMo News’ new-found interest in fake iPhones (or fPhones ) has sparked a keen interest in Mediatek whose chips appear to be found inside the vast majority of these Chinese handsets. But did you realise that Mediatek is probably the fastest growing chip suppliers globally?

The company has enjoyed a Compound Annual Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 262 per cent between 2004 and 2008. The majority (60 per cent) of that has come from sales of chips which go inside mobile phones.

While trawling the web in search of software which would help to unlock the power of the FM2000 fPhone, GoMo News came across a very interesting piece written by our old mate, David Manners.

This legendary chip hack was seeking to explain why Mediatek is catching up so fast with the establish players such as Texas Instruments (TI), ST, Infineon and Qualcomm.

One of the most telling arguments put forward by Manners is that while TI actually offers a chipset (Locosto) which is cheaper than Mediatek’s offerings, it is aimed at the wrong sector.

The Chinese market has a huge appetite for smartphones – not cheap, entry-level and plain ordinary handsets. Mediatek appears to appreciate this fact.

There’s another fascinating revelation from Manners. “When they [Mediatek] do work with ISVs, they manage the ISVs themselves, thus keeping a single point of contact for their customers.”

So now you know how to get onboard a bandwagon which a whole heap of others are desperately trying to join.