- Intel's (INTC +0.4%) deal to invest up to $1.5B in a Tsinghua Unigroup holding company that owns Spreadtrum and RDA Microelectronics will both help it better penetrate the low-end Chinese smartphone/tablet market and allow it to sidestep antitrust regulators, thinks Rosenblatt Securities. Chinese regulators have taken aim at Qualcomm and Microsoft, among others.
- Rosenblatt doubts the deal will have a big near-term impact on the mobile baseband market, but thinks it could be a long-term negative for MediaTek and Marvell (MRVL -0.7%), both of whom have sizable low-end Chinese shares. Spreadtrum/RDA foundry partner SMIC (SMI +1.4%) is seen as a possible beneficiary.
- Wells Fargo observes Spreadtrum had a 16% Q2 baseband share (#3, behind Qualcomm and MediaTek), and that its Chinese share is much higher. Spreadtrum's 3G baseband share was at 11%.
- On SA, ex-Intel employee Ed McKernan argues a strategy of providing Atom mobile CPU designs to 3rd-party processor vendors (such as Spreadtrum and Rockchip) could help Intel narrow its huge mobile losses. The chip giant is keen on using its manufacturing process lead to bring Atom to newer processes before comparable ARM-based CPUs arrive.