Innovation at Qualcomm reflects in a recent ABI Research report that said Qualcomm’s latest combination application / communication processor, the 8974 has a die area over 40 percent larger than the prior generation MSM8960 (an S4 plus dual core Krait application processor/ LTE modem) which measured 85.6sq mm. The 8974, which belongs to the Snapdragon 800 family, improves nearly all aspects of the prior generation.
Qualcomm says its research and development (R&D) expenses increased 36 percent y-o-y primarily due to an increase in costs to develop CDMA-based 3G, OFDMA-based 4G LTE and other technologies for integrated circuit and related software products and to expand intellectual property portfolio.
Qualcomm, in the third quarter, shipped 172 million units of MSM chips, up 22 percent y-o-y and down 1 percent sequentially.
According to Qualcomm, total reported device sales in March quarter were around $56.5 billion, up 18 percent y-o-y and down 8 percent sequentially.
Estimated 3G/4G device shipments in March quarter were around 244 to 248 million units, at an estimated average selling price of approximately $227 to $233 per unit.
Qualcomm CEO says it sees expanding opportunities for growth of 3G/4G devices around the globe, driven by the strong pace of innovation in the industry.
Qualcomm maintained its outlook for fiscal 2013 with estimated revenues of $24.3 billion to $25 billion.
