Monday, April 2, 2012

Broadcom Powering Not Only iPhone, iPad, but Android Too

Irvine-based Broadcom, the semiconductor developer, is not only powering the iPhone and iPad--having been identified as one of the major component makers in those Apple hit devices--but apparently is behind a lot of the horsepower behind the Android market, with smartphone maker Samsung using the company's chips in its latest line of low-end Android phones. According to a J.P. Morgan analyst, Broadcom's chips are now in roughly a third of Samsung's smartphones, including Samsung's Galaxy Y, Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Ace devices. The firm's ARM processors are being used as the primary processors in those low end Samsung Android phones, and its GPS and wireless chips are being widely used in higher end Android smartphones, as well, according to multiple teardowns of Samsung's product line.

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