News and Research on Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (SPRD)
Business Description
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Spreadtrum Communications (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., engages in the design, development, and marketing of baseband processor solutions for the wireless communications market.
The company combines its semiconductor hardware design know-how with its wireless software development capabilities to deliver single-chip baseband processors with multimedia functionality and integrated power management. The company has developed its solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that meet their time-to-market requirements.
Products
The company offers a range of integrated baseband processor solutions for the wireless communications market. In addition, it offers turnkey solutions, which include devices that combine the company’s baseband semiconductors and other third-party wireless handset components such as transceivers and memory semiconductors, as well as bundled solutions that can include critical components, including its baseband semiconductor, software and third-party components.
Baseband Semiconductors
The company has developed a family of baseband semiconductor solutions designed specifically for wireless handsets that support 2G to 3G wireless technology standards, such as GSM, GPRS and TD-SCDMA. Within its family of baseband semiconductors, the company offers different models that support various wireless communications standards and incorporate different multimedia feature sets.
The company, as part of total baseband processor solution, offers software, such as protocol stacks, user interface, file systems and device driver software, for its open platform that is integrated into its baseband semiconductors. In addition, the company has integrated other third-party operating systems and application software, such as text input, Internet browsing, electronic mail, wireless application protocol, Java and multimedia messaging service into its baseband semiconductors. Also, the company has developed its own software development tools to assist customers in developing software applications for baseband semiconductors.
The company, when requested, also provides certain customers with reference designs that incorporate its baseband semiconductors. These reference designs comprise a library of complete, pre-tested, mass manufacturing ready handset designs for specific market segments.
2G and 2.5G Baseband Semiconductors
The company offers two series of baseband semiconductor solutions that are designed for wireless handsets supporting the 2G and 2.5G technologies of GSM and GPRS. The SC6600 series of baseband semiconductors was first commercially released in April 2004. All of the models within the SC6600 series perform analog and digital signal processing and integrated power management, while more advanced models incorporate multimedia functionality. Integrated power management directs power to different components of a wireless handset, which can extend battery life. Additionally, the SC6600 series includes quad-band functionality. Quad-band functionality allows the wireless handset to support all four major GSM frequency bands, including the 850 and 1900 MHz bands that are used in the Americas and the 900 and 1800 MHz bands that are used in most other parts of the world, making it compatible with most major GSM networks worldwide.
The additional main features supported by the SC6600 series are a digital still camera with a resolution of up to 3 mega-pixels, USB1.1 devices, Bluetooth connectivity and an SD card. The multimedia functionality of the SC6600 series includes digital audio playback that supports MP3 and other music formats such as AAC, Motion JPEG and MPEG4 digital video playback and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback.
The models within the SC6600 series are designed for low-end handsets, value multimedia handsets and mid-range multimedia handsets. Value multimedia handsets are handsets that provide limited multimedia functionality such as ringtone playback and MP3 digital audio playback while mid-range multimedia handsets provide a set of multimedia functions, including ringtone playback, digital audio playback that supports MP3 and other music formats such as AAC and a basic digital still camera.
The SC6800 series of baseband semiconductors, which was first commercially released in October 2006, is designed for mid-range to high-end multimedia handsets and smart phones, which incorporate advanced multimedia functionality. In addition to standard baseband functionality and integrated power management, the company’s SC6800 baseband semiconductors support quad-band functionality, a digital still camera with a resolution of up to 5 mega-pixels with digital zooming of up to 16 times, USB on-the-go devices, Bluetooth connectivity and Java. The SC6800 series also provides TV-out, which enables the display of video images on a television set, and integrates advanced multimedia functionality, which includes digital audio playback that supports MP3 and other music formats such as WMA, AAC and AAC+, MPEG4 digital video playback and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback.
3G Baseband Semiconductors
The SC8800 series of baseband semiconductors was commercially released in October 2005 and is designed for value multimedia and mid-range to high-end multimedia wireless handsets that support TD-SCDMA and GSM/GPRS. The SC8800 baseband semiconductors support dual mode functionality, which enables wireless handsets to support 2G, 2.5G and 3G technologies, and incorporate integrated power management. Additionally, the SC8800 series supports a digital still camera with a resolution of up to 5 mega-pixels and provides TV-out. The SC8800 series incorporates multimedia functionality, which includes streaming video, video telephony, digital audio playback that supports MP3 and other music formats such as WMA, AAC and AAC+ and MPEG4 digital video playback, and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback.
Turnkey Solutions
The company provides turnkey solutions for customers who want a complete solution and to decrease the time-to-market for their products. As of December 31, 2006, the company’s turnkey solutions primarily included SM5100 series modules, SP7000 series handset boards, which are devices that combine baseband semiconductors and other third-party wireless handset components such as transceivers and memory semiconductors, and bundled solutions.
The SM5100 series modules, which were commercially released in April 2003, are GSM/GPRS turnkey solutions that incorporate the company’s SC6600 series of baseband semiconductors. The SM5100 series modules have quad-band functionality and incorporate TCP/IP stack access. SM5100 series modules have a relatively slim profile (less than 3 mm) and are designed for wireless data applications. They can be used in a variety of applications, including management and tracking systems, point-of-sale devices, metering and remote monitoring, wireless desktop phones and data modems.
The SP7000 series handset boards, which were introduced in 2004, are turnkey solutions in which baseband semiconductors and third-party wireless handset components are installed on a board, to meet the requirements of customers with less developed in-house capabilities. In addition, the company offers bundled solutions to certain customers. It develops reference designs based on customers’ specifications that integrate critical components, such as baseband semiconductors, software and third-party components.
Customers
The company sells products directly to brand manufacturers, IDHs and ODMs, many of whom are primarily located in China. Its customers integrate products into their wireless products. Brand manufacturers develop wireless handsets or desktop phones under their own brand name. IDHs design wireless handsets for brand manufacturers, and, in some cases, coordinate testing and assembly services of those wireless handsets for those brand manufacturers. ODMs provide end-to-end wireless handset design and system integration services to their customers.
Competition
The company primarily competes in China with baseband processor solutions providers, such as Analog Devices, Inc.; Infineon Technologies AG; MediaTek, Inc.; and Texas Instruments Incorporated. Its competitors would also include baseband processor solutions providers, such as Broadcom Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., and NXP Semiconductors.
History
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001.
