QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is looking to emerging markets to provide growth opportunities for its business as demand for smartphones in developed countries wanes. To that effect, Qualcomm has unveiled a chipset known as 205 Mobile Platform that is aimed at smartphones on the lower end of the market.
The 205 mobile chips were unveiled in New Delhi, India and are now available to manufacturers of mobile phones. Beginning in the second quarter of this year, mobile phones featuring these chips will become available at retail outlets around the world.
4G Internet
With the 205 mobile chipset, feature phones and low-priced smartphones will be able to access 4G LTE networks that are sprouting in emerging economies such as India, Brazil and other countries in Southeast Asia.
“India and the Southeast Asia regions present growth opportunities in the telecom space with 4G adoption rising and continued adoption of feature phones,” Qualcomm’s president for India and the Asia Pacific region Jim Cathey wrote in a statement.
Double SIM-card slots
These chips will not be capable of the high speeds that the top end ones are able to achieve, however. Instead of 1Gbps speeds that are associated with its high-end chips, the low-end chips will have speeds of 150 Mbps. To enhance affordability of devices even the camera will be a low-end one at only 3 megapixels. The devices will also have features that allow for calls to be made over Wi-Fi. These mobile phones will also have double SIM-card slots and will be capable of streaming HD video.
Fast growth
Qualcomm’s strategy is backed by facts as overall global sales of smartphones grew by 2% in 2016 while the growth in developing economies was much faster. In India for instance, a report by JP Morgan indicates that growth of smartphone sales will reach 15% in 2015. Part of that growth will be brought about by the fast-growing carrier, Jio. The telecommunications firm added 100 million users in 2016 and plans to get to 400 million users in the near future.
In Monday’s trading session, shares of Qualcomm Inc edged up by 0.45% to close the day at $57.81.