The global handset semiconductor market has registered an estimated revenue growth of about 15% in 2010 compared to 2009, on a shipment growth of 13%, according to a report by ABI Research.
Between the end of 2008 and the end of 2009, smartphone shipments grew about 19%, while growth over the course of 2010 surged a further 71%, according to the report.
The rising smartphone demand resulted in a YoY revenue growth of 34% for application processors. Among connectivity chipsets, Wi-Fi grew 62% in the same period.
The top ten application processor suppliers, including Qualcomm, TI, Samsung, Apple, and Marvell, together accounted for some 85% of all revenues for the segment in 2010, said the report.
In 2010, baseband processor revenue grew approximately 11%; the top four suppliers, Qualcomm, MediaTek, TI and ST-Ericsson together earned 82% of the total.
Qualcomm led the global handset baseband market in CDMA and W-CDMA segments, while MediaTek took the top position in GSM/GPRS/EDGE and TD-SCDMA segments, ABI Research report said.
ABI Research practice director Peter Cooney said consistent demand for smartphones has become the major driver behind semiconductor market growth.
"In view of the return on investment (ROI) and the technological barriers to entry, many semiconductor vendors are contemplating merger and acquisition strategies to align their technologies for the future," Cooney said.
"The total revenue delivered by handset semiconductors is set to continue growing over the next five years, driven primarily by the growing numbers of ICs supporting multiple functions in the next generations of smartphones."
