ST-Ericssona's integrated applications processor and modem,NovaThor,recorded 28%sequential growth in shipments in Q2,according to Strategy Analytics.
While Qualcomm maintained its lead position with 48%of the apps processor market,Broadcom and MediaTek are emerging as credible challengers to Qualcomm.Mediatek is now No.3 in apps processors.
The two challengers are highly competitive in the low-end Android smartphone market with their baseband-integrated applications processor products.
Mediatek has grown shipments by 13x in between H1 2011 and H1 2012.
The global smartphone apps processor market grew 61%year-on-year in H1 to reach$5.5bn.
Broadcom ranked number four in 1H 2012 with the help of its strategic low-end Android smartphone design-wins at Samsung.
Intel took a minor 0.2%unit shipment share in 1H 2012 with the help of its 32 nm-based Medfield processor.
Qualcomm's early LTE modem leadership has helped the company to stay ahead of the competition,says Strategy Analytics,while Mediatek continues to leverage its strong position in the strategic Chinese smartphone market to boost its share.
