China's white-box tablet players have been turning to adopt application processor (AP) solutions from Intel and MediaTek for their 3G and LTE-enabled models because of Intel's subsidies for tablet products and MediaTek solutions' pricing advantages, according to sources from China's white-box supply chain.
In the past, low-cost solutions from chipmakers such as Allwinner Technology and Rockchip were the favorites among white-box manufacturers, but as demand for 3G and LTE tablets is picking up, white-box players have started seeking options to produce such tablets at lower costs, the sources noted.
Intel is currently offering its dual-core Atom Z2520 for 7-inch models and Atom 3735G for 8-inch ones, while MediaTek is mainly pushing solutions such as 8382 for the white-box tablet market, the sources said.
Intel's 7-inch tablet solution is currently priced at about US$20 and the 7.85-inch one around US$27. With a LTE module, which raises the overall cost by about US$20, a 7-inch Intel-based white-box tablet currently has an ex-factory price of about US$50, the sources detailed.
A 3G white-box tablet using MediaTek's solution has a competitive ex-factory price of US$39.9, the sources added.
To counter, Allwinner, Rockchip and Amlogic have also been aggressively releasing new products. Allwinner is currently promoting its eight-core A80 chip to vie for orders from clients, while Amlogic is mainly pushing its M8 series chips especially the M802, which supports Ultra HD displays. Rockchip has recently released its new quad-core RK3288 as well as products that support wearable and LTE devices.
