Just yesterday we reported on the ST-Ericsson U6715, a mobile chipset that would bring smartphones down to the 100 EUR ($135) level. Today Marvell announced their Pantheon platform, and they’re going even lower, $99 (75 EUR). Technical details are in short supply, but Marvell does mention that these chips are currently sampling, so it’s likely that we’re going to see a device based on this platform within 12 to 18 months. To quote the press release:
The Pantheon platforms reflect an architectural evolution of Marvell’s field-proven tri-core architecture solution. Built from the ground-up to deliver extremely cost effective, high performance highly integrated systems, the Pantheon platforms have over 800Mhz dedicated ARM compliant application processors, dual ARM and DSP processors for modem functionality, 720p video, over 20 million triangles, DirectX, Open GL ES 2.0 compliant 3D graphics, MIPI compliant camera, RF interfaces, and support for Android, Windows Mobile and other leading operating systems.
I hate to say I told you so, but one of my predictions for 2010 was that manufacturers are going to work their asses off trying to make cheaper and cheaper smartphones. With Mobile World Congress only 3 days away now, I’m curious to see just how low can prices go.
Oh and don’t be fooled by that 800 MHz specification either, it’s most certainly not based on ARM’s powerful v7 architecture. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was ARM v6, or even ARM v5!