Texas Instruments is looking beyond smartphones and tablets for its OMAP chips as it struggles to compete with Qualcomm and handset maker’s own processors. The company is looking at embedded applications such as automotive, industrial, enterprise communication, vision and robotics, to “grow the OMAP footprint beyond mobile.”
TI did manage to score deals with Amazon and Barnes & Noble for their Kindle Fire and NOOK tablets. However, Qualcomm is the industry’s behemoth, offering integrated solutions with cellular radios. Plus, let’s not forget NVidia, which managed to get more-than-decent share of the high-end smartphone/tablet market. On the other hand, major handset manufacturers like Samsung and Apple are now making their own chips.
TI’s fifth generation chips with Cortex-A15 cores are on track and we should see first consumer products using these processors in early 2013. Long-term, however, TI is better off expanding to other markets as we’re not sure how long they’ll be able to compete.
And let’s not forget that NVidia is also looking beyond mobile, having struck deals with BMW and Audi for their in-car infotainment systems.