Competition of quad-core smartphones to heat up in 4Q12, say sources

Competition for quad-core smartphones will heat up in the fourth quarter of 2012, triggering by the roll-out of much speculated new iPhone and models built based on Qualcomm's quad-core chips, according to industry sources.

HTC, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and China-based Meizu were the first wave of branded vendors to launch quad-cored smartphone vendors in the second quarter of 2012, the sources noted.

Although ZTE and Huawei Device did unveil their respective quad-core models at 2012 MWC trade fair, the two China-based vendors will delay the launch of quad-core smartphones until this quarter, indicated the sources.

Qualcomm plans to begin volume production of its quad-core integrated platform solutions in the second half of the year, which will enable more vendors to bring out competitive quad-core models.

Additionally, Apple is also expected to release its next-generation iPhone built on Samsung's Exynos 4 quad-core processor in the second half, heating up competition in the segment, commented the sources.

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