Spreadtrum, MStar and Infineon gaining ground in China white-box handset market

Handset solutions vendors, including Spreadtrum Communications, MStar Semiconductor and Infineon Technologies, have gained ground in the white-box handset market at the expense of MediaTek, which has recently allocated more resources to strengthen its ties with handset brand vendors, according to industry sources.

Compared with supplying China's white-box makers, working with brand vendors requires a much larger commitment in resources, the sources said. White-box makers typically adopt MediaTek's reference designs with very little modifications, which is far different from the countless customization processes needed to break into the supply chain of brand vendors, the sources added.

With the Chinese government's recent crackdown on the white-box sector and the rising popularity of functionally more advanced handsets, it is imperative for MediaTek to enter other areas of growth, said the sources.

Although MediaTek is currently working with LG Electronics, Motorola and Sharp, volumes for the vendors remain small and have yet to generate sales in proportion with the resources it has committed, the sources pointed out. Furthermore, with several handset chipset providers gaining ground in the white-box segment, MediaTek is being tested from both ends of the handset market.