China Fabless: Rockchip rattled by Android tablet wars

Junko Yoshida, EETimes
9/25/2012 12:01 PM EDT

SHANGHAI – China fabless chip company Rockchip is caught between a rock and a hard place.

Just nine months ago, Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics, a developer of apps processor for tablets, looked almost invincible. The company introduced itself at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as China’s next rock star. “The sky is the limit,” Rockchip’s proclaimed in a press release.

While the sky hasn't exactly fallen on Rockchip since then, the Android-based media tablet market has gotten far more competitive. By volume, the Android tablet sector has grown to an estimated 80 million units, outpacing the 75 million iPads sold by Apple thus far, according to estimates by Rockchip vice president Feng Chen. But an equal explosion has occurred among suppliers of apps processors for Android-based tablets, with everyone chasing the same market.

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