MediaTek embeds Yahoo services in low cost platforms
Yahoo first of a series of web services partners, as the Chinese chipmaker incorporates apps within its runtime environment
Published: 2 June, 2011
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The low cost handset industry thrives on reference designs and integrated platforms that require minimal input from the vendor. But MediaTek, whose wireless chips are mainly targeted at white label featurephones, is going a step further, and also embedding mobile web services in its platforms via a deal with Yahoo.
MediaTek stresses that Yahoo will be just the first of a line of web apps partners, and that the deal has global reach. The first services supported are Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Flickr, News, Weather, Finance, Cricket and Answers. It will embed mobile internet services with the Chinese firm's MAUI runtime environment (MRE), a middleware technology designed to help developers deploy services and content on what MediaTek calls 'smart featurephones'.
Although its new plan could certainly be relevant to mass market smartphones, which are increasingly driving handset growth, for now it is focusing mainly on a breed of handsets that it believes are often neglected by major apps houses. These are low end phones which lack a fully fledged operating system and downloads capability, but have a browser and some limited storage capacity. These models still account for the bulk of the installed base in many countries and their users are increasingly interested in web services. Vendors like Myriad Technologies and Opera Mobile have also been stepping up their efforts to bring the web to these user bases.
MediaTek said it was working with handset makers such as Cherry Mobile, Spice Group and Nexian to develop phones that incorporate MRE and its associated applications. As well as pre-integrating a runtime and the Yahoo apps into handsets, the new partners are also collaborating on featurephone widgets, and also on moving into mass smartphones with Android services.
The Chinese giant is seeking to differentiate its offering from those of the rising tide of low cost cellphone chipmakers, but it has had limited success so far in moving up into the 3G smartphone arena, despite being the first licensee of NTT DoCoMo's LTE technology. It has increasingly been looking to software partnerships to add value for its customers, and has an important R&D pact with Microsoft to expand Windows Phone in China. It has also joined the Android group, Open Handset Alliance (OHA). But while optimizing key mobile operating systems for its processors will be an obvious step in moving up the value chain, its Yahoo deal goes further than any player bar Qualcomm into the applications layer.
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