There's a trend underfoot to bring high-end smartphone capabilities down to a price that even Joe Sixpack is willing to swill. We saw evidence of this from MediaTek earlier in the week, and now the crew at Renesas is looking to join the race with its MP5232 system on a chip (SoC). This entrant touts a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, along with HSPA+ and LTE radios on the same chip -- much like offerings from competitors Qualcomm and ST-Ericsson. Renesas estimates that with its SoC, a smartphone can be delivered to the customer for as little as $150 -- mind you, carrier subsidies should be able to swallow the rest. Renesas is also pushing its chip to tablet makers, and expects products with its internals to reach consumers in as little as six to nine months. If you're an OEM (or just wanna pretend), you'll find the full PR after the break.
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