Qualcomm has announced a new chipset, Snapdragon 210. The low cost Chipset comes with LTE capability and is thus expected to facilitate a range of low cost 4G capable smartphones.
Based on 28nm architecture, the Snapdragon 210 consists of a 1.1 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, Adreno 304 GPU, Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11n WiFi. It comes with support for display resolutions of up to 720p, up to 8-megapixel cameras and QuickCharge 2.0.
More importantly, this chip supports multi-mode 3G as well as Dual-Mode LTE and dual-SIM. According to Qualcomm, this chipset will enable device manufacturer to offer LTE capable devices in sub-$100 (Rs 6,000 approximately) category.
Just a day ago, Nokia indicated that it may launch low cost 4G phones in India. Currently, its Lumia 635 which costs about Rs 11,300 is the cheapest 4G phone in its arsenal, but it is yet to be made available in India. The Xolo LT900 is thus the cheapest 4G phone in India. There are several 4G handsets in the country too but all are priced in the mid or high range.
With 4G, consumers may get 10-12 times more internet speed than the existing 3G network. Currently, Bharti Airtel offers 4G connectivity in few circles – Kolkata, Pune, Bangalore, and Chandigarh. Aircel too offers 4G services in Telangana , Assam, Bihar, and Odisha.