Samsung used low cost chip for Samsung GALAXY Nexus

A breakdown of the Samsung GALAXY Nexus by ABI Research revealed that the Korean based manufacturer used a low cost LTE chip in Verizon's variant of the phone. The newer chip offers the same high-data performance as the older one, but at half the $23 cost according to ABI Research. It is smart purchasing like this that has enabled a company like Pantech to offer an LTE enabled phone like the Pantech Burst, for under $50 with a signed 2-year contract. And by making phones that support LTE cheaper, it helps spread the use of  the technology globally.

ABI Research says that the Samsung GALAXY Nexus modem is constructed with the combination of a Via Telecom CDMA/EVDO Rev. A integrated circuit and a Samsung LTE baseband integrated circuit. While this combination is now considered the standard for Samsung's smartphones for Verizon, the new version of the LTE chip is where Samsung is saving half the $23 cost of the older version of the chip, without losing performance. 

Another interesting discovery made by ABI Research is that the 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 application processor found in the unit matched the performance and power of the 1.2GHz Exynos chip used on some models of the Samsung Galaxy S II. As stated in the report, "The OMAP4460 matched the performance and power consumption for graphics and video test but consumed significantly more power in computational intensive tests."

Other discoveries made in the teardown include the phone's support for NFC with the antenna embedded in the battery (which was also discovered in iFixit's teardown of the same phone), the use of a CSR GPS single chip and ther inclusion of a Broadcom Wi-Fi/BT/FM single chip.

source: ABIResearch via MobileBurn