Marvell’s Pantheon Processors Promise $99 Smartphones, Its Armada 618 CPU Takes Aim at Snapdragon

Just days after announcing the Armada 618, a high-end 1-GHz processor that goes after Snapdragon with its support for 1080p video, 3D graphics, and wireless-N Wi-Fi, Marvell is now going after budget smartphones. Marvell announced its line of Pantheon processors with more accessible $99 smartphones in mind. The Pantheon platform makes similar claims as Armada 818– support for 720p video, 3D gaming, Wi-Fi, long battery life– but their clock speeds are lower, at around 800-MHz. Pantheon processors are compatible with Windows Mobile, Android, and “other” mobile operating systems.

I’m hoping to see demos of both processors at Mobile World Congress next week. Stay tuned.