Qualcomm announces three more Snapdragon S4 series processors

Firm promise to bring quad-core processing prowess to budget smartphones

Qualcomm has announced three new additions to its Snapdragon S4 Play and Plus line of processors.

The MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q S4 Play processors will be available in dual- and quad-core versions and are reportedly designed for use on entry level smartphones.

Qualcomm stated that the third S4 Plus MSM8930 processor is designed to target the Chinese market and will not be used on devices in the UK.

"Our broad portfolio of Snapdragon S4 mobile processors delivers the optimal balance of features and performance for the high-volume smartphone segment," said Qualcomm senior vice president Cristiano Amon.

"By offering both dual-core and quad-core CPU versions of the Snapdragon S4 Play processor, we are providing our OEM and operating partners a competitive and differentiated platform."

The new S4 play series processors are designed to ensure manufacturers are able to replace designs using Qualcomm's earlier Snapdragon S1-based designs with the MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q.

This means that smartphone makers, like HTC, Huawei and ZTE, could use the chips on existing designs to create new, improved versions of old handsets.

Qualcomm confirmed that the processors are LTE compatible, meaning they could be used to help build affordable 4G-enabled smartphones to run with on EE's high-speed 4G network set to be live in a few weeks.

The chip maker forecast expectations that the Snapdragon S4 Play processors will be ready for customer sampling by the end of the year and expects the first devices to hit the shelves by the end 2013's first quarter.