The next big play in broadband is delivering carrier services to multiple consumer devices in the home over a variety of wired and wireless networks. So chipmakers need to be able to provide a portfolio of Wi-Fi, powerline and coax solutions for STBs, gateways and other devices.

Marvell's net income for the second quarter ended July 30 nearly quadrupled to US$219.8 million, compared with US$58 million a year ago. The results gave it confidence to start buying back stock, according to the chipmaker.

Plextor, a maker of optical drives, has announced the release of its first-generation SSDs that use Marvell controller chipsets. Plextor SSDs are available now, with MSRP around US$225 for 64GB and US$400 for 128GB.

Samsung, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments already use ARM designed chip cores. Intel used to have an ARM license too, but flogged it to Marvell.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvell makes GPS chips that go into cell phones and other gadgets. It said the deal will allow it to tailor products for high performance and low power consumption. Under the terms of the agreement, Marvell gains direct access to Trimble's GSP software and tools for development support and testing, Marvell said.