It would seem that Qualcomm’s current tight grip on Windows Phone hardware will loosen starting from next year as Nokia has announced that the Finnish company has decided to use ST-Ericsson’s new NovaThor platform.
The NovaThor platform includes a range of chips; three of these are dual-core processors – the U8500, U5500 and also the flagship U9500. Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson has said “We are pleased to have been selected by Nokia as a key partner for Windows smartphones, in line with our goal to be present in all segments and major operating systems. Our NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market.”
It’s good news for consumers as it should mean there will be more choice when it comes to Windows hardware, which originally was tightly controlled by Microsoft. It also confirms that dual-core chips are also coming to WP7 devices. It’s believed though that this is not an exclusive deal, meaning that Qualcomm chipsets are still likely to appear in Nokia’s Windows Phone devices.
At the moment Nokia has yet to confirm the specific devices that will use the NovaThor platform, or when such devices will go in to production. Although as soon as we have any information, you can be assured we’ll let you know.
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