Qualcomm has sat nice and pretty as being the only chip powering Windows Phone. However, the exclusive reign that Microsoft had with Qualcomm may be coming to an end with an official announcement from ST-Ericsson powering their NovaThor processor in Nokia Windows Phones.
NOKIA SELECTS ST-ERICSSON AS SUPPLIER FOR FUTURE WINDOWS PHONE DEVICES
November 02, 2011
NovaThor™ platform to enable Nokia to extend Windows Phone devices to new price points and geographies
Geneva, Switzerland, November 2, 2011 – Nokia has selected ST-Ericsson as a supplier for future devices it plans to introduce based on the Windows Phone mobile platform.
“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,” said Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson. “Our NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market.”
The news comes as a shock for a variety of reasons. NovaThor processors are known to power some international (albeit cheaper priced) dual core devices. Two main issues with the agreement: Windows Phone lacks official support for dual core processors, and this is not Qualcomm. Now it’s very possible that by the time Tango is released, the support for dual core could be there. Alternatively, it is possible that ST-Ericsson will be releasing new single core chipsets to power Nokia Windows Phone. Currently, that is the only thing that can possibly make some sense considering there is no announcement of the type of chips that ST-Ericsson is using in the Nokia devices.
Ironically, some hardware fragmentation continues on the Windows Phone. But sometimes, diversity can be a very good thing if it means cutting the cost of phones to the consumer or offering better choices. Just, don’t make it similar to a green robot’s fragmentation kay? Thanks.
