ST-Ericsson To Supply Chips For Nokia Windows Phones

ST-Ericsson has announced that it is to provide dual-core chips for future Nokia Windows Phones.

Qualcomm has been the sole supplier of chipsets for Windows Phone devices to date, but the selection of ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor platform will allow for the creation of phones at multiple price points.

More affordable phones?

ST-Ericsson, a joint-venture between STMicroelectronics and Ericsson, currently supply seven of the nine largest handset makers in the world. Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson was recently bought by Sony, allowing the company to focus on sales of its wireless equipment.

“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.”

He added that the company wouldn’t be the exclusive provider of chipsets, but would attempt to supply semiconductors “as early as possible in as many devices as possible”.

Last week at Nokia World, Nokia unveiled its first phones running Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system – the Nokia 710 and 800 – since the two companies agreed a strategic partnership to increase their respective shares in the smartphone market.

Nokia is still the largest mobile manufacturer in the world by volume, but has seen its share of the smartphone market steadily erode in recent years. However its mid-range “feature” phones have been one of the company’s successes.

Windows Phone has so far been positioned at the high-end of the market but Microsoft is reportedly interested in creating more affordable handsets in an effort to combat rival operating systems Android and iOS.