In a weird twist of fate, former enemies Nokia and Qualcomm joined forces and said they will collaborate on next-gen devices initially for the North American market. The UMTS phones will be launched in mid-2010 and will run on the Symbian OS S60 series and use Qualcomm's chipsets.
The announcement may come as a surprise as the two wireless powerhouses had long been bitter enemies. However, they mended fences last July when they resolved a three-year patent battle by entering into a new 15-year patent agreement that settled all litigation between the companies.
The move is significant. Nokia wants to bolster its presence in North America, which has been relatively small compared to its market share in other regions. And Qualcomm is anxious to get more handset makers to use its UMTS chipsets.
For more:
- see this release [1]
Related Articles:
Qualcomm [2], Nokia reach new patent agreement, end years of bitter disputes
Nokia: [3] no more large acquisitions needed
Nokia's [4] profit drops 69% amid weak sales, uncertainty
Nokia [5] issues a new market warning
Qualcomm [6] puts Android on Snapdragon devices
Qualcomm [7] buys AMD handheld assets for $65M
Toshiba [8] unveils new smartphone running on Snapdragon
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/nokia-and-qualcomm-plan-develop-advanced-mobile-devices-1
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/qualcomm-nokia-reach-new-patent-agreement-end-years-bitter-disputes/2008-07-24
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nokia-no-more-large-acqusitions-needed/2009-02-13
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nokias-profit-drops-69-amid-weak-sales-uncertainty/2009-01-22
[5] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nokia-issues-fresh-market-warning/2008-12-04
[6] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/qualcomm-puts-android-snapdragon-devices/2009-01-09
[7] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/qualcomm-buys-amd-handheld-assets-65m/2009-01-20
[8] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/toshiba-unveils-new-smartphone-running-snapdragon/2009-02-03