Nokia/Microsoft to use ST-Ericsson U8500 ARM Cortex-A9 in Windows Phone 8

Posted by Charbax – May 20, 2011

Forbes reports from Carlo Bozotti, the Chief Executive of European semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics, that Nokia will use the ST-Ericsson U8500 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 with Mali-400 in at least some of its upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices to be released as soon as Nokia and Microsoft are able to make them ready. Here’s a video I filmed with ST-Ericsson showing this processor platform:

The move marks a major shift for Windows Phone devices, which up to now have used chips from wireless technology giant Qualcomm. Even the HTC Trophy, which Verizon Wireless announced today — making it the latest Windows Phone to launch in the U.S. — has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

The uniformity is the result of Microsoft’s precise design guidelines for Windows Phone manufacturers. In the run-up to its big Windows Phone launch in the fall of 2010, Microsoft asked handset makers including HTC, LG, Samsung and Dell to utilize the same chipsets, display size and number of camera megapixels to give users a consistent experience across devices.

Earlier this year, however, Microsoft indicated it planned to open up Windows Phone development to other chipmakers. It now appears that ST-Ericsson, a joint venture between Geneva-based STMicroelectronics and Swedish telecom equipment and services supplier Ericsson, has been admitted to the Windows Phone ecosystem.

Another crazy rumor from Eldar Murtazin (who has been right before..) has been suggesting that Microsoft may be in talks to try buy Nokia’s Mobile Phone business flat out, probably for a bunch of tens of billions of dollars. Can you believe that?

My opinion is that Microsoft knows the ARM Powered mobile device space is where the future of technology is at, so short of yet releasing a Windroid fork of Linux based Android (that could launch Bing, own apps store etc..), Microsoft is probably going to do everything that they can to try to remain relevant in the smartphone and tablet space. Even if that might mean a $40 Billion buy-out of Nokia. Should the Finnish Nokia owners sell out to Redmond?

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  • Anonymous

    Should Nokia sell out to MS? Yes! I mean as far as I’m concerned they are pretty much a MS division already. Might as well get some more money out of it. For the same reason I’m not certain it’s a good deal for MS. At least they might want to wait until Q3/Q4 market share reports are out confirming a huge blow to nokia sales so MS could buy them for essentially nothing.

    Perhaps there’ll be an interesting startup from the some of the smarter guys in the massive layoffs to come in Nokia.

  • Pug_ster

     I don’t know about the market value of Nokia, but the last I heard that it is lower than HTC.  Nokia is a sad company where they just adopted the wrong standards and they are paying the price.

  • TotoARM

     This is little annoying, because ST Ericsson U8500 & the better U9500 are just the two more open plateform for Linux/Linaro développement. And Nokia seem to works both with Meegoo and Linaro, two open systems based on Linux.
    The main avantage is the opensource Mesa/opengl driver for mali 400.
    Well Armlogic, and the future Samsung ARM SoC  made both a cpu with mali 400 too. I’m feeling Linaro will be a more viable alternative than Google Linux/Android. There already lot of more stable application, system could be ready quickly and faster, and no Google/Microsoft overcontrol of the device and it’s personal datas.

  • http://www.facebook.com/strivearth Zen Strive

    If Microsoft buys Nokia outright, then it’s a doomsday on global scale

  • tuoppikake

    Finnish Nokia? LOL! It’s been a Siemens’ bitch for time now.. As Nokia said that all (or at least most of them) future phones are going to have Win 8 phone in them. Nokia’s problem has been all these years, that they make too many different phone models. That’s crazy! Use of ARM processors have been quite big nowadays. And Nokia has a big slice of the market. But as a Finnish guy I’ve watched for couple of years all the people Nokia has laid off.. thousands of them! All good workers.. And all the units sold to the highest bidder. With them it’s going down and it would be a very stupid move for MS to buy the phone market.. Well, at least Nokia has them car tires so no worries!

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