Microsoft Windows Phone Doesn't Support Dual-Core CPU to Protect Nokia?
11/25/2011 by: Marcus Pollice
As reported by the wmpoweruser.com website, an interesting tidbit about Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" was revealed. Apparently Microsoft wanted to integrate support for dual-core CPUs, but opted to not do so in order to provide Nokia a competitive advantage. According to the website, the plan was to allow them to offer the first dual-core WP7 smartphone in the future. Our sources pegged the launch of Nokia Windows Phone 7.5 Lumia 900 Series for Mobile World Congress in February 2012.
By the time this "exclusive" dual-core WP7 phone will be ready, a smartphone including a dual-core CPU won't be something special anymore. Over the course of 2011 more than 50 dual-core Android handsets emerged, like the LG Optimus 2X, 3D, Speed, Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Sensation, Motorola Droid, Razr and many others. With the iPhone 4S Apple also jumped on the dual-core train this fall. Nokia will join this not at all exclusive club sometime next year, we can only assume. The first WP7 devices from Nokia launched about a month ago lacked a second CPU core.
Nokia Lumia 800 Phone has a lot of features passed over from N9 smartphone, but it lacks contemporary hardware features.
The reasoning allegedly is, that if Microsoft would support dual-core chips right away in their software, competitors like Samsung or HTC could beat Nokia to the market. As Microsoft has signed a broad strategic partnership with Nokia, they want to make sure their partner is able to reap some benefits too. We reported on numerous occasions how Nokia's decision to side with Microsoft cannibalized their Symbian sales. At this point we doubt a first to market dual-core WP7.5 device will help Nokia that much, as dual-core CPUs should trickle down into the mainstream segment in 2012.
With the availability of NVIDIAs Tegra 3 handset makers could actually start to offer a smartphone integrating a quad-core CPU. HTC Edge is rumored to be based on NVIDIA Tegra 3, same as gaming phone from Samsung Galaxy series. While the possibilities are there, it remains to be seen whether that much processing power is actually needed in a smartphone. Aside from gaming we don't see a lot of applications that truly need it. At least NVIDIA thought about that as well and integrated a 5th low power core that is used when there is no need for high compute power. This allows a future quad-core smartphone to have comparable battery life than dual-core models of today.
Tags:
Microsoft, MSFT, Nokia, NOK, Windows, Windows Phone, Mango, Windows Phone 7.5, WP7, WP7.5, Dual-core, Quad-Core, Qualcomm, QCOM, Snapdragon, SoC, CPU, ARM, Cortex-A9, NVIDIA, NVDA, Tegra, TI, OMAP, OMAP4, Cortex-A15, TSMC, 40nm, 28nm, Samsung, HTC, LG, Optimus, Galaxy, Sensation
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