The Inquirer is reporting that Qualcomm does not have an arrangement to be the sole chip provider for the next generation of Windows 7 phones. Qualcomm made the claim earlier this year, contradicting a statement from ST-Ericsson made days earlier. Now Qualcomm’s VP of Product Management Raj Talluri is admitting that “there is no written exclusive,” according to the report. Snapdragon is the reference chip for use in Microsoft’s WP7 devices.
Talluri said the choice of Snapdragon chips as the reference design for Windows phone in the absence of an exclusivity agreement was a testament to the merits of Qualcomm’s design. He also said Qualcomm had been chosen for Windows Next phones, Microsoft’s working product name for Windows 8. When pressed he said the two companies were working closely to optimize the Snapdragon build for Windows 8, but stopped short of saying the company had an exclusive arrangement with Microsoft.
