Nokia has added ST-Ericsson to its roster of chipmakers for Windows Phone devices, which currently only includes high-end Snapdragon chipmaker, Qualcomm.
According to Dow Jones, you'll be seeing ST-Ericsson's NovaThor chips in the next version of Windows Phone, dubbed Windows Phone 8.
"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," Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson, said in a statement. "Our NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market."
The Swiss component maker is expected to drive down the cost of Nokia smartphones running on Windows Phone; last month Nokia announced the Lumia 800 ($577) and Lumia 710 ($371) for select countries.
It's no secret Microsoft wants its mobile OS on cheaper handsets. Last week Windows Phone head Andy Lees told Bloomberg it hopes to make smartphones for "less than $200" some day. "Volume, volume, volume" was Lees's goal.
Nvidia also has its eyes on Windows Phone and is planning to "face down Qualcomm" with a combined processor/baseband chipset in 2013 called "Grey," according to Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. Nvidia is also targeting the upcoming chipset at Android, Linux, and Windows 8.
Last month, Qualcomm released a white paper with details on its upcoming MSM8960 "S4" chipset for phones and tablets. It's supposed to easily switch between LTE and slower networks, support Windows 8, and enjoy a longer battery life than Nvidia's competing Kal-El platform, Qualcomm said.