HTC to use Qualcomm chips in 10 handsets this year

Taiwan's High Tech Computer (HTC), the world's largest developer of smartphones that use Microsoft software, plans to launch more than 10 mobile phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants) armed with Qualcomm chips by the end of this year, the companies said Wednesday.

HTC is the first company to launch smartphones based on Qualcomm's latest chip sets, the dual-core Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7500. The company will use another chip set in the family, the MSM7200, in several of the Qualcomm-based handsets it plans to release by the end of this year.

HTC has been working with Qualcomm for years, and its technology is already inside the HTC Mogul and Titan II handsets, said Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC, at a news conference in Taipei.

The company has aimed some of the handsets at the U.S. market, but it shouldn't run into any problems from an import ban related to certain Qualcomm chips, said Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, at the news conference.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned the import of new models of phones and PDAs that hit the market after June 7 and contain certain Qualcomm chips, as the result of a patent infringement dispute between Qualcomm and rival Broadcom.

Some companies have found ways to work around the import ban through licenses with Broadcom. Verizon Wireless last month agreed to pay Broadcom $6 for every handset, PDA (personal digital assistant) or data card that uses the mobile broadband technology at the heart of the dispute, EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized).

Jacobs also said his company remains in discussions with Broadcom over the issue and he expects to reach a deal at some point. "Broadcom wants to be in the chipset business, so they'll need some licenses from us," he said.