B-I-N-G-O ...
Ed,
<< Panasonic, Apple, Samsung and LG all started buying 2G chips from Infineon and eventually upgraded to 3g chips. Why would Nokia be any different? I see no reason why Nokia wouldn't also follow this trend. ... Because Nokia doesn't need 4 suppliers. >>
... and Nokia has publicly explained the rationale for that and how they segment multi-source supply for their handset product range. Supply chain management would be unwieldy even for Nokia who sells way more 2G GSM, GSM/GPRS GSM/EDGE, and 3GSM (WEDGE/HEDGE) handsets than any of the smaller Tier 1 and Tier 2 mobile device ODMs. Beyond 2 is a special case, and Qualcomm satisfies that special case requirement (early LTE development commitment, integrated WCDMA/HSPA/CDMA2000 and Symbian enabled A-processor, high USA penetration and profile, proximity to Nokia San Diego, exceptionally stable financially, etc.).
Best,
- Eric -