Samsung Drops Qualcomm, Decides On Infineon Chipsets

Samsung, who previously relied wholly on Qualcomm for its chipsets, is moving toward using mobile chipsets from Infineon instead. They will also be using this shift as an opportunity to reduce costs, and also as leverage in future negotiations.

Qualcomm currently holds many patents for CDMA and 3G technologies, and has been taken to court before for its allegedly unfair pricing structure. Samsung has stated that Infineon chipsets come at a 20% discount versus Qualcomm’s, and with the same quality standards. This move will most likely have repercussions throughout the industry, as other manufacturers look to possibly move away from Qualcomm’s chipsets.