Broadcom to supply HTC with 3.5G chipsets

HTC SEEMS SET to add Broadcom to its list of 3.5G chipset suppliers in a bid to become more cheap and cheerful.

According to DigiTimes, HTC also wants to use Broadcom because it feels it might be too dependant on Qualcomm.

While Qualcomm might be a okay as a chipset supplier, it has been snarled up a few court cases in its time which have threatened supply to other customers.

HTC apparently believes that sharing the risk with a Qualcomm rival might be a bit more sensible. Unless both Broadcom and Qualcomm get sued, of course.

HTC has also been chatting with Nvidia about using its Tegra CPUs paired with 3.5G baseband chips coming from ST-Ericsson. However, so far no Tegra-based handsets have been shipped.

Perhaps the biggest advantage though is that Broadcom's dual-core CPUs are cheaper.

HTC is keen on getting more into the low and middle segments of the market where price is a major factor for people in deciding what gear they buy. µ