Siemens Phones to Use Motorola Chips

BERLIN (AP) _ German electronics giant Siemens said Monday it will use chips and software being developed by U.S. rival Motorola in its next generation of mobile phones. <br><br>No financial details of

Monday, April 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BERLIN (AP) _ German electronics giant Siemens said Monday it will use chips and software being developed by U.S. rival Motorola in its next generation of mobile phones.

No financial details of the agreement were released.

Under a cooperation agreement, Munich-based Siemens said it will use Motorola technology in its version of the so-called third-generation handsets that phone makers and mobile network operators hope will attract customers with features such as high-speed Internet access, video and music-playing functions.

Siemens said it will introduce new third-generation phones by the end of this year based on Motorola's A820 handset, with Siemens models that use the Chicago-based company's more powerful i.300 platform to follow in early 2004.

The move will help ``achieve rapid adoption of this new technology in the market place,'' Siemens director Rudi Lamprecht said in a statement. ``We are poised to take advantage of tremendous growth opportunities.''

Motorola President Edward Breen said the deal confirmed that the company's wireless technology ``meets market expectations.''

Talks between Siemens, the No. 3 maker of mobile phones, and second-ranked Motorola have been rumored for months, a sign of the pressure on telecoms firms to find ways to share costs after a downturn in demand. Both companies have announced plans to ax thousands of jobs in order to shore up earnings.

Shares in Siemens were up 1.1 percent at 67.95 euros ($59.88) in trading in Frankfurt. Motorola shares were up 49 cents at $13.93 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.