Samsung Chooses VIA over Qualcomm for DROID Charge's CDMA Chip

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics has reportedly decided to use a VIA Telecom chip for ensuring the CDMA radios on its DROID Charge handset instead of launching the smartphone with a chipset coming from Qualcomm.

The DRIOD Charge is Samsung's Android-based smartphone that landed on shelves at Verizon Wireless in the United States only a few months ago.

According to a recent report from DigiTimes, Samsung's move might be the beginning of an assault on Qualcomm's lead on the CDMA markets in the country and in other areas of the world.

At the moment, the DROID Charge is said to include both the said CDMA chipset from VIA, as well as a series of proprietary components from Samsung, such as the baseband chip for 4G LTE radios.

“We have been following Samsung's decision-making closely for some time, and we see a trend towards using suppliers from closer to home, in the East-Asia region,” James Mielke, ABI Research VP of Engineering, stated.

“For example, the RF for both CDMA and LTE in this phone is supplied by Korea-based vendor FCI,” he continued.

The research firm believes that Samsung's decision to adopt another chip for one of its high-end devices would be a significant shift in component sourcing strategy.

Chances are that Samsung would not include the VIA chipset only in the CDMA devices that it plans on releasing on the United States market, but that it would make a similar move for all handsets it launching with this 3G standard on board.

“While the choice of VIA Telecom is not critical if restricted to this one model, if a similar switch away from Qualcomm chipsets occurred across all Samsung's CDMA phone models, it would represent a real challenge to the market's status quo,” Mielke added.

However, Samsung did not offer specific info on the matter, and chances are that DROID Charge would be the only handset it released on shelves with VIA components inside, though it remains to be seen whether new similar devices are on the pipe as well.

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DROID 3 Only $69.99 at Amazon Now

Motorola DROID 3, the high-end Android-powered mobile phone that landed on Verizon Wireless' airwaves only last week, is now available for purchase through Amazon Wireless for only $69.99 with the signing of a new contract agreement.

The free of contract price tag for this handset was set at $599.99, but those who wouldn't mind committing to a contract agreement have now the possibility to acquire the device for far less than that.

The DROID 3 was added to Verizon's offering with a price tag of $199 attached to it with the signing of a two-year contract agreement, and already tasted price drops.

What is interesting to note is that the DROID 3 is not the only new smartphone from Motorola to have been made available for purchase for less than originally announced.

The Motorola Photon 4G for Sprint has seen price cuts as well, although it is only in the pre-sales period at the moment, and should arrive on shelves on July 31st.

At the moment, those who would like to purchase a new Android phone with connectivity on Verizon's network can head over to Amazon here to purchase the DROID 3 for the aforementioned lower price tag.

The DROID 3 was launched with a fast dual-core application processor inside, and with a large 4-inch touchscreen display, complemented by a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

The handset also comes with 16GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and built-in GPS receiver.

On the back, it sports an 8-megapixel photo snapper with support for recording videos in high-definition, complemented by a front-facing camera for video calling.

“In addition to high-speed connectivity on the fast and reliable Verizon Wireless 3G network, the DROID 3 allows you to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries--including more than 125 with 3G speeds,” the retailer notes.

“You can also share the built-in 3G Mobile Hotspot via Wireless-N Wi-Fi among five devices--a laptop, another phone, MP3 player, and more (additional service charge).”

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DROID Charge Only $129.99 at Wirefly

US mobile phone users interested in the purchase of a new handset on the airwaves of Verizon Wireless can now consider the acquisition of DROID Charge by Samsung at an affordable price via Wirefly.

Upon the signing of a two-year contract agreement with Verizon Wireless, users will be able to purchase the handset for only $129.99, down from the $669.99 price tag the device would feature when bought free of contract.

DROID Charge was the second mobile phone that Verizon Wireless launched on the market with support for its 4G LTE network.

The handset can deliver not only support for the advanced speeds the carrier's 4G network has to offer, but also impressive performance capabilities, and a great overall mobile experience.

The DROID Charge is powered by a 1GHz Hummingbird application processor, and sports a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen display.

In addition to LTE connectivity, the handset comes with support for the wireless carrier's CDMA network, as well as for WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and with built-in GPS receiver.

On the back, the handset sports an 8-megapixel photo snapper with support for 720p HD video recording, and there is also a front-facing camera for video calling.

“Share your videos and pictures via DLNA - wirelessly share your media with other DLNA-compatible devices like televisions and computers,” the retailer notes.

“You can even upload your videos and pictures to Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace immediately! Connect up to 10 WiFi-enabled devices to the internet with Verizon's Mobile Hotspot - Free from Verizon Wireless until July 6, 2011.”

With DROID Charge, users also enjoy Google Maps Navigation, Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Gtalk and other services more, as well as access to the Android Market, so that users can download the thousands of applications available for download there.

Those who would like to purchase the DROID Charge from Wirefly should head to the retailer's website here.

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