ATI, Nokia Pen Multimedia Deal

Nokia and ATI said Thursday that they had formed a strategic relationship that aims to enhance the multimedia experience on Nokia cellular phones. The two would work together on music and video playback, as well as 3D gaming and mobile TV.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although ATI expected to see "opportunities" in late 2007. The company was confident that it would be "very, very significant financially," ATI executives said in a conference call.

ATI will create an SDK for developers in the fall, as well as jointly hold workshops with Nokia during the second half of the year to help explain how to use the new development environment. Additionally, the group would promote the use of open standards.

"With a shared vision of how multimedia impacts the mobile market, Nokia and ATI are providing much needed direction and a framework to move the whole industry forward," handheld products vice president and general manager Paul Dal Santo said.

Nokia said it was announcing the partnership now so that developers could have the next year to year-and-a-half to develop for the platform. The timeframe seems to indicate that the two companies would have some kind of compatible product by then.

"With the mobile device now at the center of people's lives, we want people to have access to fantastic mobile content when and where they want," Nokia senior vice president of multimedia Ilkka Raiskinen remarked.