Open standards and developer kit in the pipeline

Nokia has signed a deal with graphics card specialist ATI to improve high-quality multimedia experiences on its handsets including music playback, 3D gaming, mobile TV and video.

The two companies will integrate hardware, software and tools, as well as promote open standards for multimedia to help developers create content that can be used on a range of devices.

ATI also plans to create a dedicated tools and software development kit for developers by autumn 2006.

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

"We are announcing our collaboration with ATI now so that developers have the next 12 to 18 months to be innovative and create world-class mobile multimedia experiences."

Paul Dal Santo, vice president and general manager of handheld products at ATI, explained that the two companies share a vision of how multimedia impacts the mobile market, and hope to move the whole industry forward.

"Our role is to enable all content, from ultra-high quality music playback to 3D gaming, and to jointly guide and support the members of the content development community as they focus on creating amazing user experiences," he said.