Nokia WP7 phones to use U8500 dual-core 1.2GHz chipsets with WP 7.5

The CEO of ST-Ericsson got chatty in front of Forbes and said that Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices will be powered by the U8500 dual-core CPU and its successors will go on to power Windows Phone 8 phones too. So far, Windows Phone 7 devices have been exclusively powered by Qualcomm chipsets. ST-Ericsson CEO however says that they will be one of two chip suppliers for Nokia WP7 phones.

The first Nokia devices will use the dual-core U8500 chipset, which has been seen running at 1.2GHz. Things might change by the time these devices come out, but they look to be the first dual-core Windows Phone 7 handsets.

The CEO also said that over the course of 2012 Nokia will release 12 Windows Phone 7 devices that will be based on future versions of the U8500 chipset. He also believes that ST-Ericsson will be a key supplier for Windows Phone 8, yep thats 8. The Mango update is v7.5, so Windows Phone 8 is already very likely in the works.