A report by Ovum shows that a significant number of smartphones are now using more powerful hardware for graphics and video processing, moving to ARM Cortex A8 and Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. However, Ovum analyst Tim Renowden says Nokia appears to be lagging behind the performance curve, with a specification gap opening between it and rivals.
"Extra hardware grunt provides a significant boost to user experience", he says, "but Nokia is struggling to keep pace with its rivals in this respect, with only the niche N900 handset sporting a next-generation chipset."