Qualcomm has announced that its Snapdragon MSM7x30 chipset can now support the Russian GLONASS satellite system and the US GPS location service simultaneously. The first phone with GLONASS and GPS support will be the MTS 945 from ZTE.
Working with both satellite networks offers more accurate location information and also has a potential commercial benefit. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has previously announced plans to introduce a duty of around 25% on imported devices that only support GPS technology.
Raj Talluri, vice president of product management for Qualcomm, said “ZTE is first to market with a smartphone that supports both the GPS and GLONASS satellite systems, taking full advantage of the functionality which has been integrated into our Snapdragon MSM7x30 chipset and software. Supporting both positioning technologies gives users of ZTE's latest smartphone the benefit of up to 55 different satellites when calculating their global position for navigation or any location-based application. The result is more accurate location performance, all over the world, particularly in challenging urban environments where the combination of narrow streets and tall buildings can degrade accuracy.”