ST-Ericsson U8500 powers next generation of Windows Phones?

Word on the street has it that the newer generation of Windows Phones will see the ST-Ericsson U8500 chipset inside, which is different from the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform for current Windows Phone handsets. Reuters, after all, has reported that the CEO of ST-Ericsson mentioned their U8500 platform is more than ready to burst forth for Nokia’s use when they begin to sell Windows Phones, not to mention “a lot of new Tier 1 customers are using our platforms”. The U8500 is pretty similar to the Samsung Exynos 4210 in many ways, where they share a pair of ARM Cortex A9 processors and an ARM Mali 400 GPU. What makes the U8500 different is the integrated HSPA modem that handles a theoretical 21Mbps download speed – although real world performance will obviously be slower than that. Other hardware specifications included are Wi-Fi  and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS support and an FM radio.