STMicroelectronics NV and Mentor Graphics Corp. have entered into a collaboration to make Mentor's Nucleus Mobile operating system (OS) available on STMicroelectronics' Nomadik STn880x and STn881x series of multimedia application processors, the companies said Wednesday (Sept. 20).

According to STMicro (Geneva) and Mentor (Wilsonville, Ore.), pairing the Nucleus Mobile OS with Nomadik processors provides a platform solution that enables mobile phone manufacturers to address the growing market for high-end features in mid-range phones.

"The Nucleus Mobile OS has long dominated the baseband side of the mobile phone processing equation," said Neil Henderson, general manager of Mentor's embedded systems division. "Now, we're seeing more and more opportunities to play on the application side as well. By combining the powerful Nomadik-based platform with the expansive features of the Nucleus Mobile OS, handset makers can give consumers the features they want at a price they can afford."