Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has dismissed the notion that multi-core processors are an essential component of modern day smartphones, branding the chips a battery drain.

That's according to a translation of an interview Elop gave with Yangcheng Evening News, when it's claimed promo exercises such as Microsoft's 'Smoked by Windows Phone' campaign and Nokia's own 'Blown Away by Lumia' were cited as evidence single-core handsets can still compete.

Smoked

The comments are particularly contentious because Microsoft is rumoured to be testing dual-core chips on future handsets due to launch with Windows Phone 8.

Critics will also point to the fact both the campaigns he highlights are designed to show the speed of Windows Phone's UI, rather than the processing power behind it, utilsing the platform's built-in Facebook and Twitter tools – amongst others – to outpace native apps.

Windows Phone 8 – also known as Apollo – is expected to launch in Q4 2012, though the platform is expected to entertain another major update in the meantime, dubbed Tango.

Meanwhile, the Smoked By Windows Phone campaign has itself been turned into a series of TV promos in the US, signalling a switch to a more aggressive style by Microsoft.



[source: Unwired View]