Texas Instruments wins order from Samsung

Texas Instruments Inc., the world’s biggest maker of mobile-phone chips, won its first order from Samsung Electronics Co. for a processor to run digital cameras in handsets after a two-year effort to get the business. Samsung is using Texas Instruments’ OMAP processors to run software programs in four mobile-phone models, Texas Instruments sales manager Fred Cohen said yesterday in an interview from the company’s headquarters in Dallas. He said he expects more Samsung phones with OMAP chips to be released later in 2005. “It’s a breakthrough,” Cohen said. “It’s a high priority for us and goes all the way up to the board and the CEO.” Texas Instruments chief executive Rich Templeton led the effort to win more business from Samsung, which has taken market share in mobile phones away from larger competitors Nokia and Motorola Inc. Samsung is the largest client of Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments’ closest competitor in the chips for handsets that surf the Internet and play videos. Samsung also makes some of its own semiconductors. Texas Instruments shares rose 3 cents to $22.50 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday. They dropped 16 percent last year.