Qualcomm has revealed that its Snapdragon chips now support the Russian GLONASS satellite system.
The satellite system is a worldwide positioning system developed by the Russian government. Qualcomm says the ability to use both GPS and GLONASS networks gives location performance that is more accurate.
The first GLONASS-capable phone is the MTS 945 from ZTE, powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon MSM7x30 chipset. The Snapdragon MSM7x30 chipset and software solution enable the device to work with both the GPS and GLONASS systems. 
“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,” says Raj Talluri, vice president of product management for Qualcomm. “Supporting both positioning technologies gives users of ZTEs 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.”
“The GLONASS satellite system provides consumers with accurate and highly responsive location information,” adds Sergey Boev, vice president of Sistema, the company behind GLONASS chipsets. “We are proud to be working with Qualcomm, ZTE and MTS to deliver the first GLONASS capable device to the Russian market.”
