Nvidia is to buy Hybrid Graphics, a Finnish developer of graphics middleware for mobile devices, the graphics chip company said today. Terms are undisclosed.

Hybrid will retain its identity, post-acquisition. It will continue to offer its Mobile Framework (MF) graphics engine, which is due for a major upgrade in Q2.

Hybrid numbers Nokia, Ericsson, Philips, Samsung and Symbian among its customers. For Nvidia, the deal provides a way to increase the take-up of its graphics chips, which MF will be able to leverage shortly if it doesn't already. It also gives Nvidia a foot into phones and other devices that won't ship with a dedicated graphics chip on board.

Released in Q2 2005, MF 6 provides an OpenGL ES, Direct3D Mobile, Open VG and Java compatible 2D and 3D rendering engine. Designed to draw graphics using the host processor, MF6 can also leverage on-board DSPs and other acceleration chips. MF 7 will add OpenGL ES 2.0 support to the package. ®