Qualcomm supplies 95 percent or more of the chips that go into CDMA handsets, with no major competitor, according to Strauss. Broadcom could now become that competitor, selling chips to major CDMA phone makers such as Samsung, LG and Motorola, he said. It's unlikely Broadcom will grab more than 5 percent of the market or so, but having it there as a serious alternative supplier could change the market, Strauss added.

Broadcom will also have the chance to expand in the market for WCDMA, the major form of 3G across the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) world, and LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the next-generation data network for Verizon and most other mobile operators, Strauss said. The company is already making headway in this market. At Mobile World Congress in February, Nokia said it was extending a 2G chip partnership with Broadcom into the 3G arena.

The impact of the settlement four years out -- an eternity in the fast-changing mobile business -- is hard to foresee, analysts said. But it's likely Broadcom will be a much bigger player by then, they said.

In any case, the apparent cease-fire in patent suits for that period should be a win for cell-phone buyers, according to Ken Dulaney of Gartner.

"All this is nothing more than a tax on products," he said.