New devices to fuel mobile growth
Qualcomm lines up innovative chips that will compete directly with Intel
The steady introduction of innovative devices and services should spur demand in the mobile-telephone industry despite the global financial slump, industry executives say.
Qualcomm, which mainly supplies chips for mobile telephones, is expanding its product portfolio to laptop computers or mobile internet devices to compete directly with leading chipmaker Intel Corp.
The firm is expected to see slower growth as mobile-telephone sales could fall next year.
Research firm International Data Corp said the worldwide mobile-telephone industry felt the impact of the global financial crisis in the third quarter, with total handset shipments down from past quarters.
Handset makers shipped 299 million units in the period, up 3.2 per cent year on year but down 0.4 per cent from the second quarter.
Qualcomm's two new products will expand its market to the computer segment for the first time. Snapdragon chip is a high-tier central processing unit for mobile devices with screen sizes of 4 to 10 inches.
With a processing speed of 1.5 gigahertz per second, the dual-core chip can provide multimedia playback and other functions at the same time. Its 3G network compatibility enables users to go online through a 3G mobile network. The chip will have two versions, 3G WCDMA and 3G CDMA.
The notebook-like Snapdragon chip-based products with about 30 models will be on store shelves in the first half of next year.
Qualcomm has linked up with leading original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers such as Acer, Asus International, C-motech, Compal, Foxconn International Holdings, High Tech Computer, Inventec, LG Electronics, Quanta Computer, Samsung, Toshiba and Wistron Corp for the launch of Snapdragon product.
ABI Research estimated 94 million devices could be shipped by 2012. It forecast this market would register a compound annual growth rate of more than 80 per cent in the next several years.
Qualcomm Greater China president Frank Meng Pu said in Macau last week he was confident the new products would benefit the company's business next year, although they were still on trial and not yet securing orders from clients.
'We aim to provide the capability to combine smart phone and laptop computer use in one device. With our experience, the new chip could bring a much longer standby and in-use time for users,' said Mr Meng.
Another product, Kayak, will target the emerging market. It also supports 3G mobile network connectivity, is tailor-made for rural households without fixed-line broadband connectivity. It will be connected to home television screens as a display.
Initial Kayak prototype units manufactured by Inventec will be used to support user trials during in the first quarter of next year in Southeast Asia on both CDMA 2000 and WCDMA networks.
