Qualcomm: Mobile technologies for tomorrow

With the end of the year approaching, and before the MWC 2010 show in Barcelona in February commences, the American chip maker Qualcomm decided to provide an update to how their leading technologies are progressing, along with the developments surrounding emerging technologies like Mirasol (e-paper screens) and eZone (wireless charging).

Besides specialised publications focussing on electronics components, very few observers have understood the importance of announcements made at the MWC 2009 show, notably by Qualcomm, who officially launched their SnapDragon mobile platform.

More then just a chipset for Smartphone’s, this chip constitutes a change in philosophy during the conception phase of Smartphone’s, bringing with it promised performance while getting around the problem of conserving battery life.

SnapDragon is also the foundation stone on which Qualcomm is attacking the UMD market (Ultra Mobile Devices) with the chipset manufacturer launching the smartbook concept – communicative mobile devices which sit on the border between Smartphone’s and netbooks.

The smartbook idea finally makes it possible to offer a real platform for mobile services which will allow the user to take full advantage of their device’s communication capabilities without facing limitations imposed by the battery life. This is built around the "Always on" concept.

2009: the birth, 2010... Expansion
It’s also a fight between architectures as SnapDragon calls on technologies developed by the ARM group while Intel is preparing their own x86 solutions for the mobile environment, of which the Atom family is the first release.

Most analysts believe that a large scale industry fight is building, with each side having their positives: knowing mobility constraints on the side of ARM, and interaction with other x86 systems for Intel.

Last February, Qualcomm only had the Toshiba TG01 Smartphone and a few other prototypes available for demonstration, although support agreements had been signed with fifteen manufacturers for Smartphone’s and other products.

Since then, handsets operating SnapDragon and using the Windows Mobile or Android operating systems have multiplied, although these remain for the majority in the Smartphone field. For smartbooks, we will have to wait until 2010, even if Paul Jacobs – Qualcomm’s CEO recently unveiled a Lenovo model.

While SnapDragon is aimed at the top of the range, middle of the range Smartphone’s haven’t been forgotten, with Qualcomm announcing the MSM7x30 family which uses the SnapDragon Scorpion processor, which will provide the current high level of performance to more affordable handsets in 2010.

Smartbook, Qualcomm’s mission
In the London showroom, Qualcomm had numerous concepts and prototypes on display which should start to become available over the coming months. The SnapDragon processor has had some improvements made to it, and we should start to see a dual core option which will offer better process management allowing the battery life of devices to be slightly increased without limiting performance.

One of Qualcomm’s strong points is that they offer a software layer to accompany their chipsets, making it easy to integrate manufacturer’s projects while simultaneously handling numerous functions, no matter the mobile operating system that is then installed over the top.

Evolutions within the chipset structure can also be seen, like in the decoupling of 2D and 3D graphics accelerators so that only 3D components that are powerful but not energy intensive can be used by applications that only require this function. Additional display elements which load 2D components can then be treated separately by the 2D accelerator so that energy is conserved. The arrival of a dual core should greatly help in the saving of energy.

Smartbook Concept by Quanta; Android and SnapDragon onboard

Among the products presented was an ultra thin netbook similar to the one that Qualcomm had on their MWC 2009 stand, representative of these new mobile products which are capable of remaining permanently connected while offering two days of battery life.

Market tendencies are anticipating that this kind of mobile product, light weight and highly flexible in terms of use, should become a major force in the future. The design possibilities are infinite, as seen in tablet PC developments which are capable of handling a detachable keyboard.
This method makes it possible to enter information into the tablet in the same way as on a netbook, with it being possible to fold the keyboard away when not in use. The HTC Athena is one device which already uses this idea.

Smartbook Mangrove under SnapDragon and Windows Mobile 6.5

Nothing prevents the creation of devices that are half way between Smartphone’s and MID’s, like the Mangrove tablet with a 7” screen running Windows Mobile 6.5. This device is more then just a concept, as it has already been released in Asia.

These demonstration products are only a few examples of what new mobile hardware platforms are capable of, allowing manufacturers to deploy services which are continually increasing in complexity - like augmented reality which interacts with social networks, and high definition mobile games, all while keeping the device connected anywhere, all the time.