Qualcomm takes on Intel, AMD in laptop arena

Says Windows Mobile 7 future

2 June 2008 23:57 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Fresh off the back of its BREW conference in San Diego, Qualcomm, the chipset manufacturer, has shown off a mini-laptop that could offer around $300 and allow users to access the Internet via 3G.

The laptop, made by Taiwan’s Inventec will run on Linux OS but also possibly the yet to be released Microsoft Windows Mobile 7, said Luis Pineda, senior vice president at Qualcomm, on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei according to a report on Yahoo.

Qualcomm hopes Windows Mobile 7 will make its Snapdragon chipsets a more vital competitor in mini-laptops as it takes on PC processor makers Intel, AMD and Via.

The Qualcomm chipsets come with 1GHz Arm processing cores and Qualcomm technology to connect mini-laptops and other gadgets to 3G mobile phone networks.

Snapdragon is already being used in the development of around 20 products, including personal navigation devices from Mio Technology, as well as products from High Tech Computer (HTC) and Samsung Electronics, he said.

"You'll see a big presence in Snapdragon-based devices at CES 2009", he said.

Last week, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs told Pocket-lint that he expected to see other kinds of connected devices beyond the mobile phone in the future.

"It makes sense to me to have a connected satnav device rather than an unconnected satnav", Jacobs told Pocket-lint, confirming Qualcomm is working with satnav manufacturers on devices for the future. "Just as the connected PDA killed the unconnected PDA, the same will happen here. You are going to have up to date street maps, you’re going to be able to search."

We will keep you posted.