Snapdragon products in 2H, says Qualcomm

The first products based on the Snapdragon low-powered wireless chipset will be out in the second half of the year, Qualcomm says.

Snapdragon is Qualcomm's multi-standard chip for netbooks, smartphones, game consoles and other devices.

It has chips for Wi-Fi, EV-DO, HSPA, Bluetooth and GPS, a 1GHz processor, and supports high-end graphics.

Terry Yen, a Qualcomm marketing vice-president, told telecomasia.net the chipset delivered all-day battery life to support the concept of "untethered broadband."

"We saw some years ago that there was no reason why computing and consumer electronic devices should not have connectivity to enhance the user experience. Laptops, gaming and other devices can be connected to the net at all times, and not just be tethered to the hotspot," he said.

He said the 1Ghz chip consumed vastly less power than a laptop processor. A 1.5GHz dual-CPU would be available towards the end of the year.

Toshiba two weeks ago unveiled the first Snapdragon device, the TG01 smartphone, built around a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS and a 3G interface. It is expected to launch in summer or Q3.

Qualcomm has signed 13 OEMs, including Acer, Foxconn, Asus and Quanta, who plan to make Snapdragon products, with the first notebooks expected by year-end, Yen said.