Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs got serious during his annual keynote address at the BREW 2007 conference Thursday, touting the evolution of the mobile multimedia experience, exploring the potential of fledgling services like social networking and m-payment, and even weighing in on the company's ongoing patent infringement battle with semiconductor supplier Broadcom.
Innovations have historically revolved around enhancements in hardware," Jacobs said. "But to me, when you look at the next generation of communications, it's not about which technology will rule, but which applications and content." He returned repeatedly to a credo celebrating "innovation, execution and partnership," adding "Our vision is based squarely on the successes together we're experiencing."
Jacobs spotlighted Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile video platform, which he says is ultimately about much more than television. "MediaFLO is core to our vision of making the phone the ultimate convergence device," he says, citing services like datacasting-broadcasting data via radio waves--as a means to broaden multimedia beyond video and television to deliver real-time news, stocks and weather alerts.
Surprisingly, Jacobs later addressed the elephant in the room: The International Trade Commission's recent decision to ban import of 3G handsets employing Qualcomm chips ruled to violate Broadcom patents. "We think the ITC's decision and remedy are unreasonable and wrong," Jacobs says. "We will immediately seek an emergency stay, and ask the president to veto the ITC decision. But these actions have not distracted us from our focus--we will continue to persevere and execute on our vision." -Jason
UPDATE: According to Broadcom, the ITC decided to deny Qualcomm's request for an emergency stay in the order to ban the 3G handsets. More (WSJ sub. req.)