Qualcomm pressing for consolidation in chip market

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said the company envisions more consolidation in the wireless chipset market, and that Qualcomm will be there to scoop up market share for 3G chips as other players are bought or simply fade away.

"Consolidation will happen or people will leave the market," he said at an investor conference, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "We're trying to make that happen sooner."

However, Jacobs confirmed Qualcomm will not speed the process with an attempt to purchase processor company ARM Holdings. When asked if he would make such a purchase, he responded, "Why?" Jacobs said competition is good for Qualcomm because it forces the company to keep innovating.

On smartphones, where Qualcomm has made a mark with its Snapdragon effort, Jacobs said he sees the smartphone market splitting into a high-end segment and a low-end one--a division that is rapidly eroding the market for feature phones. Indeed, Jacobs comments are reflected in Motorola's two Android smartphones at Verizon Wireless: the high-end Droid and the cheaper Devour.

Jacobs' comments came a day after Qualcomm predicted its fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue will be at the high end of estimates. In January, the firm said it expects second-quarter sales to be between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion.

For more:
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article (sub. req.)

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