While the rest of the world flounders in a weak economy, Qualcomm has continued to put money into research and development. What has all that research gotten them? Well, according to Qualcomm’s CEO Paul Jacobs, the world is moving towards 3G tech and smartbooks. He expects to see more than half of the total mobile phone market to be comprised of 3G phones. And, given the significant increases in portable computing power, smartbooks will become the new hotspot in mobile tech.
As 3G becomes ever more popular, 3G-connected devices like smartbooks will rise. Unlike the “netbook,” which is basically a stripped-down laptop computer, the “smartbook” will be a more powerful smartphone with a larger display (say, 10-inches) and a constant network (3G) connection. Think of the smartbook as an always-connected computer with the battery life to go all day on a single charge. It works just like a smartphone, but sports a more laptop-friendly form-factor.
Jacobs puts it like this:
“…we almost look at it as a perfect storm of the device capabilities, high-speed networks and all the web applications that are being created. They come together and provide an opportunity to create a totally new experience.”
Still, the biggest hurdle to always-on 3G devices is battery life. To make the most of that precious battery juice, Qualcomm has been researching a passive display technology called Mirasol. We covered Mirasol a bit here. It’s an interesting technology that uses reflected like to display color images. Think e-Ink technology, but way cooler.
Smartbooks, here we come!