Ric_NYC
November 12th, 2009, 08:47 AM
Wireless technology giant expected to reveal a new type of netbook Nov. 12.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1285/wistronpursebook.jpg
It's not every day that a technology company creates a new gadget category. So when Qualcomm announced a thin, light computing device it calls a smartbook, people paid attention. Now, after a nearly six-month wait, Qualcomm executives told Forbes that the first smartbook will be announced on Nov. 12, during the company's annual analyst meeting in New York.
The smartbook idea is based on Qualcomm's ( QCOM - news - people ) experience as the world's largest cellphone-chip maker. Like smart phones, smartbooks are designed to be constantly connected to high-speed (3G) wireless data networks as well as being energy-efficient, with perhaps eight hours of battery life . They will also incorporate typical smart phone features, such as GPS technology and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and weigh less than two pounds.
Like netbooks, smartbooks can be used for surfing the Web, watching video and checking e-mail. But while netbooks generally run on Intel ( INTC - news - people ) chips and feature Windows software, smartbooks are based on a Qualcomm processor called Snapdragon and run Linux software.
Dan Novak, Qualcomm's vice president of global marketing, says 40 Snapdragon-based devices (including smartbooks and smart phones) are in the works, from 15 different manufacturers. Most of these smartbooks will debut in early 2010. Qualcomm declined to reveal details about the device that will be announced later this week, except that it is also a smartbook.
PC vendor ASUS, which exhibited a smartbook prototype in June at an industry show, is likely on board. Phone maker Nokia ( NOK - news - people ) is also rumored to be developing a smartbook. Novak says early smartbooks will look like thinner, lighter versions of netbooks, but the category will expand to include computer tablets and touch-screen devices.
Qualcomm has another gadget for the holidays: a mobile TV player it calls Personal Television, or PTV. The handheld touch-screen device, which supports Qualcomm's digital mobile TV service, FLO TV, will be available for $249 in big box electronic stores starting Nov. 13. (Several AT&T ( T - news - people ) and Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) Wireless phones, including the new HTC Imagio, are also compatible with FLO TV.)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/10/smartbook-netbook-chips-technology-personal-qualcomm.html
More info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fEOh45iDQ
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1285/wistronpursebook.jpg
It's not every day that a technology company creates a new gadget category. So when Qualcomm announced a thin, light computing device it calls a smartbook, people paid attention. Now, after a nearly six-month wait, Qualcomm executives told Forbes that the first smartbook will be announced on Nov. 12, during the company's annual analyst meeting in New York.
The smartbook idea is based on Qualcomm's ( QCOM - news - people ) experience as the world's largest cellphone-chip maker. Like smart phones, smartbooks are designed to be constantly connected to high-speed (3G) wireless data networks as well as being energy-efficient, with perhaps eight hours of battery life . They will also incorporate typical smart phone features, such as GPS technology and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and weigh less than two pounds.
Like netbooks, smartbooks can be used for surfing the Web, watching video and checking e-mail. But while netbooks generally run on Intel ( INTC - news - people ) chips and feature Windows software, smartbooks are based on a Qualcomm processor called Snapdragon and run Linux software.
Dan Novak, Qualcomm's vice president of global marketing, says 40 Snapdragon-based devices (including smartbooks and smart phones) are in the works, from 15 different manufacturers. Most of these smartbooks will debut in early 2010. Qualcomm declined to reveal details about the device that will be announced later this week, except that it is also a smartbook.
PC vendor ASUS, which exhibited a smartbook prototype in June at an industry show, is likely on board. Phone maker Nokia ( NOK - news - people ) is also rumored to be developing a smartbook. Novak says early smartbooks will look like thinner, lighter versions of netbooks, but the category will expand to include computer tablets and touch-screen devices.
Qualcomm has another gadget for the holidays: a mobile TV player it calls Personal Television, or PTV. The handheld touch-screen device, which supports Qualcomm's digital mobile TV service, FLO TV, will be available for $249 in big box electronic stores starting Nov. 13. (Several AT&T ( T - news - people ) and Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) Wireless phones, including the new HTC Imagio, are also compatible with FLO TV.)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/10/smartbook-netbook-chips-technology-personal-qualcomm.html
More info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fEOh45iDQ