Snapdragon Enters PC World

Yesterday Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM: 49.47 +0.49 +1.00%) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Hewlett Packard Co. (HPQ: 52.59 +0.39 +0.75%), to design a smartbook based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform. This smartbook will have Google Inc’s (GOOG: 602.02 +7.92 +1.33%) Android operating system. The device will use the Snapdragon QSD8250 chipset with an integrated Scorpion central processing unit which will deliver speed up to 1GHz. The device will also support high-speed 3G wireless connectivity together with WiFi connection. 

Smartbook is a personal digital assistant (PDA) that functions like a mobile phone but resembles a small notebook with a full keyboard. Qualcomm is developing smartbook chipsets based on its state-of-the-art Snapdragon platform technology. A path-breaking initiative of the company is the convergence of mobile computing with the next-generation Snapdragon platform. These chipsets have been designed for PDAs. Using Snapdragon chipsets, the consumers will no longer be required to carry battery chargers along with their laptops. These powerful chipsets will run the computer for 24 hours with just one battery charge while receiving data throughout the day. 

Qualcomm is the largest developer of digital mobile chipsets based on the CDMA wireless technology. This diversification into the computer market will be a logical step forward for the company. The chipset market for computers is primarily dominated by Intel Inc. (INTC: 20.83 +0.23 +1.12%), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD: 9.43 -0.04 -0.42%). An agreement with the world’s largest PC maker Hewlett Packard will definitely boost Qualcomm’s effort in this market. 

As of now, over 15 mobile device manufacturers are developing more than 30 Snapdragon-based products. Acer Inc, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and LG Electronics Inc are the notable computer makers who have signed up to use Snapdragon chipsets. Toshiba has already introduced its TG01 smart-phone using the Snapdragon chipset. Several leading software developers have started writing applications for mobile operating system, multimedia player, social networking, and productivity development tools based on the Snapdragon platform.