Live from Qualcomm CDMA Technologies' CES 2010 press event
We've just been seated for what's being billed as the event of CES this year: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies' press conference. Just kidding -- but seriously, though, we're told that HTC, Lenovo, and others will be on hand, so who knows what might end up happening? Read on!
3:47PM And that's a wrap -- we're out!
3:47PM We're intrigued by his reference to an integrated dual-core Snapdragon that includes LTE and 3G modems on the chip designed specifically to drive LTE adoption among smartphones. Now that's what we're talking about!
3:46PM No clear-cut answer so far, but Amon is alluding to the fact that dual-core CPUs can and will make it into smartphones.
3:45PM A question from us: how are you differentiating between your smartphone and smartbook processors?
3:41PM Now we've got a question about Snapdragon's roadmap. Turns out Lenovo's Skylight is using a 65nm chip; 45nm versions will be available for sampling this month that go up to 1.3GHz. Later in the year, dual-core chips up to 1.5GHz will get real.
3:39PM Next question: Brew MP has 18,000 apps? Answer: Brew MP is an operating system that's backward compatible with Brew software -- so theoretically, yes. Thing is, it's up to manufacturers and carriers to decide what apps (if any) are actually available to the user.
3:37PM Question about whether the Smart will come to AT&T. Short answer: AT&T's announcement of Brew MP doesn't have anything to do with HTC's announcement of the Smart.
3:36PM Q&A time!
3:35PM The gist of NXP's moment in the spotlight: they're digging N-Stream and using it in a number of their embedded set-top box solutions.
3:34PM Next we've got NXP on stage.
3:33PM He's talking up the Rush, a product we saw earlier in the week.
3:32PM Dan Kelley with D-Link is on the stage.
3:32PM D-Link and NXP are both on-hand to discuss their N-Stream products.
3:31PM One of the big use cases here seems to be beaming fat video streams from room to room in your home.
3:30PM He's talking N-Stream 4x4 MIMO wireless LAN tech. 600Mbps peak throughput... juicy.
3:29PM Now we've got Mike Concannon, SVP of connectivity and wireless modules for Qualcomm.
3:29PM And off he goes!
3:28PM "We also have a reptutation at Lenovo for creating great keyboards, so we spent a lot of effort on ergonomic design."
3:28PM Here comes the Skylight. Nothing new here!
3:26PM Here comes Peter Gaucher, executive director of mobile internet product management for Lenovo. We suspect we've already seen all of what Gaucher's about to show us.
3:25PM Alas, back to smartbooks. Best of smartphones plus best of netbooks in a single device.
3:24PM Ahh, here we go -- now they're talking about how awesome Snapdragon is in phones. We personally think they've got a lot of room to grow here.
3:23PM Qualcomm's taken the stage back from its partners -- they're talking about Snapdragon and tying it to the slogan "going beyond the smartphone." They've been pushing the smartbook concept from day one, so that doesn't come as much of a surprise.
3:22PM She's mentioning that the carrier will have all of its so-called "quick messaging devices" on Brew MP by 2011 -- something we'd heard at the Summit. It's a pretty amazingly fast switchover.
3:21PM And Chou's off the stage. Next up we've got Carlton Hill, VP of marketing for AT&T.
3:20PM He just re-announced the HTC Smart... so nothing new here yet.
3:18PM "Smartphones are still prosumer -- they're too sophisticated for mass market users to use." They need an easier, cheaper, simpler phone, and that's where this Brew MP partnership comes into play.
3:16PM "We are still very much focused on the smartphone segment." Good, good!
3:15PM "People all over the world want smarter phones." We see where this is going... we think.
3:14PM HTC's Peter Chou is taking the stage!
3:14PM Brew's got 1200+ handset models, 200M+ devices worldwide (produced, we guess -- not sure how many of those are still in use). 60+ device partners and 18,000 applications.
3:13PM Brew MP's sounding interesting -- we know it's what's powering the HTC Smart, and Amon's also alluding to the fact that the platform is all about bringing smartphone-like features downmarket. We can get on board with that.
3:11PM He just alluded to a big AT&T announcement tomorrow involving Brew MP (which dovetails with what we heard at the carrier's Developer Summit earlier in the week). Hmm...
3:11PM Cristiano Amon, SVP of Qualcomm's cellular products group has taken the stage.
3:10PM Brew MP and Snapdragon seem to be big themes here.
3:10PM They're talking about the breadth of devices and types of devices that Qualcomm cores go into -- phones (obviously), e-readers, smartbooks, STBs, and so-on.
3:06PM And here we go! "We're hoping to give you a little more insight into the direction of Qualcomm."
