Qualcomm COO Dr. Sanjay Jha Interview at GigaOM
So far, we have been talking about Intel vs AMD. But maybe it is time to call this battle outmoded as Intel is joining the mobile device arena. And who is it going to meet there? Qualcomm of course!
Unlike other succesful corporations, Qualcomm has kept a lower profile and has since 1985 worked systematically to a dominant position with mobile manufacturers. Now Intel’s Atom will probably force it to come out of its relatively low profile stance.
COO Dr. Sanjay Jha was interviewed by Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOM. Here is the things that I found important and I would like to comment on:
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Qualcomm is aware of the Atom threat and knows that things are going to get more competitive. The level at which competition is going to be led depends on how serious Intel is taking things, which at the moment is pretty serious.
- Qualcomm centers -with its Snapdragon platform- on mobile devices up to 5 inche screens, while it estimates that Intel will go for 7 to 9 inch screens. From current Atom power ratings -which are higher than Qualcomm’s- it sounds logical. But is Intel agreeing on this? I do not think so and since it has decided to get into mobiles in a big way, we will see competition in all sizes. After all the MID platform has quite small screen sizes anyway!
- Windows Mobile and Linux are both mentioned as Qualcomm’s preferable OS platforms. Intel goes for Linux -so far that is. Did I mention that Linux is into all platforms for MID and UMPC devices, including Android and Nokia’s N810? Is Microsoft going to be in trouble here?
- Currently software and services -specifically mCommerce- are Qualcomm’s priority, with no current plans for device releases. You can check out recent ER posts about why the mobile web might or might not shape up.
All dates for releases point towards the second half of this year. The first generation of hardware and software are expected to have their glitches, but from the way things shape up, this time next year I am expecting to be able to comfortably write a post like this with a 3G connection and the company of an espresso from the comfort of the sofa in any cafeteria somewhere in town…
Link: GigaOm
