Qualcomm says iPad filled in smartbook role

Qualcomm chief Paul Jacobs made remarks today indirectly acknowledging that the iPad had all but eliminated the smartbook category. During an event, he argued that tablets like Apple's had displaced the smartbook category Qualcomm had been trying to make through devices like the Lenovo Skylight by achieving the same goal. A tablet fulfills the same role of a device with a persistent Internet connection and all-day battery life, he said.

Although referring to the tablet category as a whole, the iPad is currently the dominant device in the category; virtually no devices are on the market that use a chip like Qualcomm's Snapdragon. Many companies attending the CES expo in January had planned to ship smartbooks, but virtually none have actually released their hardware. The iPad directly influenced Lenovo's smartbook as it forced an OS switch for the still yet to be released netbook. Toshiba's AC100 was launched later but only just shipped, and the Compaq Airlife 100 has had only a limited European presence.

Following a correction after the event, Jacobs also confirmed that he expected the first dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon to ship in phones and other devices early next year. A 1.5GHz version should be in shipping products by the end of the same year, he said. Most expect the more recent chip to first show in a HTC Android flagship for Verizon that would be the network's fastest phone to date. Other companies already have or will soon have dual-core ARM processors, including the NVIDIA Tegra-based AC100 and likely future revisions of the iPad and iPhone. [via SlashGear]

By Electronista Staff

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computers, industry, gadgets, Toshiba, Android, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Lenovo, ARM, Tegra, Snapdragon, Apple, Smartbook, iPad