Snapdragon

Snapdragon is the market-leading mobile chipset. Jacobs said Qualcomm shipped more than 7 billion chipsets worldwide at a time when there are more than 6 billion cellular connections around the world. The company’s Snapdragon processors are in more than 300 mobile-device models worldwide. They will be installed in another 300 new models soon.

Snapdragon chipsets power many popular Android handsets from HTC, Samsung and Motorola. “Other wireless chips sacrifice capabilities, performance and battery life, but only Snapdragon processors take that compromise out of the mobile experience,” Jacobs said.

Such boasts are good enough for Nokia, a leading maker of smartphones based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system. In fact, all current WP7 handsets are powered by Snapdragon chips. Elop raved about Snapdragon capabilities after joining Jacobs on stage here. Elop said mobile phones will give many people around the world their first experience with the Web, especially in emerging countries. Elop also talked up Nokias new Lumia line from various carriers and its importance in developing countries. Nokia understands developing markets, Elop asserted.

Jacobs also discussed the forthcoming Snapdragon S4 series. “With S4, any smartphone or tablet becomes a mobile home theater,” Jacobs said, noting that the processor will enable high-definition, 3D video, Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound and spectacular graphics. This platform will power smartphones, tablets and smart TVs early this year.

To illustrate the S4 power, Jacobs grabs this Qualcomm prototype tablet to show off Microsoft’s pre-beta Windows 8 operating system for tablets and other touch-friendly PCs.

This is what Windows 8 looks like fueled by the S4 and AT&T’s 4G LTE network. Jacobs said the next-generation Windows 8 platform will be powered by Qualcomm’s ARM platform in addition to Intel. He added that Windows 8 devices powered by the S4 processor will turn on instantly and be always connected to the cloud. Email, contact info and social networks will be kept up-to-date at all times, all while preserving battery life. These devices will run all day on a single charge, he said.

Liu Jun, senior vice president for Lenovo, took the stage to tout the S4. Liu said his company will build the S4 into Lenovos smart TVs, which will run the Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Lenovo will release these TVs in the Chinese domestic market this year.

Here is Lenovo’s smart TV powered by S4. The device’s remote also has voice-control capabilities for easier channel and Web search input.

Jacobs also showed off another consumer device for the Chinese market, the Hanvon e-reader, which leverages Qualcomm’s MEMS-based Mirasol display technology.

Sesame’s Street’s Grover took the stage to show off a neat augmented reality app that lets kids use a tablet to snap pictures of their Sesame Street toys and then add them to a virtual room on the tablet.

Bert and Ernie get launched into this virtual world through this tablet application. The tablet is running Vuforia’s augmented reality software, which worked without a hitch on stage.