Qualcomm is betting that its Snapdragon chipset (see a hands-on we did at CTIA) will taste better with Windows Mobile 7, especially when it comes to tiny notebooks. The company is looking to make a move into the inexpensive laptop arena with the added twist of having the devices run Windows Mobile 7 instead of Linux or Windows XP/Vista. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset, which includes a 1GHz processor, will also be able to connect to 3G mobile networks.
One advantage for mobile phone chip makers is that they have worked from the start to create low power products that give off little heat, because mobile phones are small and people want handsets with long battery life. Now that they’re moving into bigger products like laptop PCs, the advantages become clearer in longer battery life and more streamlined designs– since they don’t have to include heat sinks for hot-running chips.
That makes sense, too, as Windows Mobile (and any other mobile operating system, for that matter) is designed to be used on devices where long battery life is a key feature. So who knows? Your next mini laptop might be running Windows Mobile.