Qualcomm Takes Another Shot at Ending Intel PC Stranglehold

Qualcomm Takes Another Shot at Ending Intel PC Stranglehold

Qualcomm is taking another stab at breaking into the market for personal-computer processors with a range of new devices it says will stay connected and run all day on one battery charge, according to Bloomberg.

The world’s largest mobile-phone chipmaker showed off laptops from Asustek, and HP using Microsoft’s Windows software at an event in Hawaii. The slim machines will have wireless connections via mobile phone chips that ensure they’re always receiving data and sip battery power in a way that enables them to go days between charges, Qualcomm said.

Convincing consumers that they’re getting something new that isn’t available already in PCs will be key to breaking Intel’s hold on a market where more than 90 percent of laptops ship with its processors. Qualcomm argues that smartphone processors are now powerful enough to run computers that cover the vast majority of most users’ daily needs and provide advantages over devices that use Intel chips.

“We’re not trying to create a PC that basically is designed to compare with what the PC is today,“ said Cristiano Amon, the head of Qualcomm’s chip business. “What we’re thinking is how can we make the PC more like a smartphone.“

The PC push is one of several initiatives from CEO Steve Mollenkopf that aim to parlay Qualcomm’s dominance in mobile into other areas. Qualcomm this year started offering server processors and is aiming to expand into the growing market for chips used in vehicles through a pending $47-billion purchase of NXP Semiconductors.

With the new laptops, Qualcomm is seeking to address common pain points for computer users, including unreliable Wi-Fi connections, complicated log-ins and expensive data access at hotels and other public places. A laptop with a cellular connection should be able to get fast data over the latest modem and remain connected anywhere a phone works, Qualcomm said.

Qualcomm says computers based on its chips could get more than 25 hours of normal use from one charge. Similar machines running on rivals chips ran out of juice after about 7 hours in tests, Qualcomm said.