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Today Qualcomm scored a huge coup for its MediaFLO mobile television service by winning the right to broadcast the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and to create a 27/7 channel devoted to the event. All MediaFLO subscribers will be able to watch the broadcast when it airs on Dec. 3. The fashion show pulled in a television audience last year of 6.5 million , exactly mirroring the number of people who are watching any form of mobile TV, which includes options other than MediaFLO. But as the February transition to digital television looms, groups such as the National Association of Broadcasters and the Open Mobile Video Coalition (pushing a jointly developed LG and Samsung standard ) are seeking to develop alternate methods to watch TV on the go to avoid being beholden to wireless providers. The OMVC and it's backers are branching out beyond cellular networks, hoping to install their technology in cars and laptops. Should those efforts succeed, Qualcomm's investments in MediaFLO won't pan out. With its Ultra Mobile Broadband 4G wireless effort officially shuttered last week , Qualcomm needs to find another way to mint money. It still has a platform effort in Gobi, MediaFLO is still around, and 3G networks aren't going anywhere for a while, but Qualcomm built its success on controlling the IP for the widely adopted mobile standard CDMA. It can certainly play in other fields, but without a choke hold on some widely needed intellectual property, its negotiating power and royalty rates will be lessened. Image from CBS

Wireless solutions provider Qualcomm announced the availability of its BREW Mobile Platform SDK, promising developers a more open and flexible environment to create applications, widgets and custom user interfaces for BREW-powered mass-market handsets and mobile devices. Beyond enhanced support for native application development, the free BREW MP SDK boasts a full suite of tools and features including integrated Adobe Flash technology, enabling developers using Adobe's content and web creation tools to seamlessly create applications for BREW devices. In addition, the platform offers advanced capabilities including touchscreen, rich multimedia, window management, open platform extensibility and expanded support for native application development. The Brew Mobile Platform SDK is now available for download here . For more on the BREW SDK: - read this release Related articles: Qualcomm builds a Plaza full of widgets On the Hot Seat with BREW 's Andrew Gilbert

Filed under: Culture , Handsets , Motorola , Sony Ericsson , Studies , Misc No, not that Storm silly -- that storm . As cellphone users around the globe put off that once imminent upgrade purchase in order to make the mortgage and feed the family, ( most ) handset makers are obviously feeling the pinch. A fresh report from The Wall Street Journal pretty much reiterates much of what we've already heard , but still dives deeper into which companies are best positioned to escape the madness. As predicted, HTC, Apple and Nokia were all pinpointed as being able to make it through tough economic times without losing their proverbial hats, but both Motorola and Sony Ericsson could be facing insurmountable odds. Granted, it's not like either firm has really been killing it of late, but it's a pretty bad time to be struggling , regardless. The takeaway? Don't be shocked to see some wild stuff go down in the mobile space -- all bets are off at this point. [Image courtesy of DayLife , thanks JagsLive] Motorola and SE pinpointed, may face tough time "weathering the storm" originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Multimedia , ATT , Verizon Wireless It's possible that MediaFLO hasn't read the writing on the wall , but despite the fact that mobile TV isn't being adopted at a wild rate, the Qualcomm subsidiary is still trying to expand. In fact, a recent report states that MediaFLO is looking to serve 108 markets by the end of 2009, up from 62 markets currently. Speaking to where it hopes to pick up traction, Bob Bradley, MediaFLO USA's Senior Director of Content, stated that MediaFLO is "starting to see success in offering both temporary channels and access to live events." Furthermore, the firm is expected to launch three new channels based around original content, and it's hoping to lure in "well-established Hollywood talent to help develop even more original content." We can't say that all of these ideas have fail written all over them or anything, but we still see a steep, steep road ahead for all mobile TV firms looking to gain popularity, MediaFLO included. MediaFLO looking to nearly double served markets by end of 2009 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: LTE Realistically, the death knell tolled long ago for Qualcomm's stillborn Ultra Mobile Broadband initiative, its own special flavor of 4G and the logical next step in the CDMA2000 family of technologies. To make things nice and official, though, they went ahead and officially announced that they've halted development on the spec during an analysts' meeting earlier today, throwing support behind the competing LTE standard -- one of the two remaining techs vying for the hearts and minds of the world's 4G-wanting public. So where's one of the world's great patent enforcers going to collect cash now? Oh, don't worry about little ol' Qualcomm; the company claims it has plenty of 4G-relevant intellectual property that'll keep its bankrolls full for years to come. [Via dailywireless.org ] Qualcomm throws in the towel on UMB, 4G race down to LTE and WiMAX originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Qualcomm posted its fourth quarter and fiscal 2008 results, and the company had higher revenues and net incomes both for the quarter and the year in total. However, it reduced its forecast for CDMA devices in 2009. For the fourth quarter the company had net income of $1.06 billion, up 16 percent year-on-year and sequentially, and had revenues of $3.33 billion, up 44 percent from the fourth quarter last year and up 21 percent sequentially. For the fiscal year in total, the chip-maker had net income of $3.74 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year, and revenues of $11.13 billion, up 25 percent from last year. However, because of the credit crisis and worsening macroeconomic conditions, the company expects lower growth in 2009. "While we are estimating strong growth for CDMA-based devices in calendar year 2009, driven by a shift to emerging markets, this growth is meaningfully less than we would have forecast just a few weeks ago," CEO Paul Jacobs said. The company also noted the positive impact of the $2.5 billion non-refundable payment related to new license and settlement agreements it received from Nokia in October. "Consideration provided to us under the new license agreement with Nokia included, among other things, a non-refundable up-front payment of $2.5 billion, ongoing royalties and the assignment of patents that we recorded in intangible assets in the amount of $1.8 billion," the company said. For more: - see this release Related Articles: Qualcomm , Nokia reach new patent agreement, end years of bitter disputes Qualcomm raises forecasts on 3G sales