Qualcomm targets open source with new subsidiary

Matthew Broersma ZDNet UK

Published: 28 Oct 2009 16:21 GMT

Qualcomm has reinforced its commitment to open-source software with the creation of a wholly owned subsidiary focused on mobile open-source technologies.

The Qualcomm Innovation Center (QuIC), announced on Monday, will be led by president Rob Chandhok, senior vice president of software strategy for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, and staffed by a team of engineers transferred from within Qualcomm's existing ranks.

The move is intended to demonstrate that Qualcomm plans to play a growing role in the direction of open source in the mobile industry.

"Open-source and community-driven software development is becoming increasingly important to the wireless industry, and QuIC is committed to meaningful participation in these development efforts," Chandhok said in a statement.

QuIC's engineers will contribute to open-source technologies such as the Linux, Symbian and Android operating systems, and the WebKit and Chrome browser technologies, with a particular focus on hardware optimisation.

Qualcomm is currently pushing its Snapdragon 3G chipset for mobile devices including smartphones and hybrid laptop/smartphone devices the company calls "smartbooks".

Hardware makers such as Acer, Asus, HTC, LG, Toshiba and Samsung are working on Snapdragon-based devices, according to Qualcomm. The first Snapdragon-based device using Google's open-source Android operating system was introduced by Acer earlier this month.