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Qualcomm Promises Gigabit LTE Speeds and New Chips to Power Smartwatches (google.com)

Posted by yaelk on from the fast-and-furious dept.

Qualcomm may have been losing steam (and jobs and sales), but it looks like the major telecommunications corporation is back in the lead when it comes to pushing out new LTE technologies. Qualcomm announced today the new Snapdragon X16 modem, which together with the WTR5975 transceiver, boasts Category 16 LTE download speeds of up to 1Gbps. Qualcomm also announced new chips that will power the next generation of wearables. Although you shouldn't hold your breath just yet, the implications could be huge!

9 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. This is awesome news! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is sweet! Now my next smartwatch will be able to do absolutely nothing useful way faster than my current one can!

  2. Yeah but who's going to buy them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The problem is who's going to buy them. Qualcomm's business was built to support a few large companies in high volume like Samsung and some Chinese phone manufacturers. The reason their sales are tanking is not because their processors aren't good, it's because Korea and China have chosen to build their own domestic industries around semi-conductor development.

    So if Apple's not going to buy (they make their own chips), and Samsung's not going to buy, and the Chinese manufacturers aren't going to buy, and most wearables these days are like FitBit, not nearly complex enough to require something like a Snapdragon, who are they going to sell to?

  3. Trackables. Not Wearables. by zenlessyank · · Score: 2

    Let's get this term right. IoT is the Internet of Trackables. Anyone who says different is a liar. Our society won't be happy until all the HAVES will be in total control of the HAVE-NOTS.

  4. Great by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Gigabit LTE means that you'll be able to use up your entire high speed data quota in less than a minute, unless the carriers finally update their data pricing models.

    How is it that we've ended up with $10 for 10Gb or less of data now for about ten years? In the meantime, we've gone from inefficient EDGE to unbelievably efficient LTE, with HSPA+ available now for, what, the last five years on most GSM family networks?

    Yet the data prices haven't budged. The carriers have more bandwidth than ever, more efficient ways of using it than ever, but they still think they're running ancient EDGE or cdma2000 networks.

    On a positive note, this is more bandwidth than most people's cable modems. I wonder if the cable industry will catch up.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    1. Re:Great by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      Gigabit LTE means that you'll be able to use up your entire high speed data quota in less than a minute, unless the carriers finally update their data pricing models.

      How is it that we've ended up with $10 for 10Gb or less of data now for about ten years? In the meantime, we've gone from inefficient EDGE to unbelievably efficient LTE, with HSPA+ available now for, what, the last five years on most GSM family networks?

      Yet the data prices haven't budged. The carriers have more bandwidth than ever, more efficient ways of using it than ever, but they still think they're running ancient EDGE or cdma2000 networks.

      Easy - profits.

      Remember just a few years ago when people paid 25 cents per text? And some even paid another 25 cents to RECEIVE a text? Same reason - it was a massive profit center

      Then texting stopped being a thing - with many ways to avoid it been iMessages and IM apps and Hangouts etc which used much cheaper data instead of SMS. Plus competition made it such that carriers started offering unlimited text plans for $20 extra. And of course, they realized they had a new profit center - data. Even better, they charge by the kilo and not kibi, and for good measure, they toss in the OTA headers as well in the byte count.

      So yeah, they're charging because they can because it makes them massive amounts of money. On the bright side, they do adopt the new technologies quickly in an attempt to make you overuse your data plan and pay even more outrageous overage charges.

    2. Re:Great by kamapuaa · · Score: 2

      If you got 10GB for $10 in 2006 I am in serious awe of your bargain-finding skills.

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    3. Re:Great by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      How's this, in the last 10 years, what if instead you didn't have 4G / LTE etc, instead you just still had "inefficient EDGE" BUT unlimited data, all month long, endlessly?

      You mean... what if the cellphone carriers didn't take advantage of any of the advances in technology that had happened, and just gave us the same shit sandwich they were giving us 11 years ago?

      I'd be pretty pissed about that completely different situation too. I'd say to them "Look, why not use the new spectrum the government is opening up for you, use something really efficient like LTE, and offer us more bandwidth for the same cost given we're paying you the same amount of money now as we were when you were still upgrading your network?"

      Technology has improved. You'd expect that to result in actual improvements beyond being able to see a web page render more quickly on your mobile. We know capacity has improved, so why can't we access it?

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  5. And the backhaul required? by aphelion_rock · · Score: 3, Interesting

    With potentially hundreds of gigabit capable devices connected to on tower, it will be interesting to see how the carriers deal with the backhaul requirements for the ever escalating demand on data.

  6. a Cable node has less users then 1 cell tower by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    a Cable node has less users then 1 cell tower. Also what is the backhual from the towers?