Qualcomm, best known for its chip production, has created a subsidiary business that'll focus on mobile technology. Qualcomm Services Labs will "explore new ideas, technologies and service models that can have an immediate impact in the marketplace" by looking at five main areas: communication, information/entertainment, discovery, life automation and 'digital to physical'.
QSL has already launched four services:
Neer: a geo-fence based location sharing service designed to automate and simplify your everyday life by sharing your location with your 'inner circle'. It's available for Android devices, with Brew and iOS versions expected soon.
Qilroy: a social-messaging service that enables location-based conversations to take place anywhere in the world. This is currently available as an Apple app and is coming soon to Brew and Android handsets.
Tapioca: an intelligent URL shortening service that allows content providers to share multimedia across various device types.
Vive: a free, friends-based social recommendation service that allows users to share recommendations, ratings, purchases and other activities with friends and other Vive users. It's available via Facebook and is coming soon to Brew and Apple devices.
Isaac Babbs, general manager of QSL, said "Powerful new mobile devices and high-speed networks today make it possible to introduce entirely new categories of mobile services, and to give consumers new capabilities that enrich their lives. As an incubator, QSL is structured to help fast-track these new capabilities. We are focused on developing innovative new mobile applications and service models and getting them to market quickly."