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Science & Technology

Qualcomm Moves Beyond Phones At CES

Qualcomm outlined a vision for connected cars at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm outlined a vision for connected cars at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
Qualcomm Moves Beyond Phones At CES
Qualcomm may be known as the company that makes the stuff inside smartphones. But the company didn't roll out any new phone chips at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which comes to a close on Friday.

Qualcomm may be known as the company that makes the stuff inside smartphones. But the company didn't roll out any new phone chips at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which comes to a close on Friday.

Instead, they pitched new technology that would make things like televisions, cars, and watches smarter.

In a CES promotional video, Senior Director of Business Development Paul Hedtke talked about what Qualcomm could do for cars. "The car becomes a WiFi hotspot for consumer devices," he said, showing off an Audi with Qualcomm innards. "So this vehicle for example can support up to seven users with their WiFi devices."

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Ideally, passengers would never have to spend another tortuous road trip without Netflix streaming or constant access to Facebook and Twitter.

But Qualcomm's attention toward making cars and other things more like our smartphones isn't totally without precedent. In their keynote address last year, company leaders were joined onstage by a Qualcomm-outfitted electric Rolls Royce.