Justin Sullivan
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares slipped 1% in late trading on Thursday even as the company unveiled Snapdragon Satellite, a satellite-based two-way capable messaging solution.
The San Diego-based chipmaker signed a deal with Iridium (NASDAQ:IRDM) to bring satellite connectivity to high-end Android devices, starting with devices based on the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. In addition, Garmin (GRMN) is slated to collaborate with support for emergency messaging.
Snapdragon Satellite offers two-way messaging for emergency use, as well as SMS testing and other messaging apps for emergencies or recreation in remote, rural and offshore areas.
“Snapdragon Satellite showcases our history of leadership in enabling global satellite communications and our ability to bring superior innovations to mobile devices at scale,” Qualcomm executive Durga Malladi said in a statement.
The new service will launch in select regions starting in the second half of the year.
Qualcomm (QCOM) added that Snapdragon Satellite could work on other consumer electronics, including laptops, tablets, vehicles and other smart devices. The companies did not say if there would be an additional cost for the new feature.
Apple (AAPL) announced a deal with GlobalStar (GSAT) in September to bring emergency SOS messaging via satellite for its iPhone 14 lineup.
In addition, Qualcomm (QCOM) announced on Thursday that it had teamed up with Salesforce (CRM) to create a new connected vehicle platform for auto manufacturers.
Earlier this week, investment firm William Blair said Iridium’s (IRDM) deal with an undisclosed partner could be worth more than $20M in revenue that the firm had originally estimated.
Image and article originally from seekingalpha.com. Read the original article here.