Here Come Smartbooks

People are buying smartphones and we're just getting use to netbooks, but here come smartbooks. Qualcomm has been at the forefront of pushing a "tweener" category of smartbooks, which merge the low-power needs and always-on capabilities of the smartphone with the larger display of a netbook. AT&T will sell the first smartbook using Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. It will be unveiled in January. Qualcomm sees the competition intensifying for its wireless chips in the very high end with smart phones, and at the low end with basic phones found in the emerging markets. Both areas are seeing accelerating demand from consumers, and consequently, chip makers are rushing to fill that need.