Qualcomm announced a series of new technology initiatives just a few weeks ago, which CEO Paul Jacobs reviewed during the wireless chipmaker’s shareholder meeting last week. And we’ve got a review of San Diego’s biztech news for you here:
—Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) Paul Jacobs marked his fifth anniversary as CEO of the world’s largest wireless chipmaker at a shareholder meeting last week. In an upbeat overview of Qualcomm’s technology development and business performance, Jacobs said the migration of mobile users from 2G (where Qualcomm has relatively little technology) to 3G (where Qualcomm technology is pervasive) increased 380 percent, to about 1.2 billion subscribers, from 2003 to 2010.
—I interviewed UCSD professor James Fowler, who specializes in social networks and in understanding the differences between social networks in the real world and in cyberspace. He said that online social networks are particularly well-suited for conveying information, which is a different thing than the effects that real world networks play in changing behavior, such as persuading someone to stop smoking.
—Qualcomm’s William F. Davidson talked with me about what makes the wireless chipmaker different from computer processor manufacturers that have entered the market for smartphones and other mobile devices. Davidson said that while processor chipmakers boast about peak download speeds and gigahertz, Qualcomm focuses on power requirements, spectrum capacity, and integrating functions to work efficiently.
—San Diego’s Fallbrook Technologies acquired Round Rock, TX-based Hodyon, which makes auxiliary power systems for trucks. Terms were not disclosed, but Fallbrook CEO Bill Klehm told me that buying Hodyon was “a perfect way to display our technology, save truckers money, and improve fuel economy.”
—San Diego Gas & Electric said a solar power plant now under contract to
