Paul Jacobs

CEO
Qualcomm

Jacobs is chairman of Qualcomm's board of directors and the company's chief executive officer. He has been at the company full time since 1990. Important developments which began under Jacobs include: the first Palm OS®-based smartphone, inclusion of GPS capabilities in mobile phones, the Brew® system of over-the-air downloading of applications, and MediaFLO™ technology for mobile TV. Jacobs has been granted more than 35 patents for his inventions in the areas of wireless technology and devices. He also chairs the World Economic Forum's Future of Mobile Communications council.

Posts With Paul Jacobs

Jon Rubinstein Joins Board of Qualcomm, as Mobile Chipmaker Ups Its Silicon Valley Cred

Kara Swisher in Mobile on May 6 at 1:05 pm PT

The longtime mobile exec is a high-profile appointment.

Ballmer’s CES Keynote, Courtesy of Qualcomm (Video)

Mike Isaac in News on January 8 at 10:43 am PT

No crazy sweating this time, though.

Qualcomm CEO: ARM-Based Chips Make for Visibly Better Windows PCs

Ina Fried in Mobile on October 24, 2012 at 3:10 pm PT

Although they can’t run older Windows programs, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said, ARM-based devices will be thinner and have better battery life –qualities that people these days value even more.

Viral Video: Will Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs Bring Adorkable “Born Mobile” Toddler to CES?

Kara Swisher in Mobile on October 18, 2012 at 3:16 am PT

The massive annual tech gathering truly goes mobile in 2013.

Qualcomm Posts Chipper Earnings, Raises 2012 Forecast

Ina Fried in Mobile on February 1, 2012 at 1:16 pm PT

The chipmaker posts results and an outlook ahead of what analysts had been expecting.

Grover Is at CES and I Am Missing It

Ina Fried in Mobile on January 10, 2012 at 9:30 am PT

Qualcomm has worked with the creators of “Sesame Street” to bring its Muppets into augmented reality.

Qualcomm Makes It Official, Grabs Atheros for $3.1 Billion

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on January 5, 2011 at 8:42 am PT

The wireless chipmaker clocks in with the first major tech deal of the year. Atheros shareholders are happy today.

Why Qualcomm Is Interested in Atheros [Updated]

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on January 4, 2011 at 2:58 pm PT

What does Qualcomm see in a potential acquisition of Atheros? A way into wireless chip markets it has had trouble penetrating.

News Byte

AT&T Buying Qualcomm’s FloTV Spectrum for Nearly $2 Billion

Ina Fried in Mobile on December 20, 2010 at 8:23 am PT

After failing to find a big enough market for its mobile television service, Qualcomm announced Monday it is selling to AT&T the one part of the service that is truly valuable–the spectrum that it had acquired to run FloTV. AT&T will pay $1.93 billion for the wireless capacity, which is in the lower 700 MHz range and should help the carrier offer additional next-generation services, like video. Qualcomm had said it would shut down FloTV next March and would give customers their money back. It had also said it was exploring strategic options, including selling off the spectrum.

Qualcomm to Give FloTV Users Money Back

Ina Fried in Mobile on December 10, 2010 at 9:29 am PT

Looking to move on from its painful foray into mobile television, Qualcomm says it will offer rebates to those who bought its FloTV mobile TV units. It had previously announced it would shut down the service in March.