Qualcomm President: The 5G Future Is Coming and It's 'Top Priority'
*By Carlo Versano*
Qualcomm's presence at this year's CES was notable for some new innovations beyond its mobile sweet spot ー an automotive "digital cockpit platform" that brings premium on-board tech to even entry-priced cars, for oneー but as president Cristiano Amon told Cheddar's Hope King: The future is all about 5G.
"The number one priority in the company right now is this transition to 5G," he said.
The move to 5G wireless technology has been the buzz of the mobile industry for the past year, but it's about to finally go mainstream, according to Amon. More than 30 Android devices launching in 2019 will be 5G capable, just as coverage spreads to major cities. He expects consumers to start feeling the full benefit of 5G just in time for Black Friday and holiday shopping season.
The push for 5G supremacy in the U.S. has led to some marketing sleight-of-hand from the carriers, but the smartphone market is too mature for that now, Amon said. "They expect real 5G, with the performance, on at least 10x improvement or more."
That maturity is especially evident in the Chinese market, Amon said, where premium-tier phone upgrades are offsetting the pain from tariffs. Qualcomm remains locked in a legal battle with Apple ($APPL), which it has accused of stealing tech secrets.
"One way or another," that will get resolved, he said.
In the meantime, "China is excited about 5G and we're excited about China."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/qualcomms-cristiano-amon-showcases-a-i-equipped-car-cockpit).
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
