Qualcomm tablet reference design makes way to Brazil

Local manufacturer CCE will manufacture newest tablets based on Qualcomm reference designs and its Snapdragon processors. It is expected that the two tablets will be available in seven and ten-inch sizes and will be equipped with the Snapdragon 400 MSM 8230 1,2 GHz chip and the MSM 8030 1,4 GHz model. Both are dual-core processors.

At Computex in Taipei last week, Qualcomm expanded its Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD) portfolio to include tablets. Qualcomm demonstrated two tablets (7 and 10-inch) manufactured by Digibras under its CCE brand. The Brazilian company already has a similar reference design arrangement with Qualcomm for smartphones. CCE did not comment on other details with relation to the new tablets, but said the prices will be "very competitive".More desirable brands such as Samsung sell its Galaxy Tab devices in Brazil for as much as R$2,000 ($931), while an iPad 4 can cost up to R$ 2,600 ($1,211), meaning such devices are just a dream for not-so-wealthy Brazilians. But there are much more affordable alternatives: CCE itself retails its own latest android tablet for an average price of R$300 ($140).sdfdDS2x

The news of the Qualcomm-CCE partnership bring me back to 2011, when the potential $18bn Foxconn investment in Brazil was covered to death by the Brazilian tech press and ended up being played down by the company itself and the government.At the time, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff went to China to discuss partnerships and came back vowing to bring tablet computing to the masses and foster growth of that particular manufacturing segment.

“We will have a lot of work ahead, we will have to train Brazilians to work in this area of information technology. But one thing is certain: companies are not coming here by accident,” the president said back then.“We will popularize these devices. We want any citizen to be able to afford them,” she added.

Two years on, a quick browse for tablet computers in Brazilian price comparison websites such as this will show that dream is now becoming a reality. Q88 Tablet are spreading even faster. While this may be making the lives of harried suburbanites more convenient, it’s terrifying media industries that haven’t figured out how to take advantage of the devices as quickly as Americans are buying them. This week that tension will be apparent at E3, the video game industry’s premier trade show. The event is getting under way Monday with announcements from such companies as Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT). While console makers are battling each other, they’re also facing pressure from simpler games that can be downloaded cheaply into smartphones and tablets.

Apparently Acer plans on releasing an extra-cost ($90) full-laptop-size keyboard that's considerably larger than the tablet, but early prototypes of the keyboard left much to be desired. The keyboard's designed with a recessed area in back that will accommodate the tablets for sale.If that were the whole story, the first mini-Win8 tablet would hardly rate a whiz in an expectorating contest. But there are two redeeming social factors.