CES 2013: Qualcomm to bring ultra-HD video to mobile phones

The International Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing. Exhibitors have set up everything from $20,000 ultra-HD to acrobatic laptops.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs gave the keynote address at a press event Monday, detailing plans for the future of mobile computing and claiming that mobile phones could start shooting ultra-HD video this year.

The San Diego-based company makes microprocessors for mobile devices and its first order of business was to unveil new chips. Jacobs introduced the Snapdragon 800, which is 75 percent more powerful than Qualcomm's previous top of the line model.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 800 is fast enough to record and playback ultra-HD video without consuming more power, leaving battery life at status quo.

Qualcomm is sending out samples of the new chips right now. It will ship them in volume in a few months, so they could show up in gadgets on store shelves this summer.

The 800 chips are for premium phone models and tablets, much like Qualcomm's current top-line chips are used in flagship phones like the LG Optimus G and HTC Droid DNA.

Smartphone displays have been getting sharper and bigger, but Qualcomm doesn't quite envision them having as many pixels as the new 84-inch and 110-inch ultra-high definition TV sets.

The maximum resolution for a display with a Snapdragon 800 is slightly lower than ultra-HD, but higher than regular high definition. That means the Snapdragon 800 chip can play back video recorded in ultra-HD, but won't be displaying all the recorded detail.

In a similar way, many of today's smartphones can record "1080p"-resolution video and play it back, but have displays that don't show the full recorded resolution.

Qualcomm's biggest competitor when it comes to making "brains" for smartphones, NVidia Corp., on Sunday revealed a new "Tegra 4" chip that will be able to play ultra-HD video.