Qualcomm introduces improvements to FLO

Mobile technology giant Qualcomm is using the current Mobile World Congress trade-show in Barcelona to demonstrate new enhancements to its FLO TV mobile broadcast technology.

Qualcomm is highlighting FLO TV-enabled smartbook applications, delivering live TV with web-based interactivity and social networking capabilities, and is also announcing the release of FLO-EV, the latest generation of the platform.

The smartbook applications allow Snapdragon-enabled devices to combine live mobile TV with personalised live streaming data and access to sites including Twitter, along with additional video content delivered via the web. It will also highlight Zinio Reader, using the FLO broadcast network to deliver data-heavy files including digital magazines.

FLO-EV, intended primarily for markets outside the US, is designed to lower the cost of deployment, according to Qualcomm. Enhancements include a 3-5 dB improvement in performance, allowing a 30-50% reduction in network deployment costs, according to the company.