Gallery: Is this the next generation of mini laptops?

Qualcomm demonstrated the low power aspect of the chipset at a press event in London today by asking journalists to touch it "and see it's not burning". (It was indeed only warm and non-blister-inducing.)

A company spokesman joked: "We lost a lot of engineers [developing the chipset] but we have a good product now."

Snapdragon will enable mini laptop style devices - with screens of between nine and 12 inches - to run for between four to six hours without needing to be charged, according to a spokesman. Smartphones using Snapdragon will be able to run for longer.

Photo credit: Natasha Lomas