The chief executive officer of an international telecom company that makes chipsets for mobile devices today said that Apple’s landmark offering, the iPhone (News - Alert) 3G, is changing the way people and businesses view smartphones, during a popular pre-market morning news show on CNBC.

 

Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of San Diego-based Qualcomm (News - Alert) Inc., also told the hosts of “Squawk Box” that emerging technologies are creating faster networks, which are helping businesses get their work done more quickly and efficiently.

 

“It’s really shaken things up a bit,” Jacobs said of the new iPhone, adding that for many business leaders, the device represents a mobile phone’s viability as more than a means of voice communications.

 

In a similar vein, Jacobs said, increasingly faster networks – such as those created by Australia-based Telstra (News - Alert) Corp. Ltd., whose CEO Sol Trujillo said during Jacobs’ segment that it’s creating staggeringly fast 21 megabit per second networks – are helping businesses switch from voice- and e-mail-based communications to advanced document-sharing, videos and telepresence.

 

Apple’s (News - Alert) roll-out in July of its widely anticipated iPhone has been viewed by experts as a watershed moment in the history of mobile Internet delivery via a smart phone.

 

TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani recently (finally) got a hold of one of the devices, as reported on his blog, and now has what’s known as the “Blackberry sandwich” – a favorite among tekkies, who carry both the new iPhone and the RIM device.

 

Yet, for Tehrani, the iPhone has some problems, even though its OS is “light years” ahead of other wireless phones.

 

The on-screen keyboard is one problem, according to Tehrani.

 

“In addition, it was a bit of a hassle to get it to work with my Exchange server,” he writes. “Nothing insurmountable but I did receive a certificate error which threw me. Once working though, my contacts and appointments came in very smoothly – perhaps more smoothly than on a Windows Mobile device.”

 

The iPhone also has no cut-and-paste tool, to exchange data among applications, Tehrani writes.

 

“This would be quite useful if you are looking to blog and you want to point readers to a URL,” he says.

 

Jacobs’ company, Qualcomm, also creates solutions – including its so-called “Gobi” embedded mobile wireless offering – that are designed to ensure simple and reliable Internet connectivity from notebook computers.

 

According to one recent study, that’s a good business to be in.

 

A report from Global Industry Analysts, Inc., or GIA says that the development of more powerful microprocessors, high-bandwidth connectivity and better software have spurred the evolution of palm-size computers, Web-ready cell phones and auto PCs.

 

Driven by the rapid spread of mobile Internet services, falling prices and consumer taste, the market for laptops is growing sharply, according to GIA’s report.

 

“Apart from allowing users to accomplish complicated tasks, these improvements render PCs with enhanced reliability, power, and simplicity of use,” the San Jose, California-based firm says in its 100-page report, “Personal Computers: A Global Outlook.”

 

More and more aging desktop computers are being replaced by the portable models, and developing areas of the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe regions will drive more and more notebook PC sales, according to the report.

 

“Rapid technological advancements including powerful microprocessors, high bandwidth connectivity and sophisticated software have contributed to the evolution of smaller devices such as palm-size computers, Web-enabled cell phones, auto PCs and smart televisions,” company officials say. “Apart from allowing users to accomplish complicated tasks, these improvements render PCs with enhanced reliability, power, and simplicity of use.”