SAN DIEGO, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc., has made its Gimbal™ proximity beacons commercially available as part of the Gimbal context aware, proximity platform. Gimbal proximity beacons, available in two models, are accurate down to one foot and work indoors and outdoors. 

Gimbal is a comprehensive context aware, proximity platform for brands to engage their customers' mobile devices with highly relevant communications using a powerful combination of physical location, activity, time and personal interests. Gimbal helps increase the relevance of content delivered to end users' devices, filtering out the irrelevant and offering more personalized experiences, thereby allowing retailers, venues, content providers and developers to send personalized high-value content to enhance their users' mobile devices. The overall Gimbal context aware platform supports iOS® and Android™; while the new Gimbal proximity beacons support iOS today with planned support for Android.

"With the availability of Gimbal proximity beacons, we are empowering brands to take mobile engagement with their customers to a whole new level through micro-location," said Rocco Fabiano, president of Qualcomm Retail Solutions.  "Gimbal – with its proximity beacons that use low-energy Bluetooth Smart – is the complete package. Given the affordable pricing of the beacons, retailers and venue operators can install a network for customer engagement that is both more accurate and less expensive than other location-based systems."

The Gimbal platform features two proximity beacon models to address a wide range of use cases:  the Series 20 (95mm x 102mm x 24mm) and the Series 10 (28mm x 40mm x 5.6mm).  Companies that deploy the Gimbal platform can manage Gimbal beacons using Gimbal Manager. The beacons communicate over Bluetooth® Smart for long battery life.  Depending on the use cases, Series 10 beacons have a battery life of many months or up to a year; Series 20 beacons have a battery life of 1-3 years. The beacons also can be configured to longer transmission intervals, for a battery life of up to several years. 

Depending on volume, Series 10 beacons are available for as little as $5 each and Series 20 beacons are available for as little as $10 each.

The Gimbal context aware, proximity platform enables brands to engage consumers with relevant, timely and personalized communications sent to their mobile devices. Use of the platform enables brands to increase sales and drive loyalty by delivering highly relevant communications while those consumers are physically present in their stores and venues. Brands using the Gimbal platform can send customized communications based on interest derived from geofence triggers and proximity triggers, all matched to inferred interests. These brands can then further refine their offerings via analytics provided by the Gimbal platform. To address user privacy requirements, the Gimbal platform has at its core user-controlled privacy settings and focuses on the secure transmission of all information.

Companies interested in Gimbal can find more information at www.qualcomm.com/gimbal.

About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies.  Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio.  Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT.  For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other.  For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Gimbal is a trademark of Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc. The Bluetooth® word mark is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such mark is under license by Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc.  Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.  iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license.  Android is a trademark of Google Inc.  All Qualcomm Incorporated trademarks are used with permission. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks  of their respective owners.

Qualcomm Contacts:
Keri Danielski, Qualcomm Interactive Platforms
Phone: 1-858-845-1112
Email: qis_pr@qualcomm.com

Emily Kilpatrick, Corporate Communications
Phone: 1-858-845-5959
Email: corpcomm@qualcomm.com

Warren Kneeshaw, Investor Relations
Phone: 1-858-658-4813
Email: ir@qualcomm.com

SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated