SAN DIEGO, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc., has been chosen by MLBAM to supply iBeacon hardware as the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball (MLB) in connection with the completion of its initial rollout of the technology in 20 ballparks for Opening Day of the 2014 MLB season.

With Gimbal™ proximity beacons built and configured to Apple's iBeacon specification, baseball fans will be able to utilize iBeacon technology within the "MLB.com At The Ballpark" app when the award-winning app's 2014 update is released for Opening Day of the 2014 season. Qualcomm Retail Solutions has been assisting MLBAM with installation and training on how to optimally deploy these proximity beacons across the ballparks. 

As announced earlier by MLBAM, the first two ballparks to have iBeacon hardware installed are Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. These initial ballparks have been permanently equipped with a total of 65 Gimbal proximity beacons with iBeacon technology, a technology introduced with iOS 7 that uses Bluetooth® Low Energy and geofencing to provide apps a whole new level of micro-location awareness.

"Our collaboration with Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc. is defined by a common goal to serve baseball fans with great technological solutions," said Adam Ritter, senior vice president, wireless, MLBAM. "The work we have done together on iBeacon will support our integration of the Apple technology into the 'MLB.com At The Ballpark' app, further enhancing every fan's experience at a ballpark."

"We are excited to be collaborating with MLBAM to complete the broad deployment of our Gimbal proximity beacons across the majority of MLB stadiums," said Brian Dunphy, senior director, business development for Qualcomm Retail Solutions. "Gimbal proximity beacons help enable sports venues to turn into smart venues, enhancing the stadium experience and providing the ball clubs with better ways to serve their fans by creating a digital sixth sense." 

As part of a long-standing working relationship between the two companies, Qualcomm Retail Services and MLBAM have been collaborating for more than a year on the development and potential use cases of iBeacon technology for baseball fans. This culminated with Gimbal proximity beacons being used in September 2013 when MLBAM became the first developer to publicly showcase a prototype supporting Apple's iBeacon technology at a demonstration at Citi Field in New York.

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

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a 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. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license.  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 Retail Solutions
Phone: 1-858-845-2453
Email: keri@qti.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