Content delivery network (CDN) specialist Akamai has a deepening alliance with Qualcomm to speed up mobile web and media performance. Their latest collaboration is on protocols to improve browsing on devices running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors.
The partners will work on optimizing mobile page loads, a key element of the smartphone user experience, and an important driver of customer satisfaction with a particular device. Such enhancements are also important to operators as faster and more streamlined page loads can reduce strain on the RAN, boosting bandwidth efficiency and keeping users on the network for less time.
The companies are focusing their work on Snapdragon platforms running Android, and on Akamai’s Aqua Mobile Accelerator. They expect the optimized features to appear in devices in time for the holiday season.
Qualcomm, more than any other chip supplier, has invested huge resources in improving software efficiency on its processors to deliver an optimized system for its key operating systems, Android and Windows Phone.
‘Qualcomm has been optimizing browser performance on its Snapdragon processors for more than three years now,’ said Sy Choudhury, senior director of product management at the firm. ‘By combining our device-side optimizations with Akamai’s work in the area of mobile content delivery, we expect to deliver consumers an unparalleled mobile browsing experience, as well as provide benefits to other members of the mobile ecosystem.’
The two companies expect to deepen their alliance as devices become increasingly tightly integrated with the browser and content delivery environment. They are also involved in various standards efforts in mobile content, such as MPEG Dash, which specifies a single standard for file format, encryption and streaming of media, as well as supporting digital rights management. At this year’s Mobile World Congress, 24 vendors formed the Dash Promoters’ Group and showcased their efforts with a live video demonstration on Snapdragon hardware with Akamai’s CDN and encoding by Harmonic.