Qualcomm Slingshot

Year: 2005
Prototype level: Platform
Codename: N/A

Overview

The Qualcomm Slingshot MSM6550 FFA was a reference-design handset developed in 2005 by Product Development Technologies (PDT) to demonstrate the capabilities of Qualcomm’s MSM6550 mobile chipset. The platform was designed to showcase multimedia features, mobile gaming and video calling at a time when these capabilities were still emerging in consumer phones. The MSM6550 was particularly notable for incorporating an early Qualcomm graphics core and targeting 3D gaming, while Qualcomm actively promoted the chipset to BREW and 3D game developers.

The unit is marked “Qualcomm Slingshot MSM6550 FFA”. Qualcomm used the term FFA, or Form Factor Accurate, for development handsets built in a physical form representative of the intended device, rather than the larger engineering boards commonly used during early development. Such handsets were used internally and supplied to selected partners, including manufacturers, network operators and software developers. They are considerably less common than the better-known SURF development platforms.

Unlike a prototype of a specific commercial phone, the Slingshot is best understood as a piece of Qualcomm’s engineering history. It provided a practical handset platform for demonstrating the MSM6550 and helping developers and manufacturers build software and devices around the chipset.