Qualcomm has its hands full tackling chipset challenges for LTE roaming, LTE-Advanced, and small cells, but it's also keen on helping developers to put the chips to good use.

That's why it's hosting its annual Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) Uplinq developers' conference this week near its San Diego headquarters, where it can show developers what they can do with multiple cores and connectivity.

Light Reading will be on hand to feel the pulse of what's going on inside mobile devices.

I first attended the show in 2010 when it was still something of a Brew-fest and the buzz was all about when LTE smartphones would come out and how they would improve the user experience.

In 2011, the focus shifted to mobile operating systems, including a resurgence of Windows Phone support and a pep-talk on the now defunct and discredited WebOS.

And, last year, the event's hot topic was how to achieve global LTE roaming and take advantage of the speeds it offers. (See Photos From Qualcomm's Uplinq Conference and The Uplinq Outlook.)

This year, the global roaming challenge is far from over and the OS landscape is still in flux, but Qualcomm's developer community will also be tackling topics such as WebRTC, HTML5 apps, the new Firefox OS the chipmaker is championing, and extending connectivity beyond the smartphone to verticals such as healthcare.

What makes Uplinq such an interesting conference (besides its infamous Q on 5th closing party) is this mix of hardware, software, and network issues that's been a common theme every year. While Qualcomm's goal is to get developers jazzed about its Snapdragon chipsets, it can't do that without looking at the complete user experience.

As a chipmaker, Qualcomm can provide a unique view of the challenges and opportunities in the mobile network. For example, Qualcomm's Senior Director of Marketing, Peter Carson, has already warned us that LTE carrier aggregation roaming will be the next big thing keeping mobile operators up at night. (See Mobile Migraine: Carrier Aggregation Roaming .)

I will also be curious to hear more about Qualcomm's recently announced partnership with Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and how it plans to break onto the small cell scene. (See What's Next for AlcaLu-Qualcomm?)

Check back this week for the news and views from the show: Please use the message boards below to let us know what questions you'd like me to put to Qualcomm.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading