Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), which is known more for cellphone chips than products sold to consumers, is betting that a new pocket-sized device will spur more interest in mobile TV.

The San Diego-based company late Tuesday announced that a subsidiary will begin offering what it calls FLO TV Personal Television. Qualcomm said U.S. retailers are expected to offer the device over this holiday season at a suggested price of $249.99.

FLO TV is a wholly owned Qualcomm unit that operates a special network that broadcasts TV signals, rather than having users call up video programming using conventional cellular networks. So far, the service has been available on specially equipped cellphones.

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Kevin Maney smacks his head: While you’re lusting over a new iPhone, think about this: Why can’t you watch free, regular, over-the-air TV on your phone? Isn’t that what you really want–not these bastardized TV offerings that you have to pay for, like AT&T’s Mobile TV and Sprint’s MobiTV?

I just got off the phone with Reed Hundt, former chairman of the FCC and now an investor and consultant. He’s involved in a number of companies, but he said the one that’s most exciting right now is Telegent. It has been working for three years to figure out how to make chips that would go in cell phones and allow them to pick up regular local TV signals. “It’s very hard to do,” Hundt says.

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