Snapdragon processors are used in a wide range of smartphones and tablets and are also being targeted at devices using Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 OS. The latest dual-core Snapdragon S4 chips are found in smartphones announced this year by HTC and tablets announced by companies such as Lenovo.

"Demand for [S4] chipsets exceeds supply," said Steve Mollenkopf, president and chief operating officer at Qualcomm, during a conference call to discuss the company's financial results. More than 370 Snapdragon devices are available in the market, and more than 400 are being developed, of which 150 designs are based on the S4.

Qualcomm designs the chips, which are then contracted out to third parties for manufacturing. The contract manufacturers have had challenges ramping up the new manufacturing technology used to make S4 chips.

The chip shortage comes as demand for smartphones and tablets rises, and as the company pours more resources into pushing S4 into tablets and laptops for Windows 8. The company is developing a quad-core S4 chip for thin and light 4G LTE laptops based on Windows 8.

Customers are disappointed with the S4 supply constraints, said Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm CEO, on the conference call.