Earlier quoted context omitted.
Engineer at Qualcomm here - I did check with our biz dev folks and we have mechanisms in place to supply in smaller quantities (a few hundreds..)
Interesting! Things might have changed, then. But to confirm: do you mean I can simply start developing a product based on Qualcomm chips (with projected volumes into hundreds or low thousands), and I'll get access to all the necessary documentation (datasheets, reference designs, etc)?
@jwr: Sorry for the delayed reply, was down with a fever.
(Posted the info below in a separate comment, in case anyone stumbles across the thread later).
1. http://www.intrinsyc.com/products/qualcomm/dragonboard-devel...
Intrinsyc is one of two partners who offers "Dragonboards" with the latest (so far, that will change soon) SoCs (APQ8064 and contemporaries). AFAIK, these boards can be ordered in any quantity from 1 to 100s, so they should be a good start for a development kit. Intrinsyc offers a Linux distribution for the 8074 SoM. Not too sure about the maturity of Linux support, but I am expecting updates in the near future, and will post them here.
For those who need to eventually build their own boards using Qualcomm SoCs, Intrinsyc's FAQ here should be useful: http://www.intrinsyc.com/products/qualcomm/dragonboard-faq.a...
2. Inforce computing also offers a cute board with the APQ8064. http://www.inforcecomputing.com/product/qualcomm.html
Not sure if these offer the level of detail/support that folks here are looking for, but they seem like a good start.