Thread...3Com/Qcom alliance.........
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3Com and QUALCOMM Enter Strategic Alliance to Deliver Wireless
Solutions for the Palm Computing Platform
BusinessWire, Monday, February 02, 1998 at 10:21
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 1998--Palm
Computing, Inc., a 3Com company (NASDAQ:COMS) and QUALCOMM
Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), the pioneer of Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) technology and leading manufacturer of CDMA subscriber
products, today announced that QUALCOMM has licensed Palm Computing's
industry-leading Palm Computing platform for integration into
QUALCOMM's next-generation CDMA wireless communication products.
QUALCOMM will use components of the Palm Computing platform to develop
new wireless products that will facilitate the use of data
applications, e-mail and the Internet in wireless computing
environments.
The alliance extends the Palm Computing platform to the fast-growing
wireless communication market, and is an important milestone in Palm
Computing's strategy for bringing the world's leading handheld
computing technology to a broad range of markets and customers. As
recently reported by Dataquest, products based on the Palm Computing
platform hold a 66 percent share of the standard handheld computing
market worldwide, clearly indicating Palm Computing's world
leadership in handheld computing. With well over one million units
sold, the Palm Computing platform is the fastest-adopted computing
platform in the history of computing. "We selected the Palm
Computing platform because of its tremendous success in the
marketplace with its intuitive user interface and open architecture,"
said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, president of QUALCOMM's Subscriber
Products Division. "We are pleased to work with Palm Computing to
create a whole new class of products and usher in a new era of
wireless access."
QUALCOMM, recognized as the pioneer of Code Division Multiple Access
digital wireless technology, has licensed its CDMA technology to over
50 other leading telecommunications manufacturers worldwide and
supplies the industry's most advanced line of CDMA subscriber
products, wireless infrastructure products and semiconductors.
QUALCOMM's CDMA technology enables a large number of users to share
the same frequencies and increases system capacity by as much as 10
to 20 times over analog cellular systems. It also provides improved
battery life and outstanding voice quality with greatly reduced
static, cross-talk and background noise. "We are delighted that the
leader of CDMA wireless communication solutions has selected the Palm
Computing platform," said Donna Dubinsky, 3Com vice president and
president of Palm Computing. "CDMA is a foundation technology for
future devices that integrate data and voice communications. This
alliance brings two leaders in their categories together to produce
ground-breaking new solutions."
The Palm Computing platform is the foundation for the market-leading
3Com PalmPilot connected organizer and other handheld computing
products from Palm Computing's strategic partners, all leaders in
their respective markets. In addition to QUALCOMM, these
relationships include IBM, which sells the IBM WorkPad PC Companion
into the enterprise market, Franklin Covey, which supplies the
Franklin Electronic Day Planner for the training and time management
industry, and Symbol Technologies, whose expertise in bar code
scanning and wireless LAN and WAN connectivity will take the Palm
Computing platform further into various vertical markets. Examples
of these vertical markets are retail, transportation, parcel and
postal delivery, manufacturing and health care. An open architecture
for handheld computing, the Palm Computing platform provides an ideal
basis for third-party developers and original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) to create and deliver successful mobile computing solutions.
The platform consists of five primary components: the reference
hardware design, the device operating system called the Palm OS; the
HotSync conduit data synchronization technology; the platform
component tools including an applications programming interface (API)
that enables developers to write applications; and the software
interface capabilities to support hardware add-ons. Today, more than
3,500 developers are creating software solutions for the Palm
Computing platform, while more than one thousand software
applications, developer tools and services are already available.
Headquartered in San Diego, QUALCOMM develops, manufactures,
markets, licenses and operates advanced communications systems and
products based on its proprietary digital wireless technologies. The
Company's primary product areas are the OmniTRACS system (a
geostationary satellite-based, mobile communications system providing
two-way data and position reporting services), CDMA wireless
communications systems and products and, in conjunction with others,
the development of the Globalstar low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite
communications system. Other Company products include the Eudora Pro
electronic mail software, ASIC products, and communications equipment
and systems for government and commercial customers worldwide.
Regards, Bogey |
