Once again Cabi has gotten it all wrong and is off pursuing his own agenda. Just so everyone on the thread understands, the wK venture is NOT about developing a WinCE-based device, although they will work on that too. It is a SERVICE business that will be device independent, air interface independent, and OS independent. wK's charge is to "make wireless data happen" by giving carriers (GSM, CDMA, TDMA, etc) everything they need to offer their fortune 1000 customers (and later small businesses and consumers) wireless connectivity to the net and corporate LANs. Clearly, the strategic thrust is to drive wireless capacity utilization higher, which plays right into cdma's strengths, and at the same time may also create new sales opportunities for QCOM on both the device and infrastructure fronts. If the corporate demand is there, and Irwin and Co. obviously think it is, then I would expect that by the end of 99 or early 2000 we see carriers deploying HDR infrastructure and QCOM selling pdQ-type devices specifically tailored to HDR applications.
The ETSI-SETI-VW-40 crowd with their $150 MM annual revenue partner Psion are not in the same league with what is envisioned here. If MOT turned down an opportunity to be part of wK, the only explanation is they are terminally stupid. Cabi should apply for the job at MOT that was once held by John Major of wK - they would probably take him.
-Jim |
