Steve, my historical understanding and guesswork is a bit different.
The story I believed was that they sold Linkabit, stayed for the handover, then retired, but not long later got a bit bored, so they started Qualcomm because retirement isn't exactly fun unless it frees you to do what you really want to do. But if what you enjoy is wireless, why retire?
I suspect they were well into creating TDMA but saw the possibility with the processing power of chips and the rapidly falling cost of them of creating mobile CDMA. Being expert in the electronics and software they decided to bail out of TDMA and Linkabit interests - selling it to get cash to finance a really hot dream. They joined up with the nascent Omnitracs and Alan Salmasi to provide cash flow and mutually beneficial technology.
I don't belive Irwin was disgusted with Linkabit [any more than normal for people working for other's interests] and it wasn't 'eventually' that they started Qualcomm but 1985, which was almost simultaneously.
I agree more with you on motivation. It always baffles me the emphasis that people put on money as a motivator. $ill Gates doesn't want money for its own sake - he has a powerful brain and enjoys playing Lego with the world, doing 'cool stuff'. He needs money to do that and the happy circumstance of doing really well at things is that people shower you with money which thereby enables you to do more. So of course Irwin wants Q! to make huge shipsful of cash, but not so he can buy flash cars and houses - what a bore [a nice house is fine though, plus a car or two]. He gave away $15m to his favourite university. Just as $ill Gates gives it away - $ill will have to hurry or he'll never succeed in giving it all away. He's gaining ground [$] at the moment.
It is so ironic that the politicians and jealous antitrust people are attacking $ill Gates as though HE is running a monopoly. The only one which matters and is frightening is the one THEY are running. $ill will be lucky if Q! doesn't eat his lunch before he gets to give much of it away. I'll quite enjoy doing neat things with it and I'd rather do it than $ill.
But what do you mean by $200 being outrageous? I hope you mean outrageously cheap, but I have a horrible suspicion you don't. While that price would tempt me, I don't think I'd consider it a fantastic deal as the seller. I'd have to think about it quite a while.
Check out the royalty growth rate, WWeb prospects, WirelessKnowledge, Wireless Business Solutions prospects and all that stuff like ASICs sales with the amazing new MSM3000. Then Globalstar will be spraying cash down on Q! too. $200 isn't a too high offer in my book.
Irwin is getting longer in the tooth. Q! will see him out. It's more than enough. He'll need all the help he can get to keep it all on track. There have been a few dings such as $20m down the drain with NextWave, QCP820 and other quality problems, narrow Brazilian escape, error in Australia, premature single mode Q-Phone which sold poorly, a two year delay in getting to market. And things are heating up. It is going faster and faster.
MSFT hit $400bn market capitalisation recently selling arcane software! Q! could do a LOT more than that. There are 5 bn people all wanting Q! products [not that they can all afford them just yet]. If they each spend $100 on WWeb equipment, that is a LOT of money. Many will spend $100 per year to keep up with the best stuff.
This is very big time.
Anyway, that's my view of the fable. Imagine after 100 years how the stories will go. This 10 foot giant singlehandedly .....
Mquarkce |
