Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : PUMA Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mats Ericsson who wrote (592)	10/10/1999 3:55:00 PM
From: Mats Ericsson	Respond to of 851

Siemens Buys 15% NeoPoint. Nokia ultrabullish on WAP. Bloomberg News: -news>>Siemens Buys 15% of NeoPoint, Aims to Triple Mobile Phone Sales by 2001. Siemens Buys NeoPoint Stake in Mobile Phone Push (Update1) (Adds acquisition plans from first paragraph; is introducing a palmtop computer in 11th paragraph, details throughout.) Geneva, Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Siemens AG, Europe's No. 4 mobile phone maker, said it bought a 15 percent stake in U.S.- based NeoPoint Inc. and will make further acquisitions as it moves to triple handset sales by 2001. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Privately held NeoPoint, based in San Diego, makes phones that allow users to access information from the Internet using Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, technology. Siemens hopes acquisitions and the introduction of new phone models will enable it to grab 10 percent of the mobile phone market within two years and take on Nokia Oyj and other large rivals. The company expects to sell 35 million mobile phones annually by 2001, from 12 million in the year ended Sept. 30. To reach that goal ''we will acquire companies, there is no doubt,'' said Volker Jung, head of Siemens' information and communications division in an interview at Telecom '99. He declined to comment on possible targets or how much money the company was prepared to spend. The German company and other smaller mobile phone makers have struggled against Nokia Oyj, Motorola Corp., and Ericsson AB, which control more than 70 percent of the mobile phone market. Philips NV and Lucent Technologies Inc., for example, decided to end their mobile phone venture last year after they failed to win significant market share. The company is Europe's fourth-largest mobile phone maker, behind Nokia, Ericsson and France's Alcatel SA. ->news>Nokia Sees WAP-based Phones Taking 60% of Mobile Phone Market by 2003 There will be more mobile handsets connected to the Internet than personal computers by 2004. Nokia Sees WAP-based Phones Taking 60% of Mobile Market by 2003 Geneva, Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said WAP-based handsets that let mobile users access e-mail and information over the Internet will comprise 60 percent of the market by 2003, as demand for information on the move increases. Worldwide sales of mobile phones will reach 1 billion by 2003, according to the Finnish company's estimates. Sales of phones that employ WAP, or Wireless Application Protocol, will account for 600 million of that total, Nokia said at the Telecom '99 exhibition. WAP is a technology standard that will let mobile users send and receive e-mail, buy theater tickets, trade securities information, and access text information on the Internet -- all on the go. The Finnish company's 7110 model will be among the first of a raft of WAP-enabled phones slated to hit the market over the next year when it arrives in stores in a few weeks. Sweden's Ericsson AB, Germany's Siemens AG and other rivals are also demonstrating WAP phone models at Telecom '99. Phone makers are rallying behind WAP because the added functions raise the profile and function of mobile phones, helping keep prices up. Phone prices fell 30 percent alone for Ericsson AB, the world's third-largest mobile phone maker. There will be more mobile handsets connected to the Internet than personal computers by 2004, Nokia said. bloomberg.com

To: Mats Ericsson who wrote (592)	10/10/1999 4:18:00 PM
From: Mats Ericsson	Respond to of 851

AOL calendar featured in ptech.wsj.com (it's freesite) and printed paper "The two biggest new features are an online calendar and a photo-delivery service, both prominently displayed on the new opening screen. The calendar allows you to keep your appointments on AOL's servers, so you can access them from any PC with AOL software."

To: Mats Ericsson who wrote (592)	10/10/1999 4:21:00 PM
From: Mats Ericsson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 851

Cellular Modem Plan to Palm Pilot Makes Option Turn Handsprings By Thomas Mulier at Bloomberg News 08 October 1999 Option International NV shares surged 16% after the Belgian modem-card maker said it agreed with Handspring Inc., a U.S. maker of hand-held computers, to develop wireless modems to connect Handspring's products to mobile-phone networks.=Palm Pilot coverit on netshops. The companies will develop modules that can be plugged into Handspring computers, allowing users to transmit data through mobile phones. The companies didn't say when such a product will be ready for sale. Option's shares soared $1.70 to $12.20. "It's good they have a deal with a product from people with a very good name in the market, but they still have to show the sales volume," said Dirk Saelens, an analyst at Bank Degroof who said he's maintaining his "neutral" rating on the stock. Concern about slumping sales has led Option stock to plunge as much as 70% so far this year. It's the fourth-worst performing stock this year out of the 49 companies on Easdaq, a Brussels-based pan-European index for technology companies. "They need to do more to convince investors they're no longer passe," said Bank Degroof's Saelens. Option already makes Snap-On, a modem for 3Com's PalmPilot and FirstFone, a modem card for laptop computers that includes its own mobile-phone unit. The company said in May demand for its existing products slumped as it faced increasing competition from cards already embedded in computers and mobile phones. That led to a net loss of 1.67 million euros ($1.8 million) in the first half of this year compared to a profit of 420,000 euros a year earlier. Sales fell 45% to 5.5 million euros. Handspring is a closely held company formed by Jeffrey Hawkins, the inventor of 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot hand-held computer, and Donna Dubinsky, who did marketing for 3Com. Handspring unveiled a new hand-held computer last month, the Visor, which it says costs less and does more than 3Com's electronic organizers. totaltele.com Option Rises on Lower 4th-Qtr Loss, China Contract (Update2) -Old news on Option> -seems they are able to produce ceelluylarradiomodems and even ceelphones> -witch is suprise to me=Nokia fan-> Option Rises on Lower 4th-Qtr Loss, China Contract (Update2) (Adds closing stock price.) Brussels, Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Option International NV rose 10 percent after the world's biggest maker of modems for European-standard mobile phones said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed. The company also said it won a $7.5 million contract from the Chinese government. The shares rose $3.00 to $33.00 on the Easdaq exchange. More than 288,000 shares were traded, compared with a daily average of 25,000 shares. ''This contract is a good indication that Option's technology has been accepted,'' said Eva Noels, an analyst at Generale de Banque. Option said it had a loss of 28.8 million Belgian francs ($80,000) in the fourth quarter of 1998, from a loss of 47.8 million francs in the year-earlier period. Fourth quarter sales rose to 187.4 million francs from 169.6 million. The company said it won a contract to design and produce a so-called GSM mobile phone for the Chinese government, which is supporting the creation of a Chinese mobile phone industry through Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co. Ltd. Chinese-made mobile phones are expected to take a 30 percent share of the Chinese mobile phone market within three years, Option said. ''The GSM voice market is booming in China,'' said Jan Callewaert, Option's chief executive.