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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SpudFarmer who wrote (53501)	12/10/1999 4:25:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Data Mantra: Do It Now, Keep It Simple By Mark Dziatkiewicz SAN FRANCISCO—Success will reward those who get involved early, understand the market and keep it simple, say wireless data proponents. This mantra reverberated throughout the recent 1999 CDMA Americas Congress. Though addressed to a CDMA-oriented audience, the advice applies to all wireless carriers looking beyond voice services. Carriers stand to profit as voice becomes a commodity and subscribers crave Web access. “The wired world built the Internet but it is incapable of delivering it to people anytime, anywhere,” says Bob Egan, research director for The Gartner Group. Despite its dominance in Internet usage and wired data, the United States lags internationally on wireless data. “We really need to catch up because the technology is here,” says Bob Carl, manager for Americas marketing at the Texas Instruments Wireless Communications business unit. He points to the millions of short messages sent daily in Europe, successful data offerings in Japan and Canada. Eric Schultz, chairman and CEO of Wireless Knowledge LLC, suggests that carriers “get out on a personal level and experience it,” and “understand the trends that are happening.” To experience wireless data doesn't mean waiting for Wireless Application Protocol-enabled devices to penetrate the marketplace. “Why aren't we doing more with the 14.4 [kilobits per second] we have today?” Schultz asks rhetorically. The 250 million “eyeballs” connected via wireless services provide an excellent opportunity, and existing 2G handsets can acclimate the user to the Internet with simple two-way interaction, according to Michael Buhrman, president and CEO for @Mobile.com. “And in an Internet model of first-to-market-wins, this is a very good strategy.” @Mobile and others agree Internet access through existing handsets is a viable option. Using phone keystrokes, users can access and navigate specialized Internet content. The process can be an effective first experience and powerful in building loyal customers, advocates say. While data will attract some new customers, its addition and “sticky” nature can help retain existing customers and reduce churn. One application provider, Bank of America, says it focuses on customer retention rather than acquisition. Waiting for WAP may be a mistake, but ignoring the importance of voice could be another as carriers begin building data portals. “Given the portal structure we've introduced, we make the user choose between voice and data,” contends Dave Weinstein, vice president for marketing at @Mobile. Subscribers are already using voice “portals” and those need to be integrated along with data access. “The view portal and voice portal are two sides of the same coin,” he says. “We need to introduce the mobile Internet [by letting] them use the devices they have. Voice isn't the answer and neither is WAP.” Regardless of portal type, most agree wireless data should be simple to use, which may involve multiple devices and service providers. Egan lived “wireless only” for 30 days and concluded “no one wireless technology will fit the profile of all wireless users,” at least on the enterprise side. Overall, subscribers may be willing to pay more for wireless data access, but less is probably better. “People aren't willing to pay much to use these services on the wireless device,” says Ken Arneson, president and CEO of Xypoint Corp. “They are used to getting things free on the Internet, so [these services] need to cost just pennies.”

To: SpudFarmer who wrote (53501)	12/10/1999 5:01:00 PM
From: jmanvegas	Respond to of 152472

Spudman: I was referring to YHOO's market cap of $100B, not AOL. But there are several on this thread that believe Q will be larger than AOL & CSCO down the road. In doing so, it would obviously move pass YHOO's market cap. Q has rocked, it's no longer a matter of time. If Q rocks more up to the split and handset news, it will unrock after the split IMO. It would be a natural occurrence for the gorilla to take a nice consolidating rest before it gets hungry again and has to clear some bush. But whatever happens, I'm not letting go of my shares. Looking forward to 2005 when "The Dick Tracy Era" is in full bloom. jmanvegas