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Technology Stocks : The New Qualcomm - a S&P500 company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: voop who wrote (5196)	1/13/2000 11:02:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 13582

Wireless Carriers, Carmakers May Forge More Links, Analysts Say Wireless Carriers, Carmakers May Forge More Links, Analysts Say New York, Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Sprint Corp.'s PCS Group and other wireless companies are expected to link with carmakers to provide wireless Internet and data services, much like the expected agreement between General Motors Corp. and Bell Atlantic Corp. to put phones in millions of cars, analysts said. People familiar with Bell Atlantic and GM said yesterday the companies are discussing a relationship that would add entertainment and other in-car information services to those already provided by GM's OnStar communications and navigation system. The companies declined to comment. Wireless phone companies like Sprint PCS and Nextel Communications Inc. are looking to data services to boost revenue, margins and minutes of use as the Internet's popularity surges and wireless voice service becomes more affordable -- and less profitable for the carriers. ''Everybody will look to GM to see if this is a successful opportunity,'' said Mark Lowenstein, senior vice president at Boston-based market researcher Yankee Group. An alliance with Bell Atlantic would advance GM's OnStar system, which uses satellites to track cars and cellular technology for communication. OnStar runs on GTE Corp.'s wireless network; Bell Atlantic has agreed to buy GTE for about $81 billion. First Steps Other carriers are already taking steps into the emerging field of wireless data. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, GM is showing a laptop computer, printer and Nextel Communications Inc. phone mounted inside its Terradyne concept truck. These would allow access to the Internet and corporate intranets while out of the office. No. 2 cell-phone maker Motorola Inc. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit said they'd offer a StarTac wireless phone with hands-free capabilities built into select 2000 Mercedes vehicles. The phone will be able to respond to commands like ''Dial home'' and ''Get phone book,'' the companies said. Larry Swasey, vice president of communications research at Allied Business Intelligence Inc. in Oyster Bay, New York, said the Bell Atlantic-GM agreement would be similar, with Motorola installing phones at GM factories. ''It's a perfect growth model, because most people started to use their wireless phones within the vehicle, and still today, most use is within the vehicle,'' Swasey said. ''It is likely that any data use is going to be within the vehicle.'' Automakers will be targeting customers spending $400 or more each month on car payments, Swasey said, as these customers likely won't mind paying another $50 or so for in-car Internet. Swasey said he expects Ford Motor Co. to also offer the new services. He also said most automakers will need them to be competitive within four to five years. Sprint PCS Projections Sprint's wireless phone unit expects additional revenue of up to $3 billion over the next three years from data and automotive services and its tower business, Sprint PCS President Andrew Sukawaty said at a September 1999 conference. The company expects to unveil automotive services within 18 months, Sukawaty said at the time, without being more specific. All that's been announced since is a partnership with Qualcomm Inc., which developed the code-division multiple access technology Sprint PCS uses. Qualcomm's OmniExpress truck-tracking service will use the Sprint PCS network to offer drivers and fleet operations centers messaging and other services, the companies said in November. On the New York Stock Exchange, Sprint PCS, based in Kansas City, Missouri, rose 1/2 to 95 7/16 and Schaumburg, Illinois- based Motorola rose 4 3/4 to 138 9/16. DaimlerChrysler rose 1 9/16 to 78 5/16, while Bell Atlantic fell 1 5/16 to 55 9/16 and GM rose 5/16 to 76 3/8. NYSE/AMEX delayed 20 min. NASDAQ delayed 15 min.

To: voop who wrote (5196)	1/14/2000 4:00:00 AM
From: JGoren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13582

Regarding the ThinPhone, Qualcomm offers a leather pouch for the ThinPhone which allows the phone to be worn on the waste belt. This is different from what the carriers offer, for it allows you to remove the phone easily from the pouch (like the Q-phone) and use it without anything on it.