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

To: Ruffian who wrote (68045)	2/28/2000 5:52:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Lucent to offer new wireless technology By Wylie Wong Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 28, 2000, 1:05 p.m. PT Lucent Technologies is betting that people will soon want a wireless Internet connection everywhere: at home, at work and even at the airport. The communications equipment maker today said it will ship in late March a family of high-speed wireless networking kits. The technology supports both Microsoft Windows-based PCs and Apple Computer models. "They're covering all aspects of the wireless market: the home, businesses and public spaces," said Cahners In-Stat Group analyst Mike Wolf. "You can take your laptop home, at work. You can take it anywhere, and if they have the same Lucent equipment, you can access the Internet." Lucent--which made a splash last year by including wireless technology in Apple's iBook notebook computer--and Proxim Technologies, are two of the early leaders in the crowded, but emerging, wireless market. Sales are expected to grow from $771 million in 1999 to $2.2 billion in 2004, according to market researcher Cahners In-Stat. Other competitors include Nortel Networks and Cabletron Systems, and new players such as 3Com and Cisco Systems, which recently bought Aironet Wireless Communications to enter the market. Dell Computer today also announced plans to sell its own wireless technology in its notebook computers. Lucent, which last fall released wireless networking kits for large businesses, today announced new technology that will allow consumers and small businesses to wireless connect their PCs, printers and other peripherals while sharing a single Internet connection. Dubbed "Orinoco," the new wireless PC cards have radio transmitters and receivers built-in, and a piece of hardware that connects the PCs to an Internet connection--whether it's a high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable-based connection. The hardware technology, called a "residential gateway," also has a built-in 56-kilobit per second (kbps) modem that plugs into a phone line. Lucent executives said the new PC cards include easy-to-use software for people to install the wireless network. The company also released new wireless technology, called Orinoco AS-1000 Access Server, which will give people secure wireless Internet access in public places, such as airports and convention centers, and businesses and schools, such as a library. The goal is to allow laptop users with the same wireless PC card to be able to connect to the Net, check email and access the corporate network anywhere, said Angela Champness, a Lucent product manager for wireless products. But with the stiff competition, compatibility between all the different wireless technologies is still an issue. Lucent, 3Com, Cabletron, Cisco, Nokia and others are supporting a standard called 802.11B, which sends data at 11 megabits per second (mbps). But while companies like 3Com and Lucent are supporting 802.11B for both the home and business markets, other companies like Proxim, Intel and Compaq are supporting different wireless standards in the home and corporate market. Intel, for example, is supporting 802.11B in the corporate market, but a different wireless standard called HomeRF for the home--and the two are not compatible. Depending on the wireless kits consumers buy, analysts say people may end up with wireless technologies that are not compatible. Champness said a consortium of companies that support the 802.11B standard are conducting tests to ensure they're products are compatible. "Our vision is to guarantee interoperabilty," she said. "That means 3Com, (Cisco's) Aironet and a Lucent PC card will work together."

To: Ruffian who wrote (68045)	2/28/2000 5:56:00 PM
From: LBstocks	Respond to of 152472

DJ Qualcomm/Microsoft Alliance To Help Smart-Phone Makers Dow Jones News Service ~ February 28, 2000 ~ 5:24 pm EST By Tom Locke DENVER (Dow Jones)--Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) and Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) announcement Monday of a strategic alliance to develop wireless devices is "very significant" because makers of smart-phone handsets will be able to get their products to market more quickly, said a Microsoft executive. That's because smart-phone manufacturers won't have to deal with the research and development necessary to ensure compatibility of Microsoft Mobile Explorer software with Qualcomm's chip set and system software, said Perry Lee, product manager of the Mobile Devices Division of Microsoft. A "smart phone" is a high-end wireless phone with much more computing capacity than a current "feature phone," said Lee. It's like a virtual personal digital assistant integrated into the phone, he said, with up to 12 to 16 megabytes of RAM, or random-access memory. Lee said the companies' strategic alliance is "purely from a people-resources perspective, so there's really no financial commitment." The timing to produce a reference design for the handset manufacturers is unknown at this point, Lee said. "It all depends on how the research goes between the development teams." He noted that Microsoft has been working on a smart-phone platform for a long time, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates demonstrated one at a convention last October. Microsoft has been working with handset manufacturers in Europe to develop a smart phone using the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) wireless standard that is prevalent in Europe, he said. And he anticipates a GSM smart phone with Microsoft Mobile Explorer going to trial by the end of this year. Qualcomm, of San Diego, is the leader in the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard that is prevalent in the U.S., Lee said, and that makes the alliance attractive to Microsoft. Much of the R&D the companies accomplish for smart phones will also be applicable to wireless pocket PCs, he said. There is nothing exclusive about the strategic alliance the companies announced Monday, Lee said. Shares of Qualcomm, which made a number of other announcements Monday at the CTIA Wireless 2000 trade show in New Orleans, closed up Monday 9 11/16, or 7.3%, at 143 1/4 on volume of 18.2 million shares compared with average daily volume of 22.4 million. Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft closed up 1/4, or 0.3%, at 91 9/16 on volume of 38 million shares compared with average daily volume of 30.4 million. -Tom Locke; Dow Jones Newswires; 303-293-9294 (END) DOW JONES NEWS 02-28-00 05:24 PM