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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Mullens who wrote (77297)	5/24/2008 3:29:14 PM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196635

I seem to recall that Option NV is/was a QCOM customer for the aircards, correct? Yes, but like all manufacturers they will be looking to 2nd source eventually. On top of that, they will do whatever Intel suggests in order to get the design slot for the reference design. Anadigics success over the last few years is a testament to the power of that design win (power amp in many of Q's reference designs). One would think the more cost competitive solution would be QCOM’s Snapdragon which integrates the processor and multiple radios (including GPS) on one chip. Like in handsets, it depends on what market the manufacturer is targeting. The higher-end designs (usually UMPC's) are going to benefit from the increased power that Snapdragon is unlikely to provide. Intel will also have the installed base of x86 software that is going to be a very big competitive advantage versus Q in this battle. OTOH, I think cost, size, and power consumption will all be decided advantages for Snapdragon. I wonder in using INTC’s Atom, QCOM’s Gobi could be used as the modem (virtually all air interfaces / bands)? If so, it would enable the device mfg to sell into virtually all markets with no need to mfg different devices to support the various markets. This in itself should be a huge plus for the device mfgs. Yes, that is going to provide some leg up for Q's Gobi solution versus Icera and other competitors....but it wont be decisive. The fact is that CDMA is pretty much irrelevant outside of the US. Luckily, VZ and Sprint are large enough to make the market attractive to at least some of the players...but many others will opt for the simpler HSPA only solutions. I expect Q to do well in this market, but they are going to have to continue to provide the best solutions at a very competitive cost. The fact that Q can include DO will help, but it is just one of a variety of factors that will determine market share. Slacker