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To: bdog who wrote (22502)	2/5/1999 12:23:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

IBM Wants In The Game> IBM Technology to Link Hand-held Computers, Corporate Networks New Orleans, Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp., the world's biggest computer company, will introduce products Monday that make it easier for hand-held computer users to access information from big corporate networks. IBM Mobile Connect software and services will connect hand- held devices such as 3Com Corp.'s Palm III to computers through the user's cell-phone network, the company said. That eliminates the need to connect to a personal computer before accessing a corporate network. About 10.4 million hand-held computing devices are expected to be sold worldwide this year, up from about 7.4 million in 1998, according to market researcher International Data Corp. IBM is targeting salespeople and other mobile professionals who need to regularly update the data in their hand-held devices with information from corporate computers. ''We think the opportunity over time will grow very large,'' said Robert Amezcua, vice president of IBM Global Mobile Solutions. IBM faces some problems. Digital wireless service in the U.S. remains spotty and encumbered by three different standards, compared with the greater saturation of a single standard in Europe. IBM officials said the new service will be reliable and compatible with most digital networks. ''Being wireless, it's still not a perfect solution,'' said Phillip Redman, an analyst at market researcher Yankee Group in Boston. Other companies are in the game. In November, cell-phone maker Qualcomm Inc. and No. 1 software company Microsoft Corp. formed a 50-50 joint venture called WirelessKnowledge LLC. It's aimed at connecting portable computers to the Internet and other computer networks over cell-phone systems. For users who don't want to take their chances with a cellular connection, Mobile Connect will also work with wired modems, Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM said. IBM will unveil the product in New Orleans at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's Wireless '99 conference.