NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 28, 2000 — QUALCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq
“QCOM”
), pioneer and world leader of code division multiple access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT” ), the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing, today announced the intent to form a strategic alliance to jointly define and develop advanced wireless, multimedia-capable devices. The companies will focus on developing hardware reference designs for mobile devices, including smart phones based on the Microsoft® Mobile Explorer TM wireless communication platform and wireless Pocket PCs using QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies’ (QCT’s) iMSM4100 TM Internet Mobile Station Modem (iMSM TM ) chipset and system software solutions. QUALCOMM and Microsoft will then work together to promote their solutions for advanced wireless devices to CDMA carriers, handset and device vendors, and application and content developers worldwide.
“As bandwidth increases, the wireless CDMA industry will be incorporating multimedia and Internet services in its offerings on an ever-increasing basis,”
said Johan Lodenius, senior vice president of marketing and product management for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies.
“The power of Microsoft’s Mobile Explorer platform integrated with our iMSMs will allow us to continue to meet the demanding requirements of the marketplace and provide the flexibility and advanced functionality that our customers demand.”
“Microsoft is committed to delivering a new generation of mobile devices that will enable our customers to access emerging wireless communications, information and entertainment services,”
said Ben Waldman, vice president of the Mobile Devices Division at Microsoft.
“QUALCOMM’s unparalleled expertise in CDMA, 3G and HDR technologies coupled with Microsoft’s end-to-end software solutions will bring groundbreaking functionality to smart phone and Pocket PC users.”
Products developed under this alliance between QUALCOMM and Microsoft are expected to incorporate technologies from both QUALCOMM and Microsoft that will provide an optimized platform for mobile phone manufacturers, enable operators to accelerate development and deployment of CDMA wireless data services, and provide a rich and widely available applications environment for third-party application and content developers. Areas of collaboration between QUALCOMM and Microsoft will include distribution of reference designs, end-to-end product trials with key operators, and cooperation on tools for application and content developers. The companies will also work together on promotion opportunities for development of wireless mobile devices, including the Microsoft Mobile Explorer-based smart phone and Pocket PC platforms.
QCT’s recently announced iMSM product family will feature different chips and system software solutions available over time and will be targeted to different segments of the wireless device market. Designed for current and next-generation CDMA networks, the iMSM family will help accelerate the evolution of multiple classes of multimedia and Internet-capable devices, combining telephony, full Internet protocol stacks and drivers, and handheld computing functions into feature-rich wireless handsets that include larger screens, more memory and greater data-processing capabilities.
Microsoft Mobile Explorer is a modular wireless applications and services platform for phones that allows industry partners to choose the solution which best fits their needs using components selected from a suite that includes a dual-mode microbrowser, a smart phone based on the Windows® CE operating system, additional applications, and server-side components. The Microsoft Mobile Explorer wireless communication platform is designed to deliver wireless data services such as secure corporate data access, e-mail, the Internet, location-based services and electronic commerce.
QUALCOMM and Microsoft formed Wireless Knowledge LLC, a joint venture, in 1998. Wireless Knowledge provides platforms and services to corporate customers and application providers to enable applications for the mobile Internet. For more information on Wireless Knowledge, please visit http://www.wirelessknowledge.com/ .
QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT) is the leading developer and supplier of CDMA chipsets, hardware and software solutions, and tools with more than 80 million Mobile Station Modem (MSM ) chips shipped worldwide. QCT supplies chipsets to the world’s leading CDMA handset and infrastructure manufacturers, including Acer Peripherals Inc., Alps Electric Co. Ltd.; Casio Computer Co. Ltd.; Denso Corp.; Fujitsu Ltd.; Hitachi Ltd.; Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd.; Kyocera Corp.; LG Information and Communications Ltd.; Samsung Electronics Ltd.; Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.; and Toshiba Corp., among others.
QUALCOMM ( http://www.qualcomm.com/ ) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the company’s CDMA digital technology. The company’s business areas include integrated CDMA chipsets and system software; technology licensing; Eudora® e-mail software for Windows and Macintosh® computing platforms; and satellite-based systems including OmniTRACS® and portions of the Globalstar system. QUALCOMM owns patents which are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 75 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, QUALCOMM is included in the S & P 500 Index and is a 1999 FORTUNE 500® company traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including timely product development, the company’s ability to successfully manufacture significant quantities of CDMA or other equipment on a timely and profitable basis, and those related to performance guarantees, change in economic conditions of the various markets the company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the company’s SEC reports, including the report on Form
10-K for the year ended Sept. 26, 1999, and most recent Form 10-Q.
Microsoft, Mobile Explorer and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks, and MSM, iMSM and iMSM4100 are trademarks of QUALCOMM Inc.
Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services Inc.
Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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