Qualcomm To Roll Out Cheaper PC Alternative For Global Web Access

Using 3G wireless broadband, Qualcomm is betting that Kayak will fill a gap between landline connectivity and Internet-capable wireless devices.

Kayak will include a reference design and recommended software specs for device makers so that they can create their own devices. The Kayak reference design uses Qualcomm's dual-core Mobile Station Modem MSM7xxx-series chipsets to provide computing and connectivity.

The PC alternative will also offer a full-featured Web 2.0-capable browser from Opera Software; support for both television sets and computer monitors so that they can be used as displays and/or for a built-in display; compatibility with a standard keyboard and mouse for input; and a music player and/or 3-D gaming console functionality.

"Web-based applications open up new possibilities for people in emerging markets for whom packaged software can be expensive," said Rod Hamlin, senior vice president of sales, Americas, Opera Software, in a statement. "Combining the Opera browser with Qualcomm's chipset is a great way to help bring the power of connected computing to millions of new Internet users around the world."

Initial Kayak units will be manufactured by Taiwan-based Inventec for trials in the first quarter of 2009 in southeast Asia on both CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) networks. Qualcomm said that in the future it may use its Snapdragon platform for the Kayak.

"The Kayak PC alternative is a great example of how Qualcomm is leveraging cloud computing over wireless broadband networks to help bring new areas of the world into the global online community for the first time," said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, in a statement.