US wireless technology titan Qualcomm on Wednesday said it is unleashing technology that will let people in poor countries connect to the Internet without personal computers.
Qualcomm said it has a “Kayak PC alternative” that enables devices such as TVs or monitors to link online using 3G high-speed broadband wireless networks that are becoming increasingly available in developing countries.
The Kayak design combines Qualcomm modems and mobile telephone computer chips into a portable gadget that eliminates a need for telephone or cable wire connections to the Internet.
“The broad footprint of 3G networks means that wireless is the answer to Internet access for worldwide markets — especially in emerging regions,” Qualcomm CDMA Technologies vice president of product management Luis Pineda said.
Pineda said Kayak “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.”
Kayak devices operate with an Opera software browser and can be connected to a computer mouse and keyboard. The devices can also feature built-in screens.
Qualcomm is making Kayak technology available to electronic device makers such as Taiwan-based Inventec Corporation (英業達集團) and hopes to be testing potential product offerings in Southeast Asia early next year.
“Emerging markets will be a huge growth driver for the telecommunications industry,” Inventec vice president of marketing Mark Hirsch said.
“We are very excited about Qualcomm’s innovative Kayak reference design that leverages wireless networks to bring Internet connectivity to developing markets,” he said.
Kayak is Qualcomm’s first foray into cellphones, laptops and devices that link wirelessly to the Internet on new-generation networks using cellular signal towers.
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