NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wireless technology company Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM - news) on Wednesday said it bought British software company Elata for $57 million to help it expand its product offerings for European wireless operators.
Qualcomm, which sells technology licenses and chips for mobile phones, said privately held Elata's software would let operators deliver different types of software and content to mobile phones using one software system rather than several.
Qualcomm dominates the chip and license market for phones based on CDMA, the dominant U.S. wireless technology, but it has been trying to expand into versions of GSM, the world's most popular phone standard which is used throughout Europe.
Mobile operators around the world are starting to deliver everything from music, video and Internet services to phones with an aim to substituting revenue from falling call prices. Qualcomm said it wants to make such services easier to sell.
For example, operators could use Elata to manage phone software based on Brew, a Qualcomm mobile data technology, as well as software based on rival technologies such as Java, according to Gina Lombardi, a marketing executive at Qualcomm.
The technology, which Qualcomm plans to use at least initially to help it win business in Europe, should also make downloading applications or content easier for consumers.
"We're trying to make it easy so the consumer can look at a catalog of applications and not have to worry what technology is being used," Lombardi said.
The deal follows Qualcomm's agreement last week to buy privately held Flarion Technologies for about $600 million.
Qualcomm shares closed down 13 cents at $40.12 on Nasdaq on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050818/tc_nm/elata_qualcomm_dc;_ylt=Al1xkvC6NeRGUO4LH9UzHHIjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Qualcomm, which sells technology licenses and chips for mobile phones, said privately held Elata's software would let operators deliver different types of software and content to mobile phones using one software system rather than several.
Qualcomm dominates the chip and license market for phones based on CDMA, the dominant U.S. wireless technology, but it has been trying to expand into versions of GSM, the world's most popular phone standard which is used throughout Europe.
Mobile operators around the world are starting to deliver everything from music, video and Internet services to phones with an aim to substituting revenue from falling call prices. Qualcomm said it wants to make such services easier to sell.
For example, operators could use Elata to manage phone software based on Brew, a Qualcomm mobile data technology, as well as software based on rival technologies such as Java, according to Gina Lombardi, a marketing executive at Qualcomm.
The technology, which Qualcomm plans to use at least initially to help it win business in Europe, should also make downloading applications or content easier for consumers.
"We're trying to make it easy so the consumer can look at a catalog of applications and not have to worry what technology is being used," Lombardi said.
The deal follows Qualcomm's agreement last week to buy privately held Flarion Technologies for about $600 million.
Qualcomm shares closed down 13 cents at $40.12 on Nasdaq on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050818/tc_nm/elata_qualcomm_dc;_ylt=Al1xkvC6NeRGUO4LH9UzHHIjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
