Wireless Knowledge sending echoes through data market

The coming months should indicate the effect that Wireless Knowledge, the Microsoft/Qualcomm joint venture, will have on the market, including a possible shift in the makeup of the wireless data industry.

One of the first changes may occur in the segment that custom application developers currently serve. For example, horizontal professionals that now use tailored applications to access Microsoft Exchange and the Internet might be better served by Wireless Knowledge. However, more specific applications will continue to be in demand. "Custom applications won't go away in the vertical market," said Fran Firth, senior analyst with Cahners In-Stat Group.

The entrance of Wireless Knowledge might also spur the growth of service integration companies. Currently, GoAmerica has partnered with Wireless Knowledge to offer professional services to potential customers. The company will help corporations connect to Wireless Knowledge, said Aaron Dobrinsky, president of GoAmerica.

Some companies may want even more of a "soup to nuts" solution though, leaving space for start-ups willing to find applications, negotiate with operators and handle the connection to a company such as Wireless Knowledge, Firth said.

The introduction of Wireless Knowledge has not slowed development from existing wireless data companies. Geoworks, known for its operating system that drives the Nokia 9000 Communicator, just released a graphical user interface application, Interface+, which complies with the wireless application protocol standard. Interface+ will aid in the natural evolution toward integrating voice and data services, said Michael Eggers, product manager for Geoworks. "Carriers need a way to compete more effectively," he said.

For complex custom solutions, Aether Technologies offers complete application development, customer service and the provisioning of wireless services. The company has offered its middleware, which cuts development time in half, to wireless data application providers, said George Davis, chief operating officer of Aether. Companies such as Wireless Knowledge won't threaten his business but could help it to deliver applications, Davis said.