QUALCOMM and Microsoft Teams for Windows Media Streaming for Wireless

HostReview.com
Thursday, September 23, 2004; 12:00 AM

September23, 2004  - (HostReview.com) -  QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, and Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that QUALCOMM has licensed Microsoft® Windows Media® technology and will integrate the Windows Media Audio and Video codecs into QUALCOMM's Qtv (TM) video decoder solution. Consumers will be able to play back and stream Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV) content on wireless devices integrated with QUALCOMM's Qtv solution.

"By enabling our Qtv solution to play content encoded with the high-quality compression efficiencies of Microsoft's Windows Media, we are providing operators with access to new revenue opportunities through the deployment of rich multimedia services and our manufacturing partners with fully tested, fully integrated, differentiated solutions," said Luis Pineda, vice president of marketing and product management for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies.

"Microsoft is very pleased to work with QUALCOMM to provide handset manufacturers new opportunities to offer consumers access to high-quality Windows Media content," said Amir Majidimehr, corporate vice president of the Windows Digital Media Division for Microsoft. "This agreement enables us to work with a market leader in wireless to provide handset users access to a wide variety of digital content wherever and whenever they want."

"The goal of this agreement between Microsoft and QUALCOMM is that high-quality video on mobile phones will soon provide the streaming video experience consumers get with their high-speed wired connections at home," said John Stratton, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless.

Windows Media is one of the highest-quality, most secured and comprehensive digital media formats available for streaming and download-and-play applications. It is supported on more than 700 devices, from DVD players and home theater systems to car stereos and handhelds.