Intel Buys Mobilian

Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits

November 07, 2003 (3:13 PM EST)

Intel Corp. said Friday it has acquired privately held Mobilian Corp., which develops wireless chips for cellular phones and other devices.

Terms of the deal, completed Oct. 31, were not disclosed.

The acquisition did not surprise analysts, given Intel's aggressive move into the wireless market.

"Intel has made it very clear that they very much want to move beyond the desktop into mobile and wireless devices, cellular phones and digital media," Gordon Haff, analyst for market researcher Illuminata Inc., said. "It's not that they're getting out of the traditional server and desktop computer business, but they clearly see the engine for future growth in mobile-style of computing."

The Hillsboro, Ore.-based, Mobilian builds chips that combine short-range Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies. The latter is also referred to as 802.11. Founded in 1999, Mobilian had about 70 employees and raised $70 million in funding.

Intel has launched a major push into wireless technologies. The Santa Clara, Calif., company released earlier this year its Centrino line of wireless chips for connecting laptops to Wi-Fi networks.

Analyst firms, however, disagree over whether Wi-Fi technology is spreading fast enough to someday support a profitable business model in which users pay a monthly fee to network service providers.

Earlier this year, high-tech researchers International Data Corp. and Forrester Research Inc. said the Wi-Fi market was immature, overrated and even in danger of becoming the next dot-com crash. Gartner Inc., however, disagreed, saying the number of Wi-Fi, or wireless-fidelity, "hot spots" would eventually increase to where it would be cost effective for users to pay monthly subscriptions. Most pricing models today are on a per-use basis.

Hot spots are areas in airports, hotels, retail outlets, gas stations and other establishments that are set up with technology based on 802.11 standards. In these areas, users with Wi-Fi enabled laptops and handheld devices can access the Internet to receive email or other services.