Excerpts from an article with some background info on the kindle released today for employees. QCT and QES are company divisions:
Why Amazon's Kindle is Good News For Qualcomm
March 5, 2008
When Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, described the Kindle, he said "this isn't a device, it's a service." Bezos was referring to Whispernet, the eBook's wireless connectivity system. What you may not know is the role Qualcomm played in helping Amazon to realize its vision of enabling readers to purchase and download books within minutes.
When Amazon launched the Kindle on November 19, 2007, it sparked talk of a revolution in the literary world. It promised not just to change the way readers read, but also the way writers write and publishers publish. And, having sold out within five hours of launch, the revolution might just be under way.
Amazon isn't the only one celebrating. In fact, it is good news for Qualcomm, too. The device is the result of a two-year collaboration with Qualcomm Enterprise Services, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Corporate R&D, Corporate Product Security, the Office of the CTO and Corporate IT.
Amazon was originally introduced to QES through a modem manufacturer who hoped to provide modems for the Kindle. The same company had also worked with QES on the CardioNet project and knew that the wireless connectivity that Amazon envisioned for the Kindle was exactly what QES could deliver.
"The project was a natural fit for QES. We have been delivering end-to-end wireless data services for almost 20 years," said Susan Hennenfent, Senior Director of Product Development for QES. "Our expertise allows our customers to focus on their businesses while we do what we do best."
The Kindle is an eBook device with an electronic-paper display that provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper. It is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback, weighing only 10.3 ounces, and with the capacity to hold more than 200 titles.
Just as with CardioNet, QES' QConnect service also provides the back-end infrastructure and network management service for the Kindle. The service, called Whispernet, enables the device to wirelessly and seamlessly connect to Amazon's store front.
The Kindle made it to the cover of Newsweek.
While the Kindle isn't the only electronic book on the market, it is the first to combine the benefits of such devices together with this wireless connectivity that enables users to shop for content directly, wherever they are, and get a book within a minute.
The device also uses QCT's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipset, which enables users to get online without having to locate hotspots, and no PC or syncing is needed. In addition, the chipset allows power-saving so that with the wireless on, the Kindle needs recharging approximately every other day. With wireless off, users can read for a week or more before recharging.
In collaboration with QCT, QES also leveraged its experience in robust data management to ensure that when a customer purchases a book, they get it.
"We took the interfaces of a standard QCT offering and utilized the diagnostic mode interface to allow us to monitor the device's interaction with the wireless network," said Jeff Vosburg, Director of Operations for QES. "This means we can log these interactions on a server and troubleshoot any network or device issues - making sure the purchase gets through and the product gets delivered."
In partnership with QES, Corporate R&D, Corporate Product Security and the Office of the CTO played a key role in the project, designing a security model and a new mode of Mobile Station Modem operation for the device. Corporate IT was instrumental in the service delivery. The group built new servers and connectivity to enable Whispernet, and worked with Sprint to leverage the existing QES private, secure network. As a result Kindle users cannot get online without being routed through Qualcomm's QES network operations center and Amazon.
The project marks QES' first Business to Business to Consumers "B2B2C" engagement, making it a very exciting project for the team to work on.
"It's been an incredible project to be involved with and we love the fact that the Kindle is so successful," Jeff said. "It's such an engaging product, and seeing something that we had a hand in developing on the cover of Newsweek - well, there's no thrill like it."
QES will continue to work with Amazon to deliver the Whispernet wireless experience as next generation devices are developed.
"Amazon's vision was to deliver to its customers an invisible, almost 'magic' service through which they could buy a book and be reading it a minute or two later," Jeff said. "Qualcomm's expertise is helping them to deliver on that vision."
AmbergrisCaye.com 
