The advent of Wireless Knowledge is the result of intense interest and growth prospects for the wireless industry. Most analysts expect more than 400 million wireless handsets to be sold worldwide this year, with many of them capable of Internet access. By all accounts the market will be huge. For example, investment bank US Bancorp Piper Jaffray expects 645 million handsets to be sold in 2003, while the Strategis Group predicts the market will increase to 1.37 billion mobile phone owners worldwide by 2007, up from 530 million today. The company claims about 30 business customers, including major cable operator Cox Communications, pharmaceutical product maker Aventis Pharmaceuticals, and Pacific Coast Builders, a building materials company.
Executives expect to announce a series of large customer wins in upcoming months.
Wireless Knowledge also expects to release a new version of its software during the fourth quarter, executives said. The software will include support for Lotus' Domino and Notes, a competing product to Microsoft's Exchange and Outlook. The move will expand the number of potential business customers for Wireless Knowledge. Since Wireless Knowledge was formed in November 1998, scores of wireless Internet and email access start-ups, as well as other mobile data companies, have cropped up. But analysts believe the pedigree behind Wireless Knowledge is likely to ensure its success, despite the early hiccups and Microsoft's willingness to work with others .