Qualcomm closes Wireless Knowledge subsidiary

Qualcomm is shutting down its Wireless Knowledge subsidiary, which it took full ownership of in late 2001from joint-venture partner Microsoft.

The San Diego, California-based pioneer of CDMA - a wireless standard that competes with GSM and other cellular technologies - confirmed on Friday that Wireless Knowledge will no longer exist as a subsidiary and that Qualcomm is absorbing its assets and intellectual property. Wireless Knowledge's Workstyle software lets customers access corporate email accounts or networks from wireless devices.

"Wireless Knowledge has achieved its mission of pioneering enterprise wireless data and initiating market growth but we believe that Qualcomm's existing enterprise efforts can be strengthened by transitioning the resources," Christine Trimble, senior director of corporate public relations at Qualcomm, wrote in an email.

The majority of the subsidiary's workers will be given an opportunity to join Qualcomm but the company did not say how many employees are with Wireless Knowledge.

Qualcomm created the subsidiary with Microsoft in 1998 and bought out Microsoft's share in November of 2001.

Wireless Knowledge said on its website that its Strategic Services group is part of Qualcomm's Wireless Business Solutions division and that the Workstyle Server Edition and Workstyle Desktop Edition product lines will be supported until the end of 2003 or until the end of a customer's contact, whichever occurs first.

A number of companies that have been working on software to allow customers to wirelessly access corporate email and information have merged or sold out to larger companies. On Wednesday, Visto and ViAir announced that they would merge and that the new company would use the Visto name. In May, wireless start-up Good Technology announced that it was acquiring wireless software developer Neomar.

Richard Shim writes for CNET News.com.