After having launched the Kayak PC globally, San Diego-based technology company, Qualcomm has announced that it will soon introduce its Kayak platform used for accessing internet services, in the Indian market next year for Rs10,000.

Qualcomm senior vice-president and India head, Kanwalinder Singh said that the company will bring out the Kayak, which is essentially a portable computing device that leverages 3G chipsets and also can be connected to the internet even in small villages where connectivity is difficult by making use of the mobile service provider.

Since it is powered by Qualcomm's dual-core mobile station modem chipsets, it can work with low power where currently power cuts are prevalent in many cities and rural areas of India and comes with the added benefit of low price

The Kayak makes high-speed wireless internet access more widely available and affordable in emerging markets as the Kayak PC alternative leverages the widespread availability of 3G wireless broadband to bring Internet connectivity to markets where wired Internet access has often been difficult to access or unaffordable.

The Kayak PC alternative fills the niche that exists between desktop PCs, which normally require landlines or separate accessories for connectivity, and Internet-capable wireless device.

The Kayak chipset is a highly-integrated and is widely used in many smartphones such as T-Mobile's G1 with Google's Android. The Kayak uses Qualcomm's dual-core Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7xxx-series chipsets to provide both computing and connectivity.

The Kayak will offer a full-featured Web 2.0-capable browser from Opera Software able to perform at desktop resolutions which can be accessed via the browser to Web 2.0 productivity applications and it will be manufactured by a contract manufacturer, Inventec, from Taiwan.

It support both television sets and computer monitors to be used as displays and/or for a built-in display and is compatibile with a standard keyboard and mouse for input with music player and / or a 3D gaming console functionality.

Emerging markets will be a huge growth driver for the telecommunications industry in the coming years Kayak leverages wireless networks to bring Internet connectivity to developing markets.

The web-based applications open up new possibilities for people in emerging markets for whom packaged software can be expensive and combining the Opera browser with Qualcomm's chipset is a great way to help bring the power of connected computing to millions of new internet users around the world.

The Kayak PC alternative includes a reference design and recommended software specifications that will be made available to device manufacturers. Manufacturers can then design a wide range of devices based on the Kayak reference design that take advantage of the high level of integration, inherent connectivity and comprehensive functionality. The Kayak reference design uses Qualcomm's dual-core Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7xxx-series chipsets to provide both computing and connectivity.

Devices based on the Kayak reference design will offer:

A Full-featured Web 2.0-capable browser from Opera Software able to perform at desktop resolutions

Access via the browser to Web 2.0 productivity applications

Support for both television sets and computer monitors to be used as displays and/or for a built-in display

Compatibility with a standard keyboard and mouse for input Music player and/or a 3D gaming console functionality
 
In the future, commercial Kayak-based devices may also be powered by Snapdragon solutions.

Initial Kayak PC alternative units, manufactured by Taiwan-based Inventec Corporation, will be used to initiate user trials during the first quarter of 2009 in Southeast Asia on both CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) networks.

''Web-based applications open up new possibilities for people in emerging markets for whom packaged software can be expensive,'' said Rod Hamlin, senior vice president of sales, Americas, Opera Software. ''Combining the Opera browser with Qualcomm's chipset is a great way to help bring the power of connected computing to millions of new Internet users around the world.''

''The broad footprint of 3G networks means that wireless is the answer to Internet access for worldwide markets - especially in emerging regions,'' said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA. ''The Kayak PC alternative is a great example of how Qualcomm is leveraging cloud computing over wireless broadband networks to help bring new areas of the world into the global online community for the first time.''