Qualcomm Inc. has seen the future: there’s gold in delivering cellular broadband connectivity to emerging markets thirsting for access to the Web.

The San Diego-based chip company today announced “Kayak,” a reference design for device makers who decide to tackle broadband for the unwired masses.

Qualcomm is positioning the reference design — compatible with the company’s Snapdragon chipsets, it noted helpfully — as the basis for broadband solutions that lie somewhere between the mobile phone and the wired PC.

That’s an area that is receiving a lot of attention these days and — timeframe to be announced — promises myriad form factors and functionalities. Already, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and inexpensive laptops with broadband access are forecast to exploit that market.

Devices based on the Kayak reference design will offer, Qualcomm said, a Web 2.0-capable browser from Opera Software, productivity applications, support for television sets and computer monitors, compatibility with standard keyboards and a mouse, and music players or 3D gaming consoles.

“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, a senior VP for marketing and product management for Qualcomm’s CDMA technologies, in a statement.

“Kayak PC alternative units” — a euphemistic term that provides no tangible clues — created by Taiwan-based Inventec Corp. will be used in trials next quarter in Southeast Asia on CDMA2000 and W-CDMA networks, Qualcomm said.

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Section: Wireless Technology