NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

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OT DD Waterloo gets Googled
Search engine 'thrilled' to acquire Reqwireless technology, engineers

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=c4f6f084-d72f-43ea-8a82-affe38df3830&...

Published: Friday, January 06, 2006

Google Inc. has quietly established a growing foothold in Waterloo, Ont. -- the home of Research In Motion Ltd. -- following the stealth acquisition of a wireless startup last summer, as well as plans to staff up a recently established research and development facility.

Google disclosed yesterday it acquired Reqwireless Inc., which makes Web browser and e-mail software for wireless devices -- although the small wireless company's products are no longer available for purchase.

"We acquired Reqwireless because of the talented engineers and great technology," Google said yesterday in an e-mail statement to the Financial Post. "We're thrilled to have them here." Google declined to provide details about how much it paid for Reqwireless or how many employees it has.

And with little fanfare Google is also actively looking to hire software engineers and developers in the city that has become a hotbed for software development and wireless technology.

As the high-tech industry begins to rebound following the end of the dot-com boom, Waterloo is establishing itself as one of Canada's technology centres. Some of the largest employers include Research In Motion, which makes the popular BlackBerry wireless devices, and Open Text Corp.

Waterloo is also home to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, which was established with funding by RIM co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis. As well, the University of Waterloo has one of North America's leading computer science programs, attracting recruiters from large high-tech players such as Google and Microsoft Corp.

Google, which has recruited University of Waterloo graduates to work in Silicon Valley for several years, recently placed a job posting on its Web site looking for a mobile wireless application developer based in the southern Ontario city. "Google is hiring engineers to bring our wireless products to the next level," the company says in the posting

"We are looking for people with experience in making the Web and Web services available on mobile platforms. Our goal in the wireless group is to make the world's information universally accessible and useful -- at any time and in any place."

If Google, which operates a sales and marketing office in Toronto, does make an aggressive push to hire in Waterloo, there is no doubt it will increase the competition for skilled employees at a time when Waterloo's local economy is experiencing healthy growth.

Larry Smith, an adjunct professor of economics with the University of Waterloo, said Google not only has buzz but a tangible reputation for providing bright people with a stimulating environment, including the opportunity to pursue their own projects. "When you go to Google, you can believe you're engaged in a great mission," he said.

"For young people, the best of them want a mission. Designing a bell to add onto [Microsoft's] Xbox; does that sound like a mission to you? Young people are also attracted to what they assume to be the great competitive struggle between Google and Microsoft."

To date, Google's wireless strategy has come across as scattered rather than focused. The company offers a version of its popular search engine for wireless devices, and it is bidding to build a wireless Internet network in San Francisco.

Google co-CEO Larry Page has a strong interest in smart phones, and speculation about Google's interest in this area increased last August when the company acquired startup Android Inc. Android, which makes software for mobile devices, was co-founded by Andy Rubin, who started mobile-device maker Danger Inc

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