mobileID Launches WAP Browser for Palm Computing Platform
LOS GATOS, Calif. — April 6, 2000 — mobileID, Inc., the world's first wireless mobile portal to provide access to email, personalized Internet content and applications for mobile phones, launches a free WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) browser for the Palm Computing Platform.
Targeting the growing segment of mobile consumers and professionals, mobileID enables the wireless Internet users by delivering truly personalized content and providing direct access to personal or corporate email. mobileID is available for mobile phones, PDA's and two-way pagers.
In addition to supporting Internet-ready mobile phones, mobileID today is extending support for PDA's based on the Palm operating system with the moblileID WAP browser. The mobileID WAP browser provides users of Palm Computing and compatible PDA's like the Handspring Visor, IBM Workpad and TRG Pro with access to all wireless content that complies with the WAP standard. "Mobile Insights believes that the mobile information appliance market will surpass the PC market in the next two years," says J. Gerry Purdy, President & CEO of Mobile Insights. "Providing access to the thousands of wireless Internet sites to all Palm users via mobileID's WAP Browser will accelerate the growth of this market," Dr. Purdy adds. In addition to supporting smart phones and PDA's mobileID will also provide support for the two-way pagers.
mobileID also announces significant enhancements to their wireless application and content services launched two months ago. Extending mobileID's leadership position in the wireless messaging space, the new messaging service now supports IMAP4 in addition to POP3 and adds support for multiple email accounts. mobileID's free messaging service allows mobile users to directly access their Microsoft Exchange, Outlook and virtually any other email service.
mobileID today also launched 390 additional channels of personalized wireless content. With over 600 unique personalized content and applications like the Wireless Golf Course Directory, mobileID has become the market leader in the personalized wireless Internet space. Using mobileID's patent-pending private personalization filters and content reformatting technology, mobileID allows users to create a profile of their location, interests and personal information that provides a unique personalized experience for every user. "Just as search engines and directory services were the on-ramp to the Internet at the inception of the World Wide Web, mobileID's platform is the on-ramp to the wireless Internet," says David Hayden, President and CEO of mobileID.
"By 2003, there will be over 500 million mobile phone subscribers worldwide and over 30% of these will be Internet-ready," says Andrew Seybold, noted wireless authority and industry analyst. "The wireless web is not just about news, sports and weather, but more about personalized Internet content and messaging that companies such as mobileID are delivering to mobile users," he adds. According to Strategy Analytics, over 134 million Internet-ready wireless phones will be shipped next year; IGI Consulting concurs, in a report entitled Wireless Web Wonders, estimating that the number of smart phones produced will increase by an astounding 88 percent to 330 million units in 2003, up from 175 million in 2002.
From a strategic standpoint, mobileID is partnering with leading Internet content and e-commerce providers to aggregate content and extend e-commerce Internet models to the wireless world. Through patent-pending content conversion technology, mobileID is enabling any Internet site to extend their reach to wireless devices. "Just as we have seen the evolution of brick and mortar stores migrating to the online world, we will see an even more aggressive migration to the wireless world among online entities," says Hayden. Today, companies that have a wireless strategy are perceived as cutting-edge. Tomorrow, a wireless strategy is a matter of keeping up with the Jones," he adds.
MobileID is located at 236 North Santa Cruz Ave., Suite 213, Los Gatos, California. 408/395-7538, www.MobileID.com. MobileID has developed the WAP Browser in conjunction with AU-System AB.
CONTACT:
MobileID
David Hayden, 408/395-7538 davidh@mobileid.com
or
meredithmarketing
Deborah Schalm, 312/642-9734 meredithmk@aol.com