OmniSky Corp. Chief Executive Officer Patrick McVeigh last fall promised to “kick the barn door open” to the Internet when he introduced a beta version of an end-to-end wireless Internet solution for the Palm V handheld computer.
It’s time to see how wide the door opened.
McVeigh last week kicked off commercial sales of the solution, which gives Palm V users a package of hardware, software, content, network access and support needed for the device to access the Internet wirelessly.
Key to the package is the Minstrel V wireless modem from Novatel Wireless Inc., offered for $300, which snaps onto the back of the Palm V device. AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is offering unlimited Cellular Digital Packet Data network access for a flat fee of $40 a month.
Rounding out the solution is a collection of 2,200 Web sites, portals and search engines that have agreed to optimize their content for the OmniSky system, as well as unified user interface software to navigate those sites and access to up to six POP3 e-mail accounts.
“OmniSky is focused on providing the highest-quality user experience for wireless Internet, similar to the way America Online has provided a complete service for the wired world,” McVeigh said.
Today, the solution is only available for the Palm V handheld organizer from Palm Inc. The company said it expects to support other devices soon, such as wireless phones and other personal digital assistants.
Central to the company’s strategy of calling itself the AOL of the wireless industry is the content the service can provide. With this in mind, OmniSky signed agreements with more than 150 individual Web-based businesses to include optimized access to their sites on the OmniSky service. They include Barnes & Noble.com, CNet, eBay, eFax, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, Fox Sports, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, Weather.com and Yahoo, among others.
In addition, OmniSky formed alliances with content aggregators iSyndicate and ScreamingMedia to include their various feeds to the service, such as Business Wire, Associated Press Online, Edgar Online, New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal Transcript.
Content is organized into several channels, such as finance, travel, shopping, news, sports, portals, local, living, entertainment, communications and reference.
Vicinity Corp. agreed to provide OmniSky with location-based information technology to aid the solution’s local content services. OmniSky said it will incorporate Vicinity’s BrandFinder product, which allows users to locate the nearest service provider for things such as ATM machines, restaurants or hotels based on their location.
The launch follows a 5-month beta test involving about 8,000 users who bought the Minstrel modem for $300 and received free airtime during the trial. These early users also get a 15-percent discount on AT&T’s CDPD airtime for life.
Emphasizing the solution’s touted ease of use, OmniSky developed the theme “Think It, Do It” for the TV and print advertising campaign launched last week in support of the product.
OmniSky was formed as a joint venture between 3Com Corp. and Aether Systems Inc. The solution uses Aether’s ScoutWeb, ScoutSync and ScoutIT technologies. ScoutWeb transforms Web content for the screens of handheld devices, transcoding existing Internet content for display on Hypertext Markup Language or Wireless Markup Language-based devices regardless of browser technology, such as Palm’s Web Clipping, Microsoft’s Pocket Internet Explorer or Wireless Application Protocol.
ScoutSync and ScoutIT connect the mobile devices to server infrastructure and manage the interaction between the server and the devices, allowing mobile devices to be configured and deployed from the central ScoutIT management Console.
Also, Aether announced a separate alliance with Visa U.S.A. for mobile e-commerce services.
In addition, OmniSky announced it received $75 million in strategic funding from News Corp. and PSINet Inc. News Corp. contributed about $60 million, giving it about 10-percent ownership in OmniSky and a position on the company’s board of directors. PSINet kicked in the remaining $15 million for a 2.5-percent stake. Aether will retain a 25-percent share of the company, while 3Com will hold 22 percent.
News Corp. said its investment will allow its Fox network and newspaper subsidiaries, like the London Times, to gain prominent placement on OmniSky’s home page. Rupert Murdoch is the company’s CEO.
OmniSky and News Corp. also agreed to create a joint venture to explore international wireless Internet opportunities. The two reportedly will share ownership in the venture equally, contributing $5 million each.
