If this keeps up, the wireless e-mail market may not be untapped for long.
The flurry of activity in the wireless e-mail space looks to continue as carriers and software developers expand their offerings to attract users from all walks of life. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. offered another e-mail offering to its product lineup, announcing last week it will sell Good Technology Inc.’s service directly to its corporate accounts. The carrier will be the first operator in North America to directly offer GoodLink, which features continuous two-way synchronization of Microsoft Outlook functions like e-mail, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks.
The announcement was seen as a major win for Good, which is targeting the market for corporate wireless e-mail users which Research in Motion Ltd. dominates with its ubiquitous BlackBerry. While Good and Cingular had a previous relationship, the new agreement allows subscribers to sign a single contract for both cellular and e-mail services-the same arrangement Cingular offers RIM.
In addition to better access to the nation’s largest wireless subscriber base, the deal provides Good’s service at a better price. The carrier is bundling GoodLink with its data service for $45 a month for unlimited usage. Businesses also must pay a one-time account fee of $1,500 and a set-up fee of $99 per user.
Under the previous arrangement, users paid $27.50 a month for GoodLink plus $45 for data services. “It allows users who are asking for GoodLink to get this in a lot simpler way,” said Sue Forbes, Good’s vice president of marketing.
The announcement re-establishes a relationship that ended last year, when Good stopped shipping an e-mail device supported by Cingular.
“The demand for (wireless e-mail) is enormous, and we’ve only begun to tap it,” said Michael Woodward, Cingular’s executive director of mobile professional solutions. “Obviously, there’s lots of room for growth here in the U.S. alone.”
While Good doesn’t disclose detailed user numbers, the company claims 6,000 corporate accounts, adding 2,000 since January. Good’s bankroll continues to grow, as well. The software developer reportedly raised $65 million in venture capital recently, bringing its total funding during the last five years to more than $200 million. Forbes declined to comment on any new financing.
But even as Good and other enterprise-focused wireless e-mail providers gain steam, RIM continues to build its empire. The Ontario-based company recently announced that it had added 1 million subscribers within six months, surpassing the 3 million-user mark, and is aggressively expanding into emerging markets such as Russia, South Africa, India and the Middle East.
Microsoft will look to expand the corporate market this week, too, unveiling a messaging and security pack for its Windows Mobile 5.0. The upgrades, which are free to users, allow businesses to deliver information directly to Windows Mobile-based devices from the company’s Exchange Server without using outside servers or middleware.
“You can take all the functionality coming into Exchange and can use that on the device-e-mail, calendar, tasks, all of that can be pushed to you immediately in the same way you do on the PC,” said John Starkweather, a senior product manager for Microsoft’s Mobile & Embedded Devices Division. “It’s something (businesses) have been requesting for years.”
As RIM, Good, Microsoft and others continue to try to chip away at the high-end e-mail market, other providers are targeting consumers and low-end wireless e-mail users with smaller data plans and lower price points. Companies like Visto, Intellisync and JP Mobile hope to tap the market with a slew of e-mail options for all types of users.
“There’s particular attention on the low end (of the market) right now,” said Jim Balsillie, RIM’s chairman and co-chief executive officer.
Seven targets low end
Seven, a Redwood City, Calif.-based developer, announces this week that it is partnering with carriers in Australia, France, Spain, Malaysia, Mexico and Russia. While the company boasts several major corporations among its clients, Seven targets lower-end users with a “white label” e-mail service for both smart and mass market handsets.
“What really has limited this sector to date is devices,” according to Kent Thexton, Seven’s chief executive officer. Thexton was chief data and marketing officer for U.K. operator MmO2, overseeing the introduction of BlackBerry to Europe. “There haven’t been a lot of devices that provide a great e-mail experience.”
And it’s that disconnect between handset and software developers that is largely to blame for the slow uptake in wireless e-mail services, Thexton said. While RIM sits in the catbird seat as both manufacturer and developer, other companies must integrate their technology with phones made by a variety of phone producers.
“The reason RIM has done so well is that they’ve built the hardware and they’ve built the software,” said Thexton. “For the rest of us, this is a pretty complex application, and you need to be pretty tightly coupled with the device.”
