Funambol plans to push ahead with its open source mobile e-mail strategy this week with an upgraded version of its white-label offering for carriers.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based startup is set to unveil Funambol v6, a Java-based application that pushes e-mail to wireless devices from services such as AOL L.L.C., Google Inc.’s Gmail, Yahoo Inc. and others. The new version adds a mobile portal that automates over-the-air provisioning of handsets and offers a personal home page where users can view and manage their contacts.
Open space getting crowded
Funambol is one of a small handful of open- source mobile e-mail providers looking to gain ground against some imposing competitors. The space continues to be dominated by Research In Motion Ltd., of course, and its ubiquitous BlackBerry, but several behemoths are looking to gain market share against the Canadian developer: Motorola Inc. made headlines late last year when it picked up Good Technology Inc. for an undisclosed sum, and Nokia Corp. is moving aggressively to leverage its $430 million acquisition of Intellisync Corp. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. is gaining steady ground, and market research firm IDC predicts Windows Mobile-supported devices will own a 32% market share by 2010.
But while some of the heavy-hitters in the space target road warriors and other high-end users, Funambol and others are looking to sell their wares to soccer moms and other casual users. Funambol’s new offering is designed to sell for about $5 a month and allows users to filter their e-mails, pushing only those from specified friends, family members or colleagues.
“We’re really focusing on the consumer space,” said Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco. “Instead of attacking the 2% of the market that RIM is attacking, we’re going after the other 98%.”
Open source = lower price
The company can afford the low price point, according to Capobianco, because open-source software allows developers to contribute to applications and services without paying costly royalties for proprietary technology. The flexible standard also allows developers to tweak the code for their purposes, optimizing it and smoothing out wrinkles that can occur as the service is deployed across handsets and networks.
“The open-source thing is right for innovation,” said Bill Ho, a senior analyst covering wireless services for Current Analysis. “It’s out there, people can monkey around with it, do what they want. The innovation aspect of open source is pretty good.”
Funambol raised $5 million in a Series A round two years ago, and the company claims to have delivered more than 1 million downloads. The company claims several carrier customers worldwide, and is set to announce a deal with an undisclosed mobile virtual network operator in the United States.
Synchronica plc, a U.K.-based developer, also is making inroads with an open-source solution. The outfit boasts carrier customers including AT&T Mobility, Orange Group, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, and earlier this month raised $7 million through a placement of shares in an effort to target users who have yet to try a wireless e-mail service.
“Mobile e-mail is expanding into the mass market, where consumers and prosumers require industry standard-based solutions,” said CEO Carsten Brinkschulte, “rather than the proprietary solutions developed, for example, by RIM and Visto for the high-end business market.”
Capobianco hopes mass-market consumers begin to see mobile e-mail as a kind of SMS deluxe, capable of delivering longer messages and sending photos more easily than texting or MMS. The company’s offering includes a contact-synching feature, allowing users to send a message with just a few keystrokes, and providing a backup with contact information in the event a user loses the phone.
But while some operators around the world have been quick to embrace an expensive, white-label service based on open-source technology, the offering might be a harder sell in the United States. Tier-one operators are likely to be more comfortable partnering with familiar names such as Motorola or Nokia, forcing smaller players to prove themselves with rural operators and MVNOs before inking any deals, Ho predicted.
“It’s probably going to be a little bit of an uphill battle to establish relationships with the domestic guys,” said Ho. “They usually want big names with (substantial) support behind them. They’ll probably have to make traction with the smaller players. If they have a lot of success there, then it might work.”
