LAS VEGAS-OmniSky Corp., formerly OpenSky Corp., introduced its first product last week at Comdex-a wireless Internet and e-mail service solution for Palm V users that integrates hardware, software and Internet access from several partner providers.
OmniSky is the venture formed in June with funding from 3Com Corp. and Aether Systems Inc. with the mission of providing integrated wireless solutions for such devices as Palm organizers, Windows CE devices, pagers and Internet browser-equipped phones.
The company said it chose 3Com’s Palm V organizer as its first solution target because of the product’s dominance in the personal digital assistant market, both within the entire Palm device line as well as other PDAs.
The Palm V solution package includes the new Minstrel V modem from Novatel Wireless Inc., Cellular Digital Packet Data airtime from AT&T Wireless Inc., Web access from AvantGo Inc., an e-mail messaging platform from JP Systems Inc., middleware from Aether Systems, Scout IT mobile device management software from Riverbed Technologies, improved user interface technology from Synergy Solutions Inc. and custom installation from TRG Products Inc.
Customers must buy the Minstrel V modem, for an as yet undisclosed price, and airtime from AT&T, which the company said will be a flat-rate plan priced at less than $50 a month. For that fee, subscribers will be able to access their existing e-mail accounts from any POP3 e-mail server-including an always-on e-mail notification feature-without the need to create a new e-mail address for the service.
“People want to simplify their e-mail lives, not make them more complicated,” said Patrick McVeigh, OmniSky chief executive officer.
The package also includes Web access. Subscribers may browse through pre-selected Internet channels compiled and optimized for the device by AvantGo, as well as browse other Web sites not included in the AvantGo.com service simply by entering any URL.
“Some products offer a window to the Internet. We’re kicking the barn door open,” McVeigh said.
Finally, all Palm applications, including AddressBook and DateBook, have been given wireless extensions, so a user can send e-mail messages directly from either function and download entries to these applications directly from the Internet.
Simultaneous with the release, OmniSky announced a beta trial of the solution, offered to the first 5,000 Palm V users to sign up for the program. For $300, these beta users will receive the Minstrel V modem and unlimited airtime through March. In addition, they will be given a lifetime 15-percent discount off the lowest published monthly rate offered by AT&T in the future.
The beta trial will begin in mid-December, with full commercial services expected in the second quarter of next year.
The OmniSky solution is the latest in a string of packages designed to bring wireless capability to the vastly popular Palm line of computing devices. PageMart Wireless Inc. was the first to offer a solution with the Synapse Pager Card for the original PalmPilot, allowing users to receive simple text messages on its nationwide paging network. PocketScience Inc.’s PocketMail product is an add-on modem users must place next to a phone to both send and receive e-mail messages acoustically over any phone, wireline or wireless.
But the Palm VII, featuring airtime from BellSouth Wireless Data L.P. and an embedded wireless modem, was 3Com’s first direct effort at making a wireless PDA. Interestingly enough, the OmniSky solution is a challenge to that device.
The differences between the Palm V solution from OmniSky and the Palm VII are many.
First, they use different wireless networks-AT&T’s CDPD network and BSWD’s Mobitex network, respectively. CDPD coverage has been an issue in the past. AT&T last week just announced the launch of CDPD service in Los Angeles, and BSWD is more than halfway through a major network upgrade that will increase both its transmission speed and its nationwide footprint.
Also important is the difference in pricing plans. BSWD charges a per-bit transmission rate in various packages, while AT&T will offer a flat-rate, all-you-can-eat plan. The lower-tier BSWD plans may prove popular with the low-usage subscriber, but AT&T’s flat-rate pricing may lure the more lucrative high-tier users away.
Another notable distinction is the Palm V solution’s always-on e-mail notification feature, which requires recharging the battery every 18 hours. Many analysts criticized the Palm VII for its inability to provide e-mail notification. Palm VII users must log on and check for e-mail messages.
Finally, the Palm VII Web access functions are provided through Palm’s Palm.net service, featuring the company’s Web Clipping technology. The Palm V solution from OmniSky uses AvantGo’s service. The difference is that the Palm.net service relies on partnerships with Web-based providers that format their content specifically for the device, while the AvantGo service is a reformatting system. With AvantGo’s service, though, Palm V users may access virtually any Web site, while Palm VII users are confined to those offered through Palm.net.
