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Follow UsThe browser, jB5, will enable cellular phone service providers to push HTML content to their subscribers. For the subscribers, the technology will enable browsing the Internet while on the move.
Jataayu sees great market potential for its mobile browser as most mobile manufacturers would want to have such a facility on the devices. A jB5-enabled mobile phone will also be able to track locations.
Mahesh Kumar Jain, managing director, Jataayu Software explains the usage and significance of this new technology in an interview to Sigi Achappa of CIOL.
Why do you call the jB5 browser as 'truly mobile'?
Browsing on a mobile phone has its limitations. It is different from desktop browsing. For one, a mobile device has a tiny screen, whereas the desk screen is large. So, that becomes an important factor - the interface and the way content to be rendered has to be adapted to such small displays. Then there is the issue of the content itself that is being accessed; what with the varied types of content on the WEB as well as WAP sites having well formed to poorly constructed pages. jB5 with ART (Adaptive Rendering Technology) addresses such challenges and more in delivering an enriching user experience as far as mobile browsing goes.
How will the HTML browser impact mobile data services?
Typically, most content in the last 15 years was meant for desktops. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) which came in the late 1990s brought in a level of standardization in terms of accessing content over a mobile device. Mobile Internet users found the initial WAP experience did not meet the proclaimed hype, so we saw a decline in 2001 and the creation of WAP content also slowed down. But lately, there has been a resurgence on the WAP front, with major operators like Vodafone, Orange, etc creating operator specific content portals around WAP in a big way. As voice revenues are going south, operators are looking at increasing their ARPUs from data services by promoting such portals.
Though the content generation for WAP is gaining momentum the availability is still limited. Given this scenario, the enabling access of regular Internet content on the mobile presents itself as the most viable alternative.
Now that handsets have more capabilities they need browsers that support these capabilities. Information access through mobile phones is rising rapidly world over. There is a huge gap - three million PCs compared to three billion handsets, and the gap is widening. This indicates that it is easier for people to access information through mobiles. Even the time spent with the handset is more than the desktop. In such a situation, the browser becomes a critical interface to access information.
Are Jataayu's products based on open standards?
As a compnay, we strongly believe in propagating and adoption of open standards- be it in terms of the product specifications or in the environment used in product development or the method and tools followed in the development cycle. Our handsets products are on JCF, Jataayu's client framework - a proven architecture that is modular and ensures easy porting and integration on varied platforms. Infact, JCF has been ported on over 12 platforms.
What impact will this browser have on your own WAP products such as the WAP gateway?
Is the jB5 browser meant only for high-end cell phones?
What is your team currently working on?
With jB5 we are trying to redefine HTML browsing by bringing it down to low-end mobile phones also. There has been a growth in handsets that have WAP browser; even entry level handsets these days have browser functionality. We are extending our experience in optimizing the WAP browser on such low-end phones and are currently integrating jB5 on couple of customer platforms that are for feature phone mobile designs. We are hopeful that by September this year, a good number of handsets will be launched with the HTML browser. By next year, browsing of HTML content will have become popular. In Africa, more people access information out of their handsets. The same will be true for India. Some operators get 13 million hits in a day. Now, they are targeting 50 million to 100 million hits. And once the capabilities are available there will be an explosion in browsing.
One of the important things with the browser is, like e-mail, both will co-exist. In fact, it should give a boost to push e-mail. With 3G capabilities, the browser plays a big role. 'Push content' support is an important part of the browser. Moreover, jB5 is a dual mode browser that supports both HTML profile as well as the WAP profile and would allow users to get the best out of the browser as it combines the functionalities of WAP as well as WEB for a unique browser experience. We think that the instant messaging (IM) will become the next popular thing. After the browser, the next evolution is IM. MMS is too complex. Another big thing that we see in handsets is increased revenue for operators. It should not be treated as a rival to SMS, as it is one-tenth the cost of SMS. There is a lot more flexibility.
At the moment, we have three things running- browser access, IM, MMS, unified messaging with a unified client. We will be coming out with unified messaging in some of the handsets. We are also launching a data synchronisation (DS) client, which offers SyncML DS v1.2 functionality.
How has Jataayu grown over the last year?
We have increased revenue and staff. It has been a reasonable growth- 30 per cent over the last year. We are still in the investment phase, developing and maturing the technology. We have to depend on overseas markets – Taiwan, UK, USA and this year China. We have a fair amount of experience in the product range-a complete suite. Another commitment to stick to different platforms is proving very expensive. We have products on 17 handset vendors, a number that is rising rapidly. We are also entering large deals. We have more than 300 people. Our new office has a capacity for 135 people. We are also outsourcing work to larger companies.
Are you working on any products for enterprise mobility?
Yes, an alert system, currently used with a banking product. It can be extended to other applications like field force automation, etc IM is an enterprise solution. It helps banks looking at mobility, accountability and maintaining logs. The applications have the capabilities. We are integrating the look and feel.
What about competition?
Companies like Opera and Access in Japan – all (applications) are equally rich in terms of speed, faster implementation. We score on two fronts-one because of ART - the rendering technology, which we believe would greatly enhance user experience by able to display any kind of web content including street HTML. Second, the dual profile of jB5 in supporting WAP as well as HTML. Combined with the JCF framework that enables faster implementation time including integration with other services such as voice, push technology, 3rd components like MMI, etc, the value proposition is high.