Indian co bundles out IMs for BenQ handsets
The two companies will jointly promote the bundled products but are yet to announce the schedule for release.
By K.Yatish Rajawat, TNN |
MUMBAI: Mumbai based internet product company, Geodesic Information Systems has struck a deal with
Taiwan based global electronic major BenQ to bundle its product - Mundu - with its smartphone models scheduled for release in 2007. The two companies will jointly promote the bundled products but are yet to announce the schedule for release.
The application would be bundled on select models and would be available online for other models.
Kiran Kulkarni, CEO, Geodesic told ET, Mundu messenger will now be available to all consumers of BenQ phones. It’s a global deal and will expand Mundu’s footprint across the world. As a part of this deal, users of BenQ phones would be able to use Mundu for chatting with their friends across major public Instant Messaging platforms like Yahoo, AOL and MSN. Mundu would also enable BenQ users to listen to thousands of radio stations directly
on their handsets.
This is the first time that an Indian company has managed to clinch such a deal which allows instant messaging access through GPRS/WAP technology. Speaking about the tie-up, Dr Irwin Chen, senior vice president and general manager - Mobile Communication Business Group (MCG) of BenQ said, Mundu’s product suite lets us provide a unique experience to our customers for applications they regularly use while on-the-go.
The only other phone to have the IM capabilities is the i-mate range of phones which come bundled with Windows Instant Messenger. Most of the other new mobile phones come with a built in chat client based on the wireless village technology (technically called OMA IMPS).
Therefore the messages are not instant, there is some delay between the messages, which is where an Mundu or Windows IM score over its peers in mobile instant messaging world.
Also, although this technology has been around for sometime not many people seem to know about it. Mostly because the phone manufacturers or the cellular service providers do not provide any service which could be used with the client built in on the phones.
Moreover, according to industry watchers, such a deal would definitely change the rules of the game for mobile phone users as now they would be able to use it for voice calls. Geodesic’s Mundu suite of products includes solutions for Instant Messaging, Mobile Voice-over-IP and Internet Radio. Since its inception in 1999, the Mundu Interoperable Instant Messenger has been used by over 5 million users on the desktop version.
Taiwan based global electronic major BenQ to bundle its product - Mundu - with its smartphone models scheduled for release in 2007. The two companies will jointly promote the bundled products but are yet to announce the schedule for release.
The application would be bundled on select models and would be available online for other models.
Kiran Kulkarni, CEO, Geodesic told ET, Mundu messenger will now be available to all consumers of BenQ phones. It’s a global deal and will expand Mundu’s footprint across the world. As a part of this deal, users of BenQ phones would be able to use Mundu for chatting with their friends across major public Instant Messaging platforms like Yahoo, AOL and MSN. Mundu would also enable BenQ users to listen to thousands of radio stations directly
on their handsets.
This is the first time that an Indian company has managed to clinch such a deal which allows instant messaging access through GPRS/WAP technology. Speaking about the tie-up, Dr Irwin Chen, senior vice president and general manager - Mobile Communication Business Group (MCG) of BenQ said, Mundu’s product suite lets us provide a unique experience to our customers for applications they regularly use while on-the-go.
The only other phone to have the IM capabilities is the i-mate range of phones which come bundled with Windows Instant Messenger. Most of the other new mobile phones come with a built in chat client based on the wireless village technology (technically called OMA IMPS).
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While it is known as ‘My Friends’ on SonyEricsson phones and ‘My Presence’ on Nokia, it is called IM on Motorola phones. Although that’s the best option available on most phones, but its major drawback is the polling system it is based on. The phone has to connect to the server every few minutes and get the new status of online contacts or get new messages. Therefore the messages are not instant, there is some delay between the messages, which is where an Mundu or Windows IM score over its peers in mobile instant messaging world.
Also, although this technology has been around for sometime not many people seem to know about it. Mostly because the phone manufacturers or the cellular service providers do not provide any service which could be used with the client built in on the phones.
Moreover, according to industry watchers, such a deal would definitely change the rules of the game for mobile phone users as now they would be able to use it for voice calls. Geodesic’s Mundu suite of products includes solutions for Instant Messaging, Mobile Voice-over-IP and Internet Radio. Since its inception in 1999, the Mundu Interoperable Instant Messenger has been used by over 5 million users on the desktop version.
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The only other Indian company to have a similar tie-up is Bangalore based Sasken Technologies. Earlier in December 2006, it had entered into an agreement with Taiwanese design and manufacturing major Wistron NeWeb Corp (WNC) to bundle its Multimedia Subsystem Solutions (MSS) in WNC’s next generation Dual-Mode (GSM+WiFi) phones. Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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