SANTA CLARA, Calif.-3Com Corp. and Aether Technologies Inc. have formed a new company called OpenSky, created to extend corporate intranet and Internet-based information to wireless devices using the Palm Computing platform, Windows CE or the Wireless Application Protocol, as well as pagers.
The new company will be based in Palo Alto, Calif., with Patrick McVeigh, former vice president of worldwide sales for 3Com’s Palm Computing division, as president and chief executive officer.
Both 3Com and Aether said OpenSky service will provide a full-service, single-source solution for billing, content, customer support and integration regardless of a carrier’s transmission technology. OpenSky will combine 3Com’s Web clipping technology with Aether’s AIM.net wireless development and connectivity middleware to do so. Aether and 3Com have worked together on several wireless initiatives, most particularly the Palm VII. They expect a nationwide rollout by the end of the year.
3Com’s Web clipping technology is used to acquire Internet-based content for the recently released Palm VII.
Content providers such as ABCNews.com, Bank of America, Moviefone, TicketMaster, UPS, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal Interactive have made their content available using the technology.
The AIM.net middleware is used in Reuters’ MarketClip wireless information service and in wireless network services form Discover Brokerage and Bear Stearns.
Other services expected from OpenSky include:
real-time access to e-mail, including Web-based e-mail accounts and corporate accounts based on such office software as Lotus notes or Microsoft Exchange;
Web-based calendaring and scheduling for groups or individuals;
secure access to corporate database applications; and
a notification architecture that can alert users to critical and time-sensitive information even when the device’s antenna is inactive.
