Application developers looking to break into the increasingly popular wireless Internet industry will soon have an ally on hand to guide them through the maze of technologies, specifications and ever-multiplying players in this space-a start-up Internet destination called AnywhereYouGo.com.
The Web site, to be launched at Wireless 2000 in New Orleans next week, is designed to be a central gathering point for application developers and information technology managers looking to create and deploy services based on the Wireless Application Protocol, Bluetooth or Web Clipping technology.
According to its creators, the site will provide access to specification documentation, tutorials and training, news and editorial content, discussion groups and message boards, survey results, e-commerce opportunities and a career center.
The venture grew out of consulting business People, Design, Technology merging with WAPtastic, a U.K.-based WAP developer community site.
“It’s an outgrowth of what we felt was a poorly met need in the marketplace,” said Lee Wright, chief executive officer of AnywhereYouGo.com.
He said PDT was looking to create applications for Internet-enabled Sprint PCS phones and found it difficult to access the resources it needed to do so.
“There was no convenient resource that provided a community of developers to exchange ideas about wireless development,” he said. “There was no discussion. There were pieces out there, like the WAP Forum, for instance, but few independent sources of information for developers. None looked across different technologies.”
With the idea that other developers might be having the same problem, the consulting firm decided on a new strategic focus. Now, 99 percent of PDT’s energies are focused on AnywhereYouGo.com.
“We did an analysis of what was out there and created what we felt would be the leading global source,” Wright said. “We’ve heard repeatedly from developers that it’s too time-consuming to find the information needed to develop applications that work on multiple wireless data platforms. With the launch of AnywhereYouGo.com, we’ve solved that problem and given handset and equipment manufacturers the single best way to tap the global developer community.”
The cornerstone of this effort is the merger with the WAPtastic Web community. James Pearce of WAPtastic will lead the U.K. office, focusing on Europe, while Wright and his crew maintain the Dallas office. The company expects to open other bureaus in Helsinki, Finland, and Tokyo later this year.
“The developer is the main target,” said Ryan Fife, the company’s technology strategist. “We want to enable wireless data applications to be developed as quickly as possible.”
The site will feature case studies, profiles of developers and applications, directories of wireless applications and developers, industry events listings, discussion forums moderated by industry experts, and downloadable training materials and application development tutorials.
It also will include technical specs of various handsets capable of wireless Internet connectivity from the leading manufacturers. Wright said AnywhereYouGo.com will collect revenues through advertising and sponsorships and fees for certain services, but all costs will be born by manufacturers, not developers.
In addition, after a certain period of time the group hopes to add IT managers who the company expects will follow the application developers. IT managers will have the opportunity to place requests for solutions on message boards and access the full range of other services on the site, Ryan said.
According to a WAPtastic survey of IT managers and developers, 62 percent said they plan to train Internet developers to meet the demand for wireless applications, a statistic that Wright said indicates a shortage of trained staff knowledgeable about wireless Internet technologies.
Hence, he said AnywhereYouGo.com will focus on Bluetooth and Palm Computing Inc.’s Web Clipping technology as well as WAP, with room to add other wireless Internet technologies over time.
“Developers interested in wireless applications face many hurdles today,” said WAPtastic’s James Pearce. “The development community is diverse and fragmented both geographically and technologically, and it operates at the intersection of the telecom, media and computer industries. By covering wireless development across multiple protocols, devices and continents, AnywhereYouGo.com makes it much easier for developers to focus on what ultimately matters-application development and deployment.”
