As it initiates a beta launch of its wireless Internet solution and wireless portal this week, YadaYada Inc. is preparing to go head to head with competitors OmniSky Corp. and GoAmerica Inc.
Calling itself a wireless version of America Online, YadaYada uses the same equipment and wireless transmission access as OmniSky. Its solution relies on the Novatel Minstrel modem for the Palm V and the new Minstrel S for the Handspring Visor device, with plans to support PocketPC devices in the future.
Both bring CDPD wireless connectivity to the respective devices, supported by AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s network. Service is $40 a month and the modem runs $150.
Although the equipment is the same, the services offered and the software powering it are not. Beyond the basic e-mail access capabilities, YadaYada has developed an Internet browser based on Pumatech Inc.’s mobile application platform. The company claims this technology is superior to that of its competitors because it allows users to access HTML Web sites using frames, thereby supporting a greater number of sites.
“That is the biggest difference between us and OmniSky,” said Raj Gupta, president of YadaYada. “We support frame technology.”
The only HTML sites it does not support are those with Flash screens.
Like its competitors, YadaYada has agreements with various content providers, in this case about 250, which are organized into channels such as news, financial information and so on. Users may either surf through those or enter any URL of their choice.
“On top of that, we built the Mobile Web Portal,” Gupta said. “You can create custom content, pages and PIM functions, just like you go to Yahoo! and create a MyYahoo! page.”
The Mobile Portal allows users to aggregate all the types of content they want into a customized start page. So rather than accessing a standard start page consisting of various channels and accessing one to get stock quotes and then another to get weather, etc., a YadaYada user can get his preferred stock, weather and news all the MyYada page when connecting to the YadaYada service.
In addition, users may download that page or any other to the PDA, so one can interact offline or out of service. The page will refresh whenever the user logs back on.
“You get it all at the touch of a button.” Gupta said. “Mobile users don’t have a lot of time. They are looking for highly personal, highly useful and highly actionable information. Who decides what’s useful more than you?”
The company is developing additional functionality expected to be available by the end of the month that will allow automatic synchronization with desktop PIM applications, as well as push-based alerts of the same.
The user would need to download an applet to his computer C: drive, which then constantly communicates changes in the desktop’s PIM applications to the YadaYada Web site. When the user logs on via a handheld from a remote location, he would receive an alert that something had been changed back at the desktop, and allow him to check that new information.
Rather than allowing the initial public offering of its primary competitor-OmniSky-to steal all the thunder, YadaYada has used the event to promote itself. The firm sent out press releases the day before OmniSky’s IPO identifying itself as a competitor to OmniSky, which many news outlets included when reporting on the IPO.
Although OmniSky has had a year to build its brand and is backed by such notable players as Palm and Aether Systems Inc., YadaYada feels it has plenty of opportunity.
“We believe there’s no major player today,” Gupta said. “The entire field is wide open for any player to gain a foothold. Nobody really knows about this kind of stuff outside the trade magazines.”
To gain this foothold, Gupta said he intends to move aggressively with new technologies and services.
“Take a look in their prospectus at their future offerings,” he said of his competitors. “Everything they say they will offer in the future will be available with YadaYada in the next two weeks.”
And while OmniSky has deep relationships with Palm and others, YadaYada has some interesting supporters of its own. Its angel round funding of $7 million achieved in July included Jack Kemp, former U.S. Congressman and HUD Secretary, who has been named to YadaYada’s board of directors. Other angel investors included General Electric Chairman Jack Welch, DLJ Worldwide co-founder Dan Lufkin and others.
In addition to Kemp, YadaYada’s board also consists of former California Sen. John Tunney, Lamphere Capital Management Chairman Gilbert Lamphere and Julius Talton, co-founder of YadaYada and president of WWISP.
The company more recently raised $14.1 million in its first round of venture-capital funding from such investors as ABS Ventures, Deutsche Bank AG London and BMO Nesbitt Burns’ Halyard Captial Fund.
