OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Carriers and technology companies continued to court the mobile instant messaging market with two announcements Tuesday.
Sprint PCS said it will launch new Java-download IM applications designed to replicate a desktop PC experience for its AOL and MSN users. The applications are offered to the carrier’s Vision subscribers who pay $3 a month for unlimited IM.
“We’re simply using the desktop (experience) to make it easy for the consumer,” said Skuli Mogensen, founder and president of Oz, the Montreal-based mobile IM provider that’s powering Sprint’s new applications. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Meanwhile, Comverse unveiled a new offering that will enable IM users’ handsets to be aware of the availability status of “buddies” in their phone book or IM program. The Comverse Presence Server is designed to enable 2G operators to deploy presence-enhanced services as they grow to a full IP-based application environment over next-generation networks.
“The Comverse Presence Server is positioned to become a central component of the operator’s value-added services infrastructure, empowering a wide range of presence-enhanced services,” said Benny Einhorn, Comverse’s chief marketing officer.
