Mobile content and community were the hot topics during the opening day of Demo, a semi-annual conference designed to highlight emerging technologies and new products.
GoWare Inc., an Arizona-based developer, used Demo 07 to launch a service that allows users to create personalized mobile portals for delivery of all their content through a single mobile browser. The offering, dubbed DoMo, is targeted to tech-savvy wireless users looking use their phones to access mashups of Web content and PC-based information including documents, photos and e-mail.
“We’ve taken the frustration out of using the mobile phone to access content,” said GoWare CTO Jason Thibeault. “Rather than requiring an application on the mobile phone, our users need only visit a single Web site from the mobile browser to access all of their content.”
Meanwhile, Dublin, Ohio-based Nextumi Inc. showcased Share2Me, a platform that distributes users’ content across PCs and mobile devices. The offering includes a central “storage box” for shared content, a browser button for computers and a mobile application, slated to come to market later this year, that will allow users to access social networks such as MySpace or Facebook from their phones and share content.
Indeed, while wireless-only news didn’t dominate the first day of the show, most announcements and product launches included at least a wireless angle. Some other developments from Demo’s location at Palm Desert, Calif.:
. Bling Software introduced an Ajax-based Web client for the delivery of graphic-heavy, data rich-applications to mobile handsets. The Java-based, downloadable client is designed to speed time-to-market for sophisticated applications and distribute mobile offerings more efficiently.
. Motorola Ventures announced an undisclosed investment in Dartdevices Corp., which has developed software that can access content and applications from multiple consumer devices.
. Mobile advertising made an appearance at Demo 07, of course, with Iqzone’s new mobile service for classified ads. The company launched an application that allows camera-phone users to take a photo or video of a product or service, bundle the image with text and upload the data to a server. Sellers can target ad distribution by geography, while users can track items by keyword or product category.
. Mobio Networks launched a “lifestyle portal” offering mobile users more than 50 dynamic applications and widgets based on combinations of Web services. GetMobio, the company’s flagship offering, allows users to locate nightclubs, call a cab, find flight information or make dinner reservations over their phones.
