TOKYO-FunMail Inc. will start Beta testing its wireless animated instant messaging service on Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode system.
The service is designed to allow i-mode users to send color animated messages by entering a few Japanese characters on their i-mode handset. Messages can be sent between i-mode handsets or between i-mode handsets and any desktop computer in the world.
The company noted that each animated instant message is generated on-the-fly based on the unique text entered by the user. The resulting animated message is also scalable, automatically adapting itself to the screen size and sound capability of the recipient.
“We are now working to finalize the service,” said Adam Lavine, chief executive officer of FunMail in America. “The alpha testing went very smoothly and we kept to our timelines, and expect the beta period to be just as smooth, with the final release coming shortly.”
