Originally posted on 8/2/2005
Note: I am currently employed by iAnywhere, the parent company of AvantGo. For this reason, this will be a brief, factual overview of the product without any editorial content.
The last few posts have centered on RSS in a mobile environment. Now we will move to a tool that moblized HTML pages for mobile devices – AvantGo.
The AvantGo Mobile Internet Service was launched in 1999 as an offline Web browser for PDAs. Since then the service has evolved to include more operating systems (Palm OS, PocketPC and Symbian) and additional wireless features. Here is an overview.
When the first Palm Pilot PDAs were launched in 1996, most had no way to connect to the Internet. They would sync your calendar, address book and some additional data for you to carry with you in a small, simple package that started instantly. AvantGo created an application that added an additional step to the synchronization process that would take advantage of the user’s desktop or laptop’s Internet connection. During a sync, the AvantGo client would connect to AvantGo servers and download handheld formatted content to the PDA. This model grew to include wirelessly connected devices and AvantGo named it the Dynamic Mobility Model.
The current version of AvantGo includes their latest user interface (UI) and client that supports DHTML. The new UI is tabbed and takes most of the functionality that was previously Web-based and allows you to control it on the device. It also includes wireless features for user who have a live connection (Wi-Fi or cellular).
Users of non-connected PDAs can update their AvantGo account and then access and interact with content when they are away from their desktop or laptop. Wireless PDA and Smartphone users can store a great deal of content on their device, selectively update that content, and have access all of AvantGo’s channels wirelessly (currently around 1,000.) All users benefit from being able to access content when they do not have a connection (planes, underground public transportation, etc.)
The difference between AvantGo and a PDA RSS reader (like the one I mentioned in this post) is that the content AvantGo features is formatted for mobile device, always includes complete articles and in many cases includes graphics. Content providers include CNET, Reuters, USA Today, Accuweather, RollingStone.com, WIRED, Sporting News and many others.
AvantGo has positioned themselves in the Occasionally Connected world with their use of the Dynamic Mobility Model. The AvantGo Client is free and can be downloaded here (requires registration).