Sproqit peddles software bundle
Vendor signs remote control software deal with Hugh Symons
Mobile thin-client vendor Sproqit has signed a deal with Hugh Symons to bundle real-time PDA-to-PC remote control software with Treo 600 smartphones.
Sproqit software enables users of smartphones and PDAs to use applications and browse files on their desktop PCs. The company is offering Outlook access, with other applications in the pipeline.
"We're in a similar place to Research In Motion [RIM], but there will be no monthly fees [for the enterprise and workgroup versions]," said Peter Mansour, Sproqit's chief executive. "Hugh Symons will start shipping Personal Edition free on all Treo 600 devices it sells from November."
Although the firm's initial product, Sproqit Personal Edition, will use Sproqit's own servers, the firm plans to release a workgroup version early next year, to be followed by the full enterprise version next spring.
"Going through Hugh Symons is not a bad approach," said Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN. "RIM seems to be doing very well, but it took a long time for the BlackBerry to catch on in the UK."