Open-source mobile server adds push email to challenge BlackBerry et al

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 6 Feb 2006 at 12:59

The makers of an open-source implementation of push email are hoping to leap-frog the patent-embroiled likes of RIM, Good Technology and Microsoft with this latest version of its product.

Version 3 of Funambol's eponymous mobile application server product can now boast push email capabilities, putting it up against the likes of RIM, Good Technology and Microsoft.

The application server uses the standards-compliant SyncML at the heart of its synchronisation technologies. This has grown, from what was initially built for synchronising data with PDAs, to incorporate a broader set of technologies known as OMA DM/DS (Open Mobile Alliance Device Management/Device Synchronization) standards.

Around three-quarters of new handsets are believed to be able to use OMA DM/DS and, importantly for Funambol, this includes BlackBerry handhelds, Microsoft Windows Mobile devices and any WAP- or J2ME-enabled phone.

As well as sending and receiving email, Funambol v3 also synchronises calendars, to-do lists, contacts and lets you decline or accept meeting requests, with support for end-to-end 128-bit SSL encryption. It supports Exchange, Domino, IMAP and POP email servers, using either the email client pre-loaded on the device or a WAP browser.

It's open source, but with limitations. The full product is offered under dual-licensing, whereby features such as support for proprietary platforms are available only under commercial terms.

'Open source software and standards will accelerate mobile email deployments, increase revenue opportunities for carriers and give enterprises more flexibility,' said Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol. 'We believe that mobile email will quickly become a commodity, so open source is the natural approach to this market place. With Funambol v3, we deliver the benefits of open-source software to our customers - code where every line is scrutinized and tested and access to largest mobile QA group in the world.'

The company has a number of large customers, such as Vodafone and the Philippine's largest network operator ePLDT. We were told the company is also in negotitations with a number of other European carriers.

Most recently Computer Associates licensed Funambol's mobile application server for use in its products targeted at managing smartphone devices in the enterprise in January.

A running theme in the patent infringement cases brought by NTP and Visto against RIM, Good Technology and Microsoft is the desire to grab customers off these popular platforms.

Funambol will be hoping to capitalise on this by offering a third way: a platform neither hobbled by legal uncertainty, nor owned by a litigiously voracious company.

It will undoubtedly come under close scrutiny by rivals, but a spokesperson told us that Funambol is confident its product will stand up to inspection.

'Like many others, Funambol believes that the transparency of the code and the open-source development community will lessen the risk of such patent suits. Many developers with vested interest in the code are doing due diligence 24/7 to ensure the code is solid,' we were told.