I-Net Bridge, a provider of online services to financial and corporate markets, has launched a news service for mobile device users.
The service, I-Mobile, enables users to download news headlines and other information.
I-Net Bridge teamed up with business applications firm Braidquest to develop I-Mobile, a Java 2 Mobile Edition-based application. Subscribers can download configurable financial data portfolios, weather forecasts and latest news headlines to mobile devices such as pagers, cellphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
"The sophistication of technology has created a new corporate individual, one that demands mobility with high-speed connectivity. The cellular device is best suited to deliver on this demand," says Chris Lazarus, business manager of I-Net Bridge`s content solutions division.
I-Mobile is downloadable to GPRS- and Java-enabled mobile devices, from the I-Mobile server hosted at I-Net Bridge. When the user launches I-Mobile from a cellphone or PDA, it connects to the I-Mobile Server via GPRS to download and display the required information.
The primary market for these offerings are corporate users such as treasuries, but Lazarus says there has also been interest from private traders. "The response to the offering from traditional pager customers has been higher than expected," he adds.
The charge for I-Mobile is split into a monthly service fee of R5 000 and a monthly fee for the content chosen. Lazarus says the content fee depends on the size of the environment. News can range from R290 to R615 per story, while data - such as commodities, bonds, equities or indices - is charged from R60 to R230 per item depending on size.
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