TORONTO – Rogers Wireless has integrated the technology of another Canadian company, Virtual Reach, into the service package available to its customers.
On Wednesday, the two companies announced the launch of Rogers Newsclip, an application used for accessing Internet based data, content and related media from mobile devices and phones using RSS technology.
With Rogers Newsclip, Rogers Wireless customers, roaming in Canada and in over 80 countries, will now have mobile access to Internet content and media without having to use a mobile browser. It will feature a vast array of topics including business news, stock quotes, technology blogs, and even corporate intranets.
Powered by Virtual Reach, a developer of software applications for mobile devices, the Rogers Newsclip application was developed using RSS ("Really Simple Syndication") technology, a form of xml language that is fast becoming the standard for publishing and syndicating content and data over the Internet.
Rogers Newsclip is "a unique and exclusive application that provides fast, efficient and mobile access to online content," said John Boynton, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, Rogers Wireless. "With Rogers Newsclip our customers will be able to stay informed on the subjects of their choice utilizing the latest innovations in wireless technology."
Besides being able to make productive use of idle time by catching up on relevant news and information, customers with Rogers Newsclip will be able to track a courier package within the application on their mobile handset simply by entering a tracking number. Updates and delivery progress reports are sent directly to their mobile device through an RSS feed.
"(W)e believe strongly that our application will appeal to a broad and horizontal customer base within Rogers," said Brian Goldberg, president of Mississauga-based Virtual Reach. " As the number of services and publications using RSS grows, we will endeavour to incorporate them and provide Rogers customers with new and interesting uses for Rogers Newsclip."
The new service is now available to Rogers customers for $3 per month for all BlackBerry, HP iPAQ, Audiovox 5600, Motorola RAZR, ROKR, Sony Ericsson Wi600, and LG 500 phones and devices. Customers can download an over-the-air subscription from their Rogers Navigate mobile Internet portal and via WAP browser for BlackBerry customers.
