ZFrame Sends Web Page Replicas To Mobile Devices

General adoption of mobile devices has long been hampered by the fact that screen sizes vary, processors can't handle data-intensive applications like graphics, and access to the Internet is difficult. But ZFrame Inc. is looking to solve such problems by providing exact replicas of Internet pages and applications on Palm OS and PocketPC devices, which lets users "zoom in" on specific parts of each page.

The ZFrame system operates as a client-server set-up whereby a Windows NT/2000 server accesses a Web page and handles most of the content processing, then presents a miniature version directly on the device. The system is still in development, but the company plans to start testing it with 500 developers in late July, says ZFrame president John Robotham.

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, admits Robotham. "But, in this case, the way we are doing it is quite simple," he says. "We're leaving most of the browsing work to the server, and transmitting it to the client as a multilevel document."

Industry observers who have seen the system have also found themselves saying, "it's too good to be true." "Assuming all this works as advertised, you as a Webmaster don't have to do anything to your existing pages," says Michael Steinberg, president of the New England Palm Users Group, a nonprofit organization that helps Palm users understand their products. "So you're in a large corporation, with millions of pages in your intranet, and you've got people used to what they have on a normal screen and with a little bit of additional training they can use a Palm."

"The first generation isn't going to support frames, which I understand, but it might be an issue with some Web sites," he says. "The tale will be told when it gets out there and gets going, and real users try it to see that it fits their needs."

ZFrame's potential is impressive, says Dale Kutnick, CEO and co-research director for the Meta Group. "The concept is on the money. Whether the implementation scales and does everything else remains to be seen," he adds. "I've seen other things like this, but this is the best of what I've seen so far."

ZFrame server and ZFrame client operate over a Code Division Multiple Access and Cellular Digital Packet Data network for Palm OS and PocketPC devices, with support for Java 2 Mobile Edition and Brew to follow. The company is experimenting with 802.11b and Bluetooth connections as well. ZFrame plans to release its system by the end of the year, with pricing expected to start at $25,000 to $50,000, based on user requirements.