Air2Web Inc., the leading wireless application service platform, Wednesday announced it has expanded its operations into Asia through an agreement with Kanematsu Computer System Ltd. (KCS), a leading systems integrator and mobile solutions provider in Japan, and Network Solutions K.K. (NSKK), a specialist in mobile technology development in Japan.
Under terms of the agreement, KCS will provide localized sales, engineering services, and technical support while Air2Web will provide the hosted m-commerce platform for the companies' joint offering.
KCS is one of the largest phone distributors in Japan, selling more than one million cellular phones per year across Japan, and is one of the leading distributors for NTT DoCoMo, whose I-mode service, one of Japan's three primary wireless Internet networks, has grown rapidly to more than 10 million subscribers.
NSKK specializes in developing high-performance mobile solutions for banking and health care systems, as well as providing solution sets for electronic commerce, including consultation work in network and security systems.
"We are pleased to mark our expansion into the thriving Asian marketplace through an alliance with two of Japan's most recognized and well-connected leaders in the mobile marketplace," said Sanjoy Malik, president and chief executive officer of Air2Web.
"Our network-, carrier-, and device-independent platform will provide Kanematsu and Network Solutions K.K. the flexibility and reliability required to succeed in the increasingly competitive and promising wireless arena."
Air2Web technology is compatible with the three primary networks and standards in Japan as well as with their associated Internet and digital phone messaging technologies, including NTT DoCoMo I-mode, J Phone MML, and KDDI WAP.
The alliance with Air2Web follows KCS's recent formation of its Wireless Service Division, which complements the company's highly successful Cellular Phone Division. By leveraging Air2Web technology as well as the accumulated technologies and resources of KCS, the Wireless Service Division will extend its superior content and application services to wireless phone users and enterprises.
"As KCS and NSKK continue their drive to ease information exchange in Japan through the most sophisticated and innovative emerging wireless technologies and application development, Air2Web will provide the foundation for enabling this anytime, anywhere interactive online activity," said Mac Yoneda, corporate director & general manager of KCS's Wireless Service Division.
Built to open standards for both web and wireless carriers, Air2Web technology incorporates industry-accepted security standards, thereby ensuring platform independence, location independence, and ease of integration with other applications and solutions.
Air2Web combines a robust API with tools, information, and an online community to help KCS and NSKK define, create, test, and deploy their interactive mobile applications.
The Air2Web platform now supports the Japanese digital standards, including I-mode, as well as one- or two-way SMS phone, WAP-enabled phone, PDA, or pager devices.
It currently supports streaming audio, text-to-speech, and voice recognition; video support is also planned. Air2Web also supports any data format, including XML, HTML, flat files, and a variety of audio formats, thereby easing information exchange.
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