AvantGo Shutting Down, Changing Markets

codebudo writes "AvantGo, the once ubiquitous application for all PDAs, is shutting down its web sync service. Users of the service have just begun to see banners stating, 'Starting June 30, Avantgo will no longer offer mobile web content.' According to parent company Sybase, AvantGo will transition from a mobile web service, to an SMS advertising and content delivery system."

Comments

A great idea but outdated now

[thetoadwarrior]

Back when I had my first Palm Pilot and the modem was a dial-up modem it was unrealistic to view the internet any other way than to sync up a load of content to take with you.

These days that's just backwards and unnecessary. So I'm not surprised they're giving it up.

Their service was awesome years ago and I was very grateful for it.

And that's one reason I don't use "The Cloud"

[wiredog]

for data storage.

Re:And that's one reason I don't use "The Cloud"

[Sockatume]

Do you even know what Avantgo is? It's a service that downloads web content and then allows you to save it to a device which has no internet access (Palmtops, generally) to view later. It has nothing to do with data storage or, indeed, "the cloud".

They shoulda seen it coming

[Chysn]

Back in 1998, when I actually used AvantGo with a Palm m100, I was annoyed by the need to sync, but I knew that it wouldn't be long before handheld devices could access the internet on their own. AvantGo had a pretty decent service for the time, and they should have been pretty well-positioned for handheld internet a long time ago.

Translation -

[Lead Butthead]

"...from a mobile web service, to an SMS advertising and content delivery system."

We'll spam you till you cry mommy, and then we'll spam you some more. All you suckers (snicker) that used our services at some point have a 'pre-existing business relationship' with us, so we're free to spam your ass. We pwn3d your PDA. For a small ... 'fee' we can ... 'opt-you-out' of our 'service.'

Great service for reading offline

[Nukenbar]

I used this for years on my palm pilot and later on my palm treo to read the news on the Subway, when I would be without cell phone service (NYC). Once I moved to an Iphone I never found any RSS reader that worked quite as well, but I guess technology has moved on.

SMS advertising and content delivery system

[sexconker]

Text GO to AVANT (28268) to get the hottest ringtones, the sickest backgrounds, the funniest jokes, personalized horoscopes, and the latest celebrity gossip DAILY!

just as well

[roc97007]

Avantgo hasn't been working right for a long time anyway. I used to have it on my original Palm Pro and on every Palm device since then. It was great because it would give me content to read on the plane that didn't require wireless. But it was always quirky on the Treo and even more so on the Blackberry. When free content like Heavens Above disappeared, and sync problems increased, I finally lost interest. I had a good experience with Avantgo in the old days, but I guess their time has passed.

But, an SMS service? Sounds like another number I have to lock out of the family phones. $100 in charges to kgbkgb in one bill (kids!) has absolutely killed any interest I might have had in SMS services. They're for suckers. They're this century's AOL -- offering for a fee what anyone with an ounce of sense could get for free on the internet.

I think there is a use for fast, simple, text-only information services, but I don't think sms is the proper mechanism. If web designers would stop trying to make wap pages "a rich experience" and just provide the damned information in a simple and fast-loading manner, mobile web services would be a heck of a lot more practical.

Re:just as well

[roc97007]

You don't understand. I've been on an unlimited plan for a couple years now. My daughter's phone sends and receives over 2,000 text messages a month. I am not kidding. Without unlimited SMS I'd have to sell the house.

This is what I'm talking about: kgbkgb (http://www.kgb.com) is a pay sms service that's apparently a fad with the kids right now. You text a free-form question to # 542542 (kgbkgb) and receive an answer via return SMS. It costs 99 cents a question. 101 questions to kgbkgb costs $99.99. I could show you the bill. Has nothing to do with unlimited SMS.

I'm serious, if you have teenage kids who text, you need to be on the lookout for this. AT&T will lock out these services and provide you a passcode so you can still use them if necessary, but you have to ask them to do it. If your kid's friends have shown them how to use the service, it may already be too late.

Parenthetically, the AT&T rep I talked to said mine was the second complaint regarding kgb she'd received today. The previous one was regarding a kid who was using the service to cheat on a test.

If Avantgo is just the SMS charge, then fine, but if they're going to a per-SMS transaction charge, watch out!

You mean a SPAM company, right?

[kheldan]

AvantGo will transition from a mobile web service, to an SMS advertising and content delivery system

Just what we all need: someone spamming our goddamned cellphones with junk SMS. Die in a fire, AvantGo.