Lotus puts Notes on mobile devices

Lotus has developed a version of its Notes groupware client to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and palm-size PCs.

Scheduled to ship in the first quarter of this year, Mobile Notes will provide email, calendar and directory functionality on a range of handheld devices, including the Palm V. The software, announced at Lotusphere this week, is built on XML and wireless application protocol (Wap) technology.

Mobile Notes is one of three flavours of Notes along with the standard desktop version and iNotes, which allows access to Domino messaging and collaboration services through a Web browser or the Microsoft Outlook client.

Lotus has so far only confirmed a hardware partnership with Palm, but said announcements about deals with Ericsson and Nokia will follow. Microsoft's Windows CE is also "under consideration" as a supported platform, said Blair Hankins, director of Notes product management.

Rob Ingram, manager of Lotus' wireless group, said Mobile Notes would not be tied to any one operating system or device. "It is built on XML and Wap so that it can run on many many devices without having to port to each unique operating system," he said.

Some analysts have expressed concern over the cost to businesses of providing Mobile Notes services to employees. Mobile Notes licences will cost about $20 for each user, compared with around $69 for a desktop Notes client. Hardware costs, maintenance and airtime will cost extra.

Lotus plans partnerships with wireless operators to bundle Mobile Notes with mobile devices, airtime contracts, and special data tariffs. AT&T is piloting Mobile Notes with 1000 Lotusphere delegates, using the Mitsubishi MobileAccess T250 phone. The telco will bundle the phone with its voice and data packages in the US later this quarter.

Eric Woods, a senior analyst at researcher Ovum, said it is essential for Lotus to extend Notes to mobile devices. "No one is quite clear what is going to work on Wap and other devices. It's important to get out there and try it," he said.

"The service will probably not be too price sensitive in the early stages, but users are going to have to watch pricing for upgrades, equipment costs and call costs."

Lotus is stepping on the toes of some of its partners who have developed their own software for mobile access to Notes, including Surrey & City Consulting and Nextgen Technologies.

"There are some partners probably operating in the same space, but they understand where their value lies," said Hankins. "We aren't going to cover every phone or every wireless network. A lot are interested in providing additional functionality on top of email and calendaring, such as procurement and customer relationship management."