Lotus adds offline facility to iNotes

Lotus has launched a beta version of iNotes, its next generation web client, as part of an ongoing strategy to ease collaboration with other platforms.

iNotes, which enables users to access Domino messaging and collaboration services through a web browser, is one of three versions of Notes, along with the standard desktop version and Mobile Notes, which runs on mobile devices such as smart phones and palm-sized PCs.

Lotus said the improved version of iNotes, announced at Lotusphere in January and expected to ship in the first quarter of next year, will enable access to Domino-based applications both online and offline. Previous versions only allowed online use.

The software is available for download from Lotus' website. Pricing for the final version is not yet available but the current version costs £31 per user.

Jim Moffat, Lotus product marketing manager, said: "We are also using newer technologies such as XML and DHTML in the new version of iNotes. The user experience is much richer and the interface is much improved."

Jeanette Medlin, director of worldwide product marketing at the company, said: "With experts estimating that over 50 million workers will soon be spending 20 per cent or more of their time away from their desks, many companies are looking to add web clients as an additional client interface to address this emerging class of workers."

Lotus explained that because iNotes is server-based, it reduces cost of ownership and helps administrators as they can deploy and maintain applications from a central server location, without having to configure each individual desktop.

Eric Woods, principal analyst with researcher Ovum, said: "The launch is an incremental development of the client platform, and is a welcome extension to iNotes' functionality. But it is part of a more wide-ranging strategy to open up the client and enable better collaboration with Microsoft Office."