Raj Singh
As more sophisticated mobile phones and smart phones proliferate, increasing the performance and features of mobile browsers has become critical for fast and accurate rendering of webpages on mobile handsets.
Mobile users now expect fast webpage loading on their mobile phones, whether the content is text, photos, videos or graphics. This challenges mobile carriers, despite their 3G networks, to meet the the demands of data-hungry mobile users who use multitasking operating systems, such as Android, Palm Web OS and others.
SkyFire, a Mountain View, CA company has developed the industry’s first browser that enables full Flash, Quicktime, Silverlight and other rich-media codecs on a mobile device.
The browser is server-assisted, off-loading much of the mobile handset’s processing, allowing full rendering of desktop Internet-based websites. Most websites typically load in less than five seconds due to SkyFire’s proxy server that compresses data at 75% or higher before delivery to mobile handsets.
As the world turns more to cloud computing with mobile and non-mobile websites, data compression and integrity become increasingly important.
Although SkyFire only supports Windows and Symbian OS-based mobile phones at present, the company intends to expand its support of other operating systems and handset models.
SkyFire, based in Mountain View, CA has raised $23 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Trinity Venture and Matrix Partners to develop and market the technology.
Raj Singh and SkyFire
In this podcast interview with Raj Singh, SkyFire’s VP of Business Development, Raj discusses how the SkyFire browser works and its benefits to both mobile users and carriers, who are also investigating server-based solutions to improve network performance.
He discusses what he calls the “fragmented web,” predicting that network performance problems will continue due to multi-tasking operating systems and integrated social media features on smart phones—for example, having your mobile phone constantly connected to networks for social media information updates from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other services.
Mobile cloud computing, according to Raj, is a potential solution. Google’s latest search and mapping service, for example, off-loads mobile phone processing to large servers. This improves mobile browser performance and functionality when using data-intensive applications.
High-end gaming is another example of an application that could benefit by off-loading processing, via the Internet cloud, to data servers.
To cope with data demands on their networks, carriers and handset manufacturers are installing faster browsers on their feature phones, such as Opera Mini that delivers better handset and network performance.
Raj Singh’s Entrepreneurial Career
During the podcast, Raj discusses his career and strong interest in developing new companies and technologies. He cites several examples including Veeker, a citizen journalism project that helped individuals produce videos for television stations and the launch of MobiTV.
Raj also discusses how natural speech recognition improves mobile user experiences while boosting company revenues. Yahoo, for example, drove search volume 30% higher by deploying voice recognition technology.
Raj Singh’s Bio
Raj Singh is a mobile industry veteran who’s worked in many areas of mobile over the past 11 years. Before joining SkyFire, he consulted with Dell Mobile assisting them with their global SMS and WAP strategy. Prior to Dell, Raj co-founded venture-funded Veeker, NBC’s mobile video citizen journalism service and worked on ToneThis, CNET’s top ringtone creation product.
Raj has also worked in product management, engineering, strategy and consulting roles for Kodak Mobile, Cellmania, MobiTV, PlayPhone, Tellme, Hungama Mobile and Antenna Software.
Raj’s personal projects include GameChalk, an SMS multi-player game service and Pubwalk, an LBS bar-hopping service.
Raj is also a mobile advisor to a number of companies including ChuckD Mobile, Movoxx, Oomble, Nearverse, Muse, Buzzd, Yojo Mobile, Textopoly and several VCs within Silicon Valley.
Raj is a regular mobile writer and speaker including formal and guest blogging for GotoMobile, O’reilly Emerging Telephony and VisionMobile. Raj has also made contributions to a number of mobile groups and associations including the JCP, the Mobile Marketing Association and the Bluetooth SIG.
Podcast Links:
Email: raj at rajansingh.com
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