FreeRange WebReader for Blackberry
May 31, 2007 - Portland OR - FreeRange Communications today announced FreeRange WebReader, giving users the ability to get news, blogs, stock prices, sports scores, and weather information delivered automatically to their Blackberry. WebReader can be installed over the air (OTA) by pointing the Blackberry browser to http://mwap.at
“Using a browser on a Blackberry is slow and cumbersome,” said David Boyd, CTO of FreeRange Communications. “With FreeRange WebReader, the latest information is already there, at your fingertips and always available. Blackberry users can now be as up-to-date with the latest news as they are with email.”
FreeRange WebReader runs in the background, pulling down quick bites of information or full stories, depending on user preferences, from subscribed sites and storing it. Setup is simple, and subscribed websites do not need either mobile or WAP versions. Users can email articles to themselves or others from their address book.
“FreeRange WebReader gives access to Internet information the Blackberry way,” said Jon Maroney, CEO of FreeRange Communications. “Your email is waiting on your Blackberry for your convenience. Shouldn’t the news and information you care about be there too?”
Off-line Reading
One important feature of the FreeRange WebReader is its off-line operation. Internet information is tracked and automatically downloaded for reading at any time. This gives users access to Internet sites they care about most, even in a subway or airplane where there is no signal or “wireless off” is required.
Mobilize Google Reader and del.icio.us
The FreeRange WebReader can optionally integrate with Google Reader, ensuring that whenever new information is added to Google Reader it is automatically brought to the user’s Blackberry. WebReader also allows users to tag articles using their existing del.icio.us account directly from their Blackberry.
Supported Content
The FreeRange WebReader makes it easy for user to add content from a variety of sources:
- News sites and portals*
- Sports and Weather sites*
- Photo sharing sites, including Flickr and photobucket
- Blogs
- RSS and Atom feeds
- News from across the internet based on keywords
- Flickr Feeds
- US weather by zip code
- Events by location
- US Job listings
- Stock prices by US stock symbol
* Via RSS Feeds
Subscription based services that require authentication, such as WSJ.com or pricegrabber.com, are also supported via the FreeRange website.
Availability and Pricing
The FreeRange WebReader is available today for Blackberry version 4.0 or later devices, including Blackberry Pearl, 7100, 8700, and 8300 series devices. A free version supporting 10 sites can be downloaded over-the-air from the Blackberry browser from http://mwap.at . An advanced version with unlimited Web feed capability and integration to Google Reader is available for $39.95 per year. For additional information, please see http://www.freerangeinc.com
FreeRange Communications is a member of the Blackberry Alliance Program and is a leading developer of RSS and blog focused applications for mobile platforms. The company’s goal is to harness the increasing power of modern mobile phones to create useful applications that help people get more out of their devices. FreeRange’s flexible technology is in use by a number of partners worldwide including NewsGator Technologies, VersionTracker, Carnival of the Mobilist, and Handelsblatt.com
For further information, please contact:
Jon Maroney
jmaroney@freerangeinc.com
503/703-7170
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