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March 06, 2006
Truphone backer touts free mobilephone calls via Wifi
An investor in the company that has developed software called Truphone, which enables VOIP on certain mobilephones, said on Friday that the firm's software will be offered to users for free and that it will be targeted at soon to be available WiFi enabled mobilephones running the Symbian operating system, that is, high-end phones or smartphones.
Straub believes he is sitting on a winner with his investment in Truphone
Alexander Straub of CAP Partners spoke briefly on his investment in Truphone during a panel discussion at a private investors' conference in Zurich, hosted by BrainsToVentures, a corporate finance boutique.
Straub touted his firm's market opportunity and its potential to eat into voice minutes sales of mobile network operators. The high prices mobile network operators charge for cell phone calls make it a soft target for those that can offer a cheaper alternative.
Enthusiastic about Truphone he might be, but reckless he is not. He said that when hedgies in London had asked him if they "should short Vodafone to zero", he pushed back, and declined to agree with that notion.
Because Straub was surrounded by investors afterwards, we could not confirm details about how Truphone will actually generate sales.
Nor could we confirm this with him but we believe Truphone is actually the name of a product, and that the company Straub invested in is called Software Cellular Network (SCN). We believe this is the case.
SCN was founded in April 2000 in the UK and it was the company that introduced and distributed the Truphone beta software last year. The official regulatory database for UK companies has no record a firm called Truphone.
An early version of the Truphone software has been available to a limited group of users since mid-last year. These users require a Bluetooth connection from the handset to a PC with Internet access, fixed or wireless. And it works only on Nokia Series 60 phones (Symbian OS).
For those who are over-excited about the market, insiders note that there are a lot of competitors eyeing it. According to Balaji Bal, co-founder of mobile software startup, SurfKitchen, there are at least three startups, including UsefulApps based Israel. What is more, he told the a:c euro, Skype, which has been available on PocketPC platform for some time now, could easily be moved sideways to enter the Symbian market.
Posted on March 6, 2006 09:13 AM | Posted to Venture Capital | Wireless | Permalink
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