Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Oct. 10

WITHIN the next five years, all laptop users would be converted into using smart phones that handle similar tasks. This would make it a lot more convenient to access information anywhere, anytime.

Developers in India, along with their counterparts in the US, will play a big role in this shift, according to Mr Daniel J. Shader, President and Chief Executive Officer of Good Technologies Inc, which helps provide easy access to information on mobile phones for over 7,000 enterprises globally. These include the likes of Wal-Mart, Dell, General Electric, Deloitte and EDS.

Good Technology Inc, a privately held US-based software provider for mobile applications, has embarked on a plan to expand its India centre, which it has gained access through the acquisition of JP Mobile Inc.

On a visit to India to announce Good Tech operations in Hyderabad, Mr Shader said the company had already partnered with Perot Systems and Tata Consultancy Services in their quest for technology for wireless applications. The centre here would further enhance its engineering development-cum-marketing teams.

The company is VC-funded and has raised about $200 million. Its investors include members from Kleiner Perkins and Benchmark Capital and the board includes those who founded eBay, Palm, Sun Micro and Netscape.

The segment where Good operates has multiple standards such as the one that Palm has, Windows Mobile of Microsoft and Symbian that Nokia uses.

"Given the features some of the mobile phones are providing lately, wherein its users are able to both receive and send information as if it were a computer, we believe that all laptop users would actually be using these phones like laptops. This also means a lot more features need to be built on to the existing applications," he said.

The company sees India as one of the fastest growing markets, possibly emerge as the largest in the next 10 years, Mr Shader said.

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