msmobiles.com interviews Slawek Pruchnik from PowerByHand
Here you can get insight into commercialization of Windows Mobile software.
How small is this world! While walking down the street in Amsterdam (a city in EU) we have noticed Slawek Pruchnik from PocketGear.com (for another photo of Slawek - less informal one - scroll down to the end of this page) :
... who showed us his primary cell phone: Pocket PC phone made by HTC - the Xda2. It appeared that he also is visiting TechEd 2004 Europe conference (or rather MDC Europe 2004 which is part of thereof), not as "Delegate" though, but as "Exhibitor".
It appeared also that PocketGear.com company is no more, and it has been lately overtaken by PowerByHand company - much larger company that now allows the guys who run one of the biggest Windows Mobile shops - PocketGear.com and Smartphone.net - to have more impact and better offering for the market.
Competition is good for business
Slawek Pruchnik is a
Vice President of Windows Mobile Consumer Channels for PowerByHand, Inc. The interview with him follows below.
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msmobiles.com : what are you doing in Amsterdam today? why have you come here from USA? are you a tourist?
Slawek Pruchnik : I came here to attend the Microsoft Mobility Developer Conference. This is the first time PocketGear.com, that is now part of PowerByHand, is attending MMDC in Europe. We have always attended USA events and find they are a great way to meet our US and Canadian partners. This time I plan to meet with many of our European partners. Please stop by at our exposition kiosk in Mobility Pavilion.
I am also looking forward to visiting some of the famous spots in Amsterdam.
msmobiles.com : could you introduce yourself? what do you have to do with Windows Mobile hardware and software?
Slawek Pruchnik : I have been using mobile devices since late 1990s. My first PDA was Sharp Zaurus (model 9000 if I remember correctly) then I switched to one of the first Compaq Windows CE devices (screen with 4 colors!) This device had all the features of Zaurus plus it had Solitaire. In 1999, I was introduced to Nathan Miller who, with help of his father, operated small website called CEShopper.com. We shared a passion for Mobile computing and decided to launch a new site - PocketGear.com. The company launched the first website devoted exclusively to just released Pocket PCs. We then launched Smartphone.net to serve the market for Windows Mobile for Smartphone. These two sites have grown to be the largest dedicated sources of software for the Windows Mobile platform.
msmobiles.com : Really? But why everybody thinks - it is kind-of stereotype - that Handango is the largest seller/distributor of software for Windows Mobile devices like Pocket PC or Microsoft Smartphone?
Slawek Pruchnik : As I said originally we are the largest dedicated to Windows Mobile software source. That is what differentiate us from our competition. If a user comes to PocketGear.com we offer them exclusively Pocket PC software. Similar with Smartphone.net - we list only Windows Mobile Smartphone applications.
msmobiles.com : uhm [sighs], how many employees is employed in company in which you work?
Slawek Pruchnik : PowerByHand has over 70 employees. Our main office is in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and we have satellite offices in Detroit, San Francisco, New York, London and Beijing.
msmobiles.com : do you really think one can make a living in the USA or Western Europe from selling a software for Microsoft Smartphone and Pocket PC at your sites? Isnīt so that only making custom-made mobile applications for enterprise applications brings money?
Slawek Pruchnik : The market for commercial off the shelf third party software handheld devices is a multi million dollar industry and is growing rapidly. On our sites we are experiencing over 100% annual growth in sales. We have many developers who are making a living developing software and distributing it through our sites. I do realize that US and Western European developers are competing with developers from countries where the cost of living is lower then here. And this is universal to any software market right now not only to Windows Mobile. Nevertheless, many foreign developers do not have the understanding of local market needs. To be successful software must address specific needs. Addressing them well is the key to success in any software market.
The market for Consulting and custom application development has always been lucrative in both PC as well as Pocket PC markets. That is simply because custom software addresses specific business needs. This in turn can be easily translated to cost savings, business model improvements etc. Return on investment is the key.
msmobiles.com : Handango claims that it has very good contacts to cell phone operators and thatīs why developers should sell their applications through Handango because Handango sometimes serves as intermediary and is offering exclusive deals between a developer and an operator but only through Handango. Why, in this situation, should a developer of Windows Mobile applications consider to use PocketGear.com (Pocket PC software) or Smartphone.net (Microsoft Smartphone software)?
Slawek Pruchnik :f Our recent merger with Pinpoint Networks has strengthened us in this area. Pinpoint Networks has great relationships with many carriers including mmO2 in UK, Rogers Wireless, Verizon Wireless and several other operators that are not announced. It just makes sense to leverage our relationships with carriers to fulfill Windows Mobile needs that they might have.
msmobiles.com : I have heard that at some operators over 99% of software is being sold through operator-exclusive shop at Handango. Example: Orange Windows Mobile software shop. So it looks like there is no nee to use your shops at all! Is it so?
Slawek Pruchnik : I have not heard that percentage, but I would be surprised if the percentage were that high. Our research indicates that most of Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone users buy their software applications using desktop PC and a majority still happens outside the carrier. Consumers will have many choices as to where to buy their software, and it is our strategy to power as many of them as possible both our own sites and partners sites such as carriers and portals. Each point of distribution will want to provide a different catalog and offer other features that are unique. We are working on Over the Air shopping for both Pocket PC and Smartphone. Here again Pinpoint Networks experience and infrastructure is going to be critical to us. Pinpoint has been powering Over the Air carriers software store for long time now including names such as PalmSource. They have the technology that allows them to achieve carrier grade uptimes (higher then 99.99%) Pinpoint has also been doing micro-billing, premium SMS etc. We will leverage their experiences in those areas to provide really good Over the Air shopping experience
msmobiles.com : why still there is no mobile version of PocketGear.com and Smartphone.net, so that end users could download and install the software wirelessly ? what are you waiting for ? donīt you think, that it is urgent?
Slawek Pruchnik : This is an area that we are looking at and evaluating our options. I think the market for selling OTA software application is growing and at the right time and with the right technology we will enter this market.
msmobiles.com : what webservices are your websites offering, only B2B? not for end users? could you describe them shortly and mention their advantages or disadvantages ?
Slawek Pruchnik : I really like the idea of .NET and web services. I think this is going to help adoption of the Windows Mobile devices especially in enterprise environment. .NET makes development and deployment of network aware applications so easy. We already see introduction of many interesting .NET based applications. We will see even more once the number of WM 2003 devices as well as never versions with build in .NET compact framework is going to be deployed. We currently offer B2B web services to our affiliates. We also use web services for inside company data exchange etc.
msmobiles.com : Is Microsoft Mobile2Market Program a real McCoy? Is it really helpful for developers or is it just another unnecessary hurdle?
Slawek Pruchnik : I think this program is very useful to ISVs. It helps them with getting their applications ready to be marketed and them marketing them. This help includes Designed for Windows Mobile logo certification, Mobile2Market code signing and application catalog from which carriers as well as distribution partners such as us, both PocketGear and Smartphone.net are Mobile2Market distribution partners, can select applications for distribution.
msmobiles.com : Do you think that it makes any business sense to make software for Microsoft Smartphone -only - as some overly naive developers do - or should developers target both Pocket PC and Microsoft Smartphone platforms ?
Slawek Pruchnik :
I think well designed software makes use of code reuse. Therefore it is possible to design application to target both platforms making changes to the presentation layer. This is especially true with .NET based apps where mobile controls are rendered based on type of device.
msmobiles.com : What is your prognosis for Windows Mobile software? Can we expect any growth yet, or is it a saturated market dominated by some established players, with little or no space for newcomers...
Slawek Pruchnik : I think the market is going to grow fast in coming years. Windows Mobile devices are getting better and better - more memory, faster processors, better screens, better connectivity including WiFi, GPRS and bluetooth. Moreover, price of devices continues to decline making the devices more affordable. The low price and wealth of features will help adoption of the devices.
This in turn will grow the market for third party applications. There are many vertical markets that do not have enough application support. Example could be insurance. I was recently asked to provide client with list of insurance specific applications that can be purchased on PocketGear. I found 4 or 5 applications. So yes there is plenty of room for growth also for newcommers.
msmobiles.com : what device do you use NOW as your primary cell phone? what are your plans regarding your next cell phone, what it will be?
[Slawek Pruchnik shows his phone:]
Slawek Pruchnik : I am really happy with my I-Mate XDA II. I think it is really well built device. As to the next device Motorola MPx 220 looks really nice but so does the XDA III. There are other devices that are coming soon that look really good. It will be difficult to choose.
msmobiles.com : ok, thank you for the interview: letīs drink to the massive success of Windows Mobile devices! Cheers!
[lifts a glass with ice tea]
Slawek Pruchnik : [lifts a glass with tonic water]
Thanks for the interview. Please visit our kiosk in Microsoft Mobility Pavilon.
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Later on we visited him at his stand at Microsoft's Windows Mobile section of the exhibition at TechEd 2004 Europe and we took this photo of him:
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