Aug/Sept 2007

As seems increasingly the case in the mobile market, suppliers targeting the social networking market could be set to usher in new technology that is also useful for business.

Among the latest developments is a supposedly 'free' texting system called Yoober. To use it, you download a free Java application and install it on your mobile phone, and it allows you to send unlimited free text messages to other mobiles via the Internet.

The catch, if it is one, is that you need a GPRS or similar mobile data account. However, if you're a heavy user of texting the cost could soon be covered. Among upsides, text messages are not limited to 160 characters, and you can send a single text to multiple recipients without paying for each message separately.

Currently still in beta form, the system has already aroused plenty of interest, and in theory could undermine the mobile networks' extremely lucrative SMS market. But it would need to move from niche product into the mainstream to achieve real momentum, and this in turn would require users to come to terms with mobile data accounts.

However, some mobile computing applications already do use this kind of messaging, so the technology would probably pose few concerns here.

The company behind the system, Yoober Pty Ltd, has an Australian contact base, and is headed by entrepreneur Alex Gelbak.