Sproqit tilts at Blackberry & Citrix

A CROSS BETWEEN CITRIX and a RIM Blackberry is the best way to describe Sproqit Personal Edition. This software enables remote access to your Windows Desktop not just access to an Outlook mailbox.

Unlike its rivals, Sproqit is initially going for the sole user and SME sector with the first release of its mobile mail access software. An enterprise version will follow later. Rather than using a store and forward mechanism (like Blackberry), Sproqit effectively links you directly to an individual PC at home or in the office acting as a server.

Sproqit's offering is thus akin to a 'thin client' application since it downloads information (via GPRS or Wi-Fi) on the fly. But unlike a thin client environment such as Citrix, Sproqit stores parts of the application locally. So, for example, you can reply to an email off-line (even adding file attachments) and send the email next time a connexion is established.

While Sproqit recognises that email and PIM information access causes the biggest demand for this kind of facility, in reality it can potentially handle any kind of application. Currently it is possible to view any kind of file which you store on your Windows Desktop, for example. Great if you leave an important Powerpoint presentation behind.

With the Personal Edition of Sproqit, users have to pay £8 per month to connect via Sproqit's router. Enterprise users will eventually be able to run their own router software without having to pay this fee. Although it also requires an associated server running behind the firewall, Sproqit claims its solution is highly secure.

Currently only Palm and Pocket PC based wireless devices are supported with Symbian to follow shortly. µ