"Phantom" updates for your electronics
Two Metrowest companies are making it a lot easier for consumers to get the latest features on devices ranging from cell phones to digital TVs. As these devices increasingly resemble multimedia machines, manufacturers and operators need to correct software bugs or improve upon software features installed in the factory.
Red Bend Software in Framingham and UpdateLogic Inc. in Hopkinton are stepping in to fill that need with technology that gives manufacturers and consumers the ability to use existing cellular and cable TV networks to fix or upgrade their mobile phones or digital televisions, respectively.The market is huge. Red Bend estimates there are 800 million mobile phones sold worldwide annually that could potentially use its technology, and UpdateLogic says around 40 million digital televisions will be sold in the U.S., about 60 percent of those made by companies already in discussions with UpdateLogic. And since both companies lack any serious competition, they see an emerging market that can they are well positioned to fill.
Red Bend Software is testing its Embedded Feature Delivery (EFD) technology that allows cell phone makers and owners to update their phone’s firmware, the operating software or the phone, or upgrade features like browsers or schedulers.
The technology is the next generation of Red Bend’s vCurrent technology. Known as "firmware over the air," the three-year-old technology is used by every major phone manufacturer (except Motorola) as a software updater, says Peter Cohen, vice president of corporate marketing.
Without something like vCurrent, any changes to a phone’s firmware would have to be done by the manufacturer or a dealer and require that the phone be plugged into a computer and the new firmware reloaded – a costly, inconvenient process. But with vCurrent, manufacturers can send out patches through the existing cell networks, which can be updated without the consumer even knowing it.
EFD improves on that technology by allowing for updates of the individual programs on a phone. So a change in the phone’s Internet browser could be made without reinstalling new firmware. By sending out only the changes, Red Bend reduces the size of the file – a useful feature in phones, where memory is at a premium.
A 7-year-old, private company, Red Bend has offices in Israel, the United Kingdom, Japan and China and has annual revenue under $20 million. It completed a $10 million, fourth round of financing in Feb. 2005.
Keeping digital TVs current
UpdateLogic Inc., previously called Broadcast Data Corp, is testing its UpdateTV technology, which will allow manufacurers and consumers to download firmware upgrades to their digital televisions over the cable networks, says CEO Tripp Blair.
Although transmitted through a different type of network and a different device, UpdateTV is conceptually similar to Red Bend’s, Blair says.
It works relatively simply: Software installed on the TVs scans the Public Broadcasting Service for updates. When they’re located, the files can be installed automatically without the consumer even knowing.
The need is clear, Blair says. Most digital televisions require almost three updates a year in their first four years. Doing so under warranty without UpdateTV can be costly and time-consuming. But on a per set basis, the technology adds less than $10.
And with the FCC set to eliminate the sale of analog televisions before the end of the decade, the market for digital televisions here should grow.
UpdateTV is currently being field tested in Boston, Indianapolis, Denver and San Diego. The field tests involve TVs made by Sony, Sharp, Samsung and Hitachi. Panasonic and Mitsubishi are also in discussions to participate.
The three-year-old private company completed a $4 million, second round of financing in Jan.
Kenneth J. St. Onge can be reached at kstonge@wbjournal.com
WBJ Web Partners
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