July 2, 2008
MBit Brings P2P to Cell Phones
As phones are starting to look more and more like mini-computers, it’s only natural that we grow more and more demanding towards the features that a cell phone should have in order to offer us the same treat that a PC had us accustomed to. mBit is a Singapore-based company (owned by a larger corporate – mTouche) which addresses this exact issue - downloading using the mobile adaptation of peer-to-peer sharing, allowing users to share pictures, music and videos directly with each other.
Quite remarkably, with mBit transfers are possible directly between two phones that are in close proximity, actually going around the cellular network. The service also allows transfers to have effect over carrier networks or over the Internet, via a WiFi connection. It behaves similarly to any P2P: the files are sent out in chunks making it possible for the download to be completed over time.
As CEO Chun Yan See explains, the service took off right away after being made available for public download from getjar.com. Since the end of last year it accumulated 208,000 downloads a figure which seems to please the company.
What does MBit do? Apparently, it keeps a centralized listing of all files and lets users enjoy file sharing by building a kind of global net. According to the company, individual cellular networks can also allow mBit for their users who will be charged a modest fee per month. Indosat and Smart have already closed a deal. If you download the program on your own you should expect advertising.
However, mBit comes with a bit of shortcoming – currently, it only supports Nokia and Sony Ericsson models. The company’s future prospects include the development of a version for the iPhone.
On the company's website you can read a "vision of the group":
To become the leader in the peer-to-peer content search and super-distribution network that transfers large files reliably, efficiently and securely among PC and mobile devices in wireless/wired networks to leverage on the trend of Fixed Mobile Convergence.
Filed under Announcements & Events, Downloads, File-Sharing Programs, Networks & Services by admin
