AvantGo to Greatly Restrict Custom Channels
Update: AvantGo has dropped this policy in favor of a new one that isn't so restrictive . Therefore, most of this information is out of date.
Beginning in just a couple of days, AvantGo will limit the number of subscribers to custom channels to just eight people for each channel. Custom channels are created by users as links to small sites that don't have a formal contract with AvantGo. Regular channels, like the ones listed on AvantGo's site, won't be affected. On February 20, all AvantGo users will be unsubscribed from all their custom channels. The first eight people to resign up for each custom channel will be allowed to do so. All others will be blocked.
This won't affect sites that have a contract with AvantGo, including this one.
According to AvantGo, some sites are abusing its policy of allowing users to subscribe to any page they want and creating commercial sites without signing a contract with AvantGo. From AvantGo's perspective, these sites are using AvantGo's servers and networks for their own commercial gain without paying AvantGo for it.
This isn't a new policy from the company. Custom channels have always been limed to non-commercial use. AvantGo has never tried very hard to enforce this policy before, however. Apparently, it has decided that, with its limited resources, checking each custom channel for all of its 4.5 millions subscribers is impractical so it has decided on this slightly draconian solution.
Like most small, high-tech companies, AvantGo has been struggling to remain afloat. In its most recent quarter, the company had a pro forma net loss of $4.7 million, or $0.14 per share, on revenues of just $5.3 million. So the company can't afford any unnecessary expenses or to pass up any sources of revenue.
Still, the company needs to be careful about driving away companies that host useful channels. According to PocketPCThoughts, it received a bill of $6000. The site immediately pulled its channel.
There is no charge for a custom channel with eight or fewer subscribers. For sites with between 9 and 100 subscribers, the annual fee is $1,000. For those sites with less than 500 subscribers, the fee is $4,000. Between 500 and 1000, AvantGo charges $6,000. All sites with more than 1,000 subscribers are supposed to work out an individual contract with AvantGo.
ABC News and ESPN have recently removed their AvantGo channels. No reason was given but it's possible they became too expensive.
While it has proved to be quite popular, AvantGo isn't the only application that can download Web content onto a handheld. There are alternatives like iSilo, Pendragon Browser, Plucker, and Aladdino.
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RE: Time to Jump Ship
RE: Time to Jump Ship
...the real bummer is that not only do I have no idea as to which of my channels are going to be nixed and which aren't, I don't know what time they're doing the deed on Wednesday and so I won't be able to save them.
*sigh* Plucker is such a pain, but it is the only automated solution left to me.
RE: Time to Jump Ship
AvantGo has been around for years. I understand quite well why they can't afford to give you and thousands of other people free service. Would you like to provide a bunch of servers to proxy content and Internet bandwidth to sevrvice thousands of people for free? In fact I'm sure AvantGo would be glad to just let you pick up those costs for them, and save you the effort of getting those systems and services set up.
RE: Time to Jump Ship
I run an avantgo channel. I have a contract with them, but I am not paying 1 dollar per subscriber. That's insane. I guess they will be doomed. It's funny because they certainly will be facing the challenege of high bandwidth always-on portable devices that can pull down and render full sized webpages.
Cut out the middleman. I guess they have to make cash back for the investors now before it's too late.
[http://www.mediathreat.net]
What they SHOULD do...
While my PUG doesn't get a ton of traffic, I'm sure there are more than 8 subscribers to our little channel, and I'm not about to pay AvantGo a bank just to keep it going.
RE: What they SHOULD do...
They did. It was called Avantgo 1.0. I think they flat out skipped version 2.0 and moved 3.0 to their current incarnation where they host your channel setup. I'd still be using 1.0 if it supported color and more than 1 bit graphics.
Time to try an alternative.
RE: Dibs
Prices...
Go here:
http://avantgo.com/products/businesses/marketing_commerce/custom_channel.html
and click on "affordably priced".
Pretty steep for smaller numbers of users (above 8). Clearly they are looking to only provide enterprise services, with that pricing.
RE: Prices...
With these changes, I would expect about 20%-30% of all of the channels on AvantGo to disappear within the first month after this takes place. Obviously all of the Custom Channels are all gone on Feb. 20th, but these prices are going to force many smaller channels out pretty quick as well. Too bad for the little guys!
RE: Prices...
Add a special subscription price for Avantgo users of your site, and I don't think that many users will complain about paying $10 a year to get AvantGo if the content is worth it.
It looks like a fair deal to me.
RE: Prices...
Try Plucker, you can get to the same sites, and their browser is much, much better!
Swirling.... swirling..... whoosh!
Don't look now, but that little speck is what's left of the company going down the toilet...
Personally, I've seen this coming, ever since they started the shift towards enterprise markets. It's been my impression that they've not really *wanted* personal users any more.
Oh well, yet another reason why plucker and/or iSilo is a better solution for most of us "normal joes"
RE: Swirling.... swirling..... whoosh!
> *wanted* personal users any more.
They don't want to pay to give you free content anymore. What is so hard to understand about that?
RE: Swirling.... swirling..... whoosh!
Now that the end users have proven their case, they don't need to absorb the cost of providing a free deliver service to everyone who wants it.
If you like the service they provide, then you are goint to have to pay for it. If you don't need the control of custom channels you can use some of the other widley available, advertising driven channels.
The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
Dear Mobile Enthusiast,
Mazingo Network (www.mazingo.net) would like to extend you an invitation
to submit your mobile web site to Mazingo's mobile delivery service for
the Pocket PC. Unlike Avantgo, publishing on the Mazingo Network is free,
and submitting a channel couldn't be easier. Plus, we're doing some
revolutionary new stuff.
Mazingo is best described as AvantGo on steroids. Text-only sites work
great, but customers can also receive rich media content, including movies,
TV shows, radio programs and photographs. Several major publishers are
already participating including RCA Records, ABC News, USA Today and
others to be announced.
Moreover, we want to put money in your pocket, rather than charging you
outrageous prices to use our network. Mobilizing your web site is free,
and we have a few different ways for you to turn your site into a profit
center.
But first, you need to submit your site. If you already have an AvantGo
channel, it will work perfectly with Mazingo. Just take 2 minutes to fill
in the form here:
http://www.mazingo.net/pc/publishing.htm
Mazingo Network is turning the Pocket PC into a killer mobile
entertainment and information device, and we want to you to participate in
this truly revolutionary technology. Come submit your PDA-friendly web
site to our directory today, and we'll tell you how to start making money
from your submission.
Sincerely,
Carmine Gallo
VP Channel Development
Mazingo Network, Inc
415.346.7100 (ext.101)
http://www.mazingo.net
carmine@mazingo.net
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
Mazingo currently does NOT support the following devices:
Casio BE-300
HP 720, 660, 620 LX
Other H/PC devices
Palm OS devices, including the Handspring and Sony Clie.
Philips Nino
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
RE: The heck with AvantGo...here's an Alternative
Useful
Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
By the way, add Pendragon Software's Browser to an alternative to them:
http://www.pendragonsoftware.com/browser/index.html
Maybe one of these companies can take up where they left off. That is if Avantgo lets them. They have patented their technology of syncing to PDAs. If they are in a financial lurch and hoping to squeeze everyone else out with stupid licensing policies I will be the first to choke Avantgo off and encourage everyone else to do the same.
RE: Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
Why the heck should Avantgo give you free service? The purpose of the company is to make money--not provide social welfare to people like you.
The whole purpose of the "free" service was proof-of-concept. If you want the service in the future, then pay for it.
Obviously, you like the service. Now, pony up the cash if you find it indispensable as you state. Put your money where yer mouth is.
RE: Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
The point is that AvantGo did what it did really well and could have found all sorts of better ways to make money off the service. Why not, for example, allow users to gain free access to two or three channels, but charging a monthly or yearly subscription for additional channels? That way, they could allow custom content providers to advertise to their hearts' content while providing incentive to maintain high-quality content.
I think you're way off base.
RE: Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
I, for one, would be willing to pay $5 a month to view public interest content (i.e. news, hobby pages, etc).
If my company chooses to provide a channel for the sale of their product or for service to their customers, then they have a reason to pay the subscription fees.
RE: Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
RE: Geat Idea, Poor Business Plan
Either Avantgo re-look at their fees charged to publications and make it more affordable or as one reader suggested limit the free channels and introduce a premium account surcharge. Alternatively, sell Avantgo as a software with things that we REALLY like to see such as clipping.
On the other hand, HandStory seems like an interesting alternative.
Lovely, just lovely.
Time to make MobileKeen, a webcomic PalmOS client.
yeah...
I am one of those foreigners using an AvantGo channel not only daily, but hourly to keep updated on the latest news offered by two Belgian newspapers. I insisted personnally with one of these two to start offering content through AvantGo, content which would otherwise have remained out of reach for me as a Belgian, and they kindly followed my suggestion.
All this is going to disappear. Only the "big ones" will survive: CNN, USAToday, not the (much more interesting !) smaller national newspapers.
Sigh.
RE: yeah...
Let's say it again:
Avantgo is not a provider of social welfare to people like you. They're in the business of making money. Understand?
If you like the service, then pay for it. Say again: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch (TANSTAAFL).
And again... TANSTAAFL.
RE: yeah...
(there is only a free lunch for US citizens)
RE: yeah...
RE: yeah...
Pocket PC users are a small percentage here, you may gather more business at a relevant site.
RE: yeah...
My only beef with MobiPocket Reader is that it obviously comes from the PocketPC world: it has a too graphical interface, and therefore I find it too slow for e-book reading on my 16MHz Palm IIIxe (compared to iSilo and PalmReader). So I went back to using iSilo, until I upgrade to a newer Palm, that is.
As for AvantGo, I haven't used it in quite a while: it uses way too much memory, and I didn't find it very stable. It was a great idea, but I would have liked it more memory-efficient, more stable, and I would have liked the ability to cut & paste text.
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Time to Jump Ship
Well, I guess it's time I finally learned how to use Plucker:
http://www.plkr.org/index.pl/download
...first coola, now this.