To the company, traditional methods of sending, storing and collaborating with electronic documents and digital media can be too difficult, time-consuming and expensive. For example, file attachments are often rejected by servers because they are either too large or perceived as a security threat; FTP is cumbersome and often requires IT intervention; while mobile devices frequently restrict what users can do with large documents.

Young said to PDAStreet, "We try to create a seamless transition between PCs, PDAs and smartphones. So that individuals who want to have access to their content can do so irrespective of the device they have."

The LiveCargo solution enables users to store and manage their files in a secure environment with message notification and other collaboration tools. Because “individuals want their work documents and media files available where and when they need them, not just when they’re in the office,” Young said.

Shared Vision
In the case of smartphones, for example, users can control their content in real-time as if they were at their PC. "The Vision is giving people access very easily to information irrespective of the device they're using and where their data is stored," Young added.

Young said one advanced collaboration tool lets users integrate voice files directly into documents: text highlights are possible as well. So, for example, three or four people can pull up the same PowerPoint presentation on their smartphone, view it slide by slide, and record voice comments, feedback or directions. No keyboard is required and the slides don't need to be changed on the screen through any kind of pen input.

Those in the PowerPoint collaborative process are notified by SMS when a change is made. A collaborator on a PC would see a speaker icon, which he or she can then click and listen to for the voice notes.

In addition to working seamlessly across and size or type of network, be it GSM, CDMA or W-iFi, Young emphasized how LiveCargo's user interface appears the same (toolbars, etc.) on the smartphone as the desktop (see top image for desktop); another kind of seamlessness.

"I use the analogy, if you have your home PC and a local area network within your home, and then you have your business environment, and then you have your cell phone, being able to access to access information the same way regardless of where you are or the network that your are using is important," Young said.

Also, if you don't have your laptop, you can pull up all your information from a PC anywhere else through a browser or Java applet and use all LiveCargo's functions and access all the data you've updated to it, as if it was your own desktop

Outlook
It also integrates with Outlook. First, LiveCargo uses the Outlook contact list for sending and receiving contact information when collaborating or sharing.

In managed file transfers, you can create an e-mail, and instead of attaching a file the conventional way and sending it through the e-mail server, it notifies the recipient that the file is waiting for them on LiveCargo.com. And, this is key, the person getting the file, doesn't need to be a LiveCargo member.

Young said, "What it does is take the attachment that you indicated in the e-mail and send it through LiveCargo instead of sending it through the e-mail server. This enables you to have larger file sizes than typically would be associated with e-mail. It also allows you to track every file and exactly whom the recipient or recipients received it. There's a database in the system that allows us to track every package in and out of an organization. "

Demand
The wireless broadband market will create demand for the applications and functionality available in LiveCargo, according to Young. "All of these are features and functions that are needed as a result of being able to access content remotely that otherwise because of speed would have been run locally on a PC. So to collaborate or to file share you have to have your files remotely stored and then from the remote storage you can initiate the collaboration activity," Young said.

LiveCargo also offers the ability to push content. "So if we have a database of e-mail addresses or individuals that we want to receive, let's say a three minute sports highlight of yesterday's sports, the application can be used to push that down to a subscriber base," Young explained

News around this push capability will be announced over the next several weeks. It's obvious the company is thinking beyond signing up users one at a time. Young indicated as much when discussing LiveCargo's pricing structure.

LiveCargo is free for up to 25 MB of remote storage with the collaboration, remote storage, file sharing and managed files transfers features. Additional storage starts at $4.95 per month for 256 MB, while $9.95 per month gets you 5 GB, for example.

Young mentioned how LiveCargo can be co-branded with an ISP or Telco, as an extension of their other services, giving the company another way to reach more - and (it hopes) potentially massive numbers - of users.

Everyone is looking to raise average revenue per users (ARPU), and it appears LiveCargo is positioning itself with service providers as one method to do just that, with the advantage of single-billing be thrown in for good measure. We get the impression LiveCargo would like to become another check box item for providers.