On-the-go access to the Glide universe

Last November, I wrote about an innovative, Web-based "environment" dubbed Glide Effortless. In a nutshell, Glide offers users a secure and intuitive platform for storing and sharing media files, e-mail, Web sites, documents--pretty much any file that you would want access to on any Internet-enabled computer. Throw in an array of personal contacts, interactive video chats, and even Glide-powered e-commerce shops, and you've got an all-inclusive "operating environment." But the magic that drives Glide is a real-time transcoding technology that allows you (and others) to access data on any computer or platform, and now on many portable devices.

Launching this morning was Glide Mobile, which allows users of Windows Mobile 5 devices to access and manage their Glide Effortless account. I've been using Glide Mobile on a Palm Treo 700w and have been streaming music, viewing various pieces of video, and checking out photos that I had uploaded to my account earlier in the day. Support for other mobile platforms, including Java Mobile on the Razr and Nokia 60 series, and Symbian OS on Sony Ericsson handsets, should arrive in late May.

In order to truly get the most out of Glide in general, you have to immerse yourself by using all the productivity tools, uploading all of your media--you get the picture. Glide Mobile is an extension of that experience, and from a media-file perspective--thanks to its format-agnostic transcoding tech--it definitely fills a hole in the mobile world, though DRM-protected files aren't supported. And the ability to preview, download, and upload files, and even send as much as 40GB of data (as links) in a tiny e-mail while on the go is powerful. When Glide Mobile matures, you'll be able to do a lot more, such as purchase goods or media through embedded online stores.