SkipStream Services provides corporations with an online memory "shelf" for making PC-based information available wirelessly to a variety of Palm OS devices. Each mobile executive subscribing to the service receives 15MB of device-ID secured memory, as well as a personal SkipWire email address, wireless download and upload applications, and access to the online PC to Palm device/Palm device to PC conversion platform.

Almost any connected Palm OS device can be used with SkipStream, including the Palm VII, the new Palm m100 series and Palm m500 series, the VisorPhone, and the Kyocera SmartPhone. Users of the Palm III, Palm IIIc, or the Palm V can use the service with the Palm Mobile Internet Kit. The Sony CLIE and the HandSpring Visor can also be used with the Mobile Internet Kit. YadaYada, OmniSky, and OhFish offer modem/service combinations for many Palm and Visor models.

SkipStream is unique from some other email attachment services in that you can download a complete file wirelessly, not just a viewable html version of the file. This means that a user with the appropriate viewer can wirelessly edit and update files in addition to viewing them. SkipStream offers a one stop point of contact for the user where Palm viewers can be purchased, files can be wirelessly converted on the fly, and amended files can be wirelessly uploaded back to a device ID secured online account. Those files can then be converted back to a PC viewable format and can then be wirelessly directed (via email) back to a colleague, printer, or fax machine.

SkipStream Services in action
Let's look at a possible scenario. Let's say a sales person named John is on the road when he receives an urgent email: "John, PGE won't sign the contract unless you rewrite Amendment 3a. I've attached the contract below. NEEDED ASAP."

No problem. The email is directed through John's SkipStream service where the attachment is removed and placed in John's MySkipWire account. An automated text message is attached to the bottom of the original email, which is then forwarded on to John's wireless email address at johnf@palm.net. When John pulls out his Palm VII and connects to the Web, he finds the email waiting for him, telling him about the file attachment in his MySkipWire account. He wirelessly connects to the account, finds the attachment, and clicks on it.

He's immediately presented with a number of Palm viewer choices for this specific file type. He chooses a viewer that he knows offers editing capabilities and starts the download process. He then discovers that he doesn't have the needed viewer available on his device. The service directs him to a product page where the viewer is described in detail, and he has the option to purchase. He wirelessly purchases the viewer and downloads it simultaneously with his now converted file. He opens the file, rewrites Amendment 3a, and then uploads it wirelessly back to his online MySkipWire account. From here, he's able to initiate an email that forwards the file back to his secretary, half a world away. Mission accomplished. John sighs with relief and heads off for a quick lunch before his afternoon appointment.