Embedded browser specialist Spyglass Inc has released version 2.0 of its Prism content conversion technology that lets existing internet content be re-formatted for wireless data applications, or for display on televisions, personal digital assistants and other non-PC devices. Prism 2.0 can speed up download times, the company said, as its features include JPEG compression; the ability to reduce image sizes by converting 24-bit color images to smaller color palette or grayscale; in addition HTML elements that are not supported by the requesting device are also removed, reducing further the amount of data that is downloaded. Version 2.0 has a data mining feature that lets specific information be extracted from web pages an put in a template suitable for the device. So the most essential information from a weather page, such as current conditions, temperature and humidity could be extracted and delivered to small mobile devices tailored to provide weather updates, for example. Current licensees of Prism include Nokia, GTE and Geoworks. Spyglass has joined the Wireless Application Protocol Forum too. It was founded by Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola and has as its goal the task of creating a network independent global wireless protocol that will enable an array of wireless data services. One of Spyglass’s two largest markets is the embedded wireless market; the other is advanced television services.
