Rediff.com expands its presence on mobile

The company has launched a mobile application called MobileRediff, which offers access to Rediffmail and content related to news, astrology and the stock market

Rediff.com has extended its mobile presence beyond its mobile portal, Mobile.Rediff.com. It has launched a mobile application called MobileRediff, which can be downloaded and stored in a GPRS enabled mobile handset.

For the uninitiated, a mobile application is stored in the handset and is represented by an icon in the phone menu. The user is required to click on the icon to start accessing the content it offers. In the case of a mobile site, the user is required to enter the URL of the website to access its content.

MobileRediff offers access to Rediff.com content related to news, astrology, cricket and the stock market. Rediff.com members can send English and Hindi SMSes and emails. An option to log into the mobile site of Rediff.com, directly from the application without entering the URL of the mobile site, is also available.

Speaking to afaqs!, Uday Sodhi, senior vice-president, interactive services, Rediff.com, says, “The reason behind launching a mobile application is to provide a shortcut to access the Rediff.com content on mobile phones. To access the content through the mobile site, the user is required to remember and enter the right URL.”

He adds, “The user interface of a mobile site does not appear in the same pattern when accessed through mobiles of different brands and models, while an application enables us to keep a standard user interface, which appears in a similar pattern across all brands and models of mobiles.”

The application is available on the Rediff.com website and its mobile portal. Sodhi says, “We have not finalised our monetisation strategy and will initially focus on boosting usage and distribution.” However, he indicated that the revenue model will be based on advertising.

The company is open to tieups with mobile handset manufacturers to distribute the application as a pre-installed feature.