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Are you a fan of Indian rock music? Here's some news that will be music to your ears. Go to the great Indian rock music street by pressing a single button on your mobile phone. And using a built-in Facebook application, you can let your friends know what you are streaming. Those interested can join the revelry instantly.
Start-up company Queppelin, which has developed the streaming application on the Java platform, now plans to replicate the idea for more content including Bollywood and educational material.
After showcasing it at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) at Barcelona, Queppelin is talking to telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to offer this one-stop rock music application, called Zephyr, on mobiles.
In fact, Oracle had sponsored its exhibition at the MWC last year.
The company is compiling a trove of ‘authentic' Indian rock numbers. It has currently tied up with bands such as Parikrama, Skinny Alley, The Hobos and Summit Attempt. It plans to include some Western labels too.
The company believes that if this application can work for rock music, it can work for other kinds of content too. “We can extend this to Bollywood, singer-specific content and educational stuff too. We allow users to download and share content with friends,” Prafulla Mathur, Chief Executive Officer of Queppelin, says.
Small team
The year-old firm, with 16 employees, is already self-sustaining. “We are not short of funds for our operations and development. Post Barcelona, there has been interest among the VC community and we are being approached for investments. We are in talks,” he says.
Queppelin is in the advanced stages of negotiation for a deal with a top handset manufacturer to embed the application in its phones. “We will announce a deal in the next few weeks,” he says. The team developed a Facebook application for Java phones, allowing a huge number of low-end phones to access the social media site. “A good number of mobile users in India are not able to access FB on their phones as they cannot afford Symbian or smart phones. Our application allows them to,” Mathur says with pride.
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