Dashwire is a two way sync (push/pull) service. The Dashwire client, which runs on the device, sends content, without any user interaction, from your phone (contacts, pictures, videos, call logs, SMS messages and bookmarks) to the Dashwire servers. The content can be viewed on the web using a personalised Dashwire Dashboard (web site / service). From the Dashboard you can share content out to other web services such as Facebook and Flickr (manually or automatically) and information and send text messages.
Dashwire really consists of three different elements combined into one service:
Firstly it acts as a consumer synchronization service - it syncs contacts, text messages, call logs, photos, videos, and bookmarks. As such this acts as a backup and restore system. You can also use this element to transfer your content between two different device (impressively this works even between a Windows Mobile and S60 device). In this guise you might see it as the consumer equivalent of a corporate solutions which sync with Microsoft Exchange.
The second element, 'sythesise' builds on the content provided by the first by allowing you to manipulate the data that has been stored to the web. The Dashwire Dashboard is a web based application that allows you to interact with your data. You can use it to read, reply to and create new text messages (which are shown in threaded conversations giving an IM like experience), to organise pictures and video into albums. Other features include the ability to add to or edit your contacts, bookmarks, speed dials and ringtones on the web and have the changes sycned back to your phone. A particular highlight in the 'Network Address Book' which shows you a unified page for a contact that shows communication events and media associated with that person.
The third element, 'socialise', allows you to share your media with friends via email and SMS or send media to third party services or social networks. Dashwire includes automatic (or single click) uploads to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, FriendFeed and Bebo. The client application also includes a status update feature which you can use to automatically update your Twitter or Facebook status while out and about. Dashwire also includes its own public page for each user when you can share media and status with friends and family who do not use other social media sites.
As part of it Symbian Smartphone Show news Dashwire has also announced that it will be integrating a software store, backed by MobiHand, into the Dashwire Dashboard which will allow you to easily download and install third party applications.
Clearly Dashwire can, on one level, be compared to SyncML backup services such as Ovi Sync or Zyb. However it has a tighter consumer focus, syncs a much greater range of content and gives you a greater range of options to share, edit and manipulate your content on the web.
Dashwire have also thought about some of the practical problems around such services. For example you can optionally set Dashwire to sync only over WiFi connections; ideal if you have a limited data bundle and have been taking advantage of Nokia's high resolution camera in its Nseries devices. There are various settings for the Dashwire Dashboard too, for example you can set media to be shared manually or automatically, giving maximum flexibility for as many people as possible.
It is great to see a third party company offering an alternative to the connected service suite that Nokia is providing through the Ovi range of services. We'll be watching this service very closely and we'll have a more in depth first look when the beta becomes available for S60.
You can sign up for early access to to the Dashwire beta now. The first 100 people who sign up using this exclusive AAS link will get prioritised access to the beta (you'll automatically go to the top of the list).
You can view a video overview of Dashwire here.
Extracts from the press release:
Dashwire’s service automatically synchronizes the contacts, text messages, calls, photos, videos, and settings from the phone to a private, cloud-based Dashwire account, helping users stay connected to the information they need and the people and social networks they want to stay in touch with.
Content instantly transfers between the phone and the web without requiring any user interaction – ensuring users have access to the most up-to-date information while mobile or when online using Dashwire’s elegant web-application designed to deliver a desktop-like experience.
The result is that Dashwire makes it easy for users do things like backup and sync phone contacts, send text messages from the web, share photos and videos captured on the phone with friends and social sites like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and more, access their media stored in the cloud while mobile, configure their phones from the web, and easily transfer content from one phone to the next.
“When you consider the overall market share held by Symbian in the smartphone space, the types of innovative phones being built by Symbian licensees such as the Nokia N96 and the Samsung INNOV8, and the alignment between how these phones are being used and how a mobile-web service like Dashwire can integrate with them seamlessly to help users get even more out of their experiences – then it becomes clear why supporting Symbian’s open platform was such a key priority for us,” said Ford Davidson, founder and CEO of Dashwire.