Jupiter Adds Extra Terrestrials: New Planet, Phones Home

by Larry Dobrow, Dec 20, 2003, 12:00 AM

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Jupitermedia concluded a busy week on Friday by launching SmartPhoneToday.com, an addition that the company billed as another weapon in its Internet.com arsenal. The site, the first to specifically target smartphone enthusiasts, joins PDAStreet.com, PocketPCCity.com, and several others to bolster Jupitermedia's offerings to the mobile community.

While Jupitermedia was once known primarily for its highly regarded Jupiter Research arm, the company now boasts more than 150 web sites and 150 email newsletters, which collectively generate more than 275 million page views per month. Earlier this week, Jupitermedia announced plans to take on the online business-to-business sector with Internet Planet, an entity that promises a glut of information for companies that conduct business on the Web.

SmartPhoneToday.com, needless to say, isn't quite as monumental an undertaking. Still, Ted Stevenson, executive editor of Jupitermedia's wireless Internet channel, has ambitious goals for the site. "In a nutshell, we're adding a telecom dimension to our PDA coverage," he explains. "You can't ever be totally sure, but telecom is looking like the most promising area for new handheld devices."

Stevenson's goal: 50,000 page views per day - not entirely unrealistic, considering that its now-defunct predecessor of sorts, VisorVillage.com, continues to generate a considerable amount of legacy traffic. The challenge, he concedes, is that while smartphones have gotten smaller and more functional, they haven't caught on in North America in the same way they have abroad. "I'm not sure why, to be honest," he says. "Nobody knows why something catches on in one culture and not another. It's the same thing with smart cards." That said, given their popularity in Europe, it's pretty clear that smartphones aren't going away anytime soon, and SmartPhoneToday.com is the only site that specifically hones in on their users.

In terms of content, SmartPhoneToday.com will follow the established formula of PDAStreet.com: downloadable software, news, features, equipment reviews, and forums. As for potential appeal to advertisers, the site's obvious target will be PDA manufacturers. "We offer them lots and lots of eyeballs, and focused eyeballs at that," Stevenson notes. "That's the fundamental Internet.com strategy."

This strategy, Stevenson believes, is one that should resonate with advertisers as nascent tech devices slowly catch on with consumers. "I think we're providing the right context for covering this part of the industry," he says. "Our area [the wireless Internet channel] has a constituency of end-users, rather than developers or tech people. It's a well-established venue for people seeking information, and advertisers are going to respond."

Stevenson is cagey, however, when asked about future projects both within and beyond his group: "I've worked for [Jupitermedia chairman and chief executive officer] Alan Meckler for six or seven years now. It's sort of a given around here that something new is always cooking."

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