Dot Com Infoway: Focused on Content Based Apps Date:   Monday , January 04, 2010 There is always a rush when a music album of a film releases as people start thronging the music stores to grab the CD, now if you are an iPhone user there is an easier way to get these songs. Dot Com Infoway (DCI) has developed an iPhone application that will feature exclusive music content of a film. By using this app iPhone users can listen to the songs in the album any number of times by just paying an initial amount of $1.99 for every movie album. Users also get an option to download the entire album onto their iPhone by paying $2.99. “We wanted to start focusing on providing content to the users rather than just doing business utilities. This app is a manifestation of that wish,” opines Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer, DCI. Last month, the company joined hands with Sony Music and got copyrights for distributing the music of an upcoming Tamil film for which A R Rahman had scored the music. “In the coming months, we will also distribute music for three other movies through this partnership,” says Girish Ramdas, President of Galatta.com. Founded in March 2000, DCI was the result of a merger between C.R. Venkatesh-founded web design firm CRV Infotech and Girish Ramdas-headed internet company GNG Solutions. Currently, Venkatesh is the CEO and Ramdas is President of DCI, which was primarily an Internet and Enterprise solutions provider. In 2008, the company ventured into mobile and wireless device programming services and formed an internal division called DCI Mobile Studios. Today, this division develops applications under all major Mobile OS platforms, including Windows Mobile, BREW, Palm Pre OS and Symbian in addition to popular mobile platforms like iPhone, Blackberry and Android. “By looking at the abundant potential that was available in the mobile applications market, we got into this segment to cash in on the opportunity,” says the CTO. DCI Mobile Studios has two different divisions - one for developing in-house apps to be sold directly to users; another, for developing apps for different platforms for clients worldwide. Though most of the apps developed by DCI are in the entertainment category, the company also develops business utility apps like the BlackBerry Business Card Reader, iPhone financial apps and othe such apps. As of now, the company has also developed five 2D mobile games. There is also an iPhone app that the company has developed to relieve stress. The app called OJAS Life Energy is a content-based iPhone app containing a collection of mantras and chant tracks, released by the OJAS Foundation. The app is currently available for $9.99 on iPhone from Apple’s App Store. According to CR Venkatesh, the Managing Director and CEO of DCI, for the next 1-2 years, the company’s main focus in mobile app space will be on “content delivery, especially music and games”. He also added that DCI Mobile Studios would look forward to movie delivery via mobile in future. DCI’s inclination towards the film industry started in 2000, when the company launched Galatta.com, which is South India’s first movie portal with more than one million registered users and ten million page views in a month with more than 15,000 new registered users added every month. In 2007, the company also launched a magazine called Galatta Cinema, which is focused on the South Indian film industry. Currently, this magazine is available as a free app on the iPhone, Android and on Nokia OVI store. With its offices in Chennai and Madurai, the company today has an employee strength of 300, which includes 45 mobile app developers. With its eyes set on segments like health care and voice recognition, the company plans to ramp up its headcount to 400, which it believes, will help in spreading its wings to newer verticals.