Digital Trends

Startup Webaroo aims to let you surf the Web even when you're offline. Maybe they're onto something: Acer plans to bundle Webaroo on notebook computers.

Startup company Webaroo thinks they can help you search the Web better. No, they aren't a new search engine. No, they aren't a meta-search engine, combining results from multiple sources. No, they aren't offering some sort of ranked-source system which purports to float reliable or merit-worthy items to the top of search results.

Webaroo lets you search the Web when you've not connected to the Internet.

Webaroo purports to offer a feast, free, and ubiquitous Web searching capability for mobile devices even when the Internet isn't available. Webaroo works by providing on-disk "Web packs" of information on a variety of subjects, like news, sports, major global cities, and others, each of which contains thousands of Web pages identified and loaded up by Webaroo's system. When users are online, they can select and download their favorite Web sites to search when the net's not available; the Webaroo Web packs also update themselves, making sure you have up-to-date information at your fingertips. Webaroo's algorithms focus on pages with high quality content, broad coverage of information, and small size. Users see Webaroo-stored Web pages in their full original glory, complete with images.

"As mobile use grows, consumers want to be able to do more with their mobile devices," said Rakesh Mathur, Webaroo's CEO. "Webaroo brings the power of web search to mobile devices with an innovative product that is truly ubiquitous and fast. At home or on the go, in the air or on vacation, users can now find the information they need, wherever they are."

Computer maker Acer today announced it plans to bundle Webaroo on its laptop PCs worldwide. Campbell Kan, Head of Acer's Mobile Computing Business Unit, said, "Acer is committed to being first-to-market with innovative products that are easy-to-use, dependable and empowering -- enabling our users to be more productive. We plan on incorporating Webaroo's software into Acer's mobile PCs. We look forward to creating mutual success for Acer and Webaroo and even greater satisfaction for our customers." The version of Webaroo to be bundled with Acer systems is rumored to weigh in at about 40 GB.

Webaroo is free, but the company plans to add capabilities for selected advertisers to embed messages in the Webaroo Web packs...so even when you're offline, you may not be safe from gaudy, tasteless, animated ads.

A system like Webaroo has some obvious appeal—why pay ludicrous wireless access fees while, say, you're on an airline, when all you need to look up is basic information, or a site you've told Webaroo you want to keep up on? On the other hand, with wireless network access becoming more and more ubiquitous, frequent travelers may not be offline enough to justify the drive space sacrifice to Webaroo, and, of course, there's one obvious disadvantage to not actually being on the Internet: you're not on the Internet. That means no ecommerce, no interactive Web sites, no instant messaging, no checking Web-based email. Still, the vast majority of meaningful content on the Internet is comparatively static: if Webaroo is legitimately proficient at bringing that information to users in meaningful and useful ways, it may fill a significant niche.