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HOOPS---Hoop
Scouts Plugging Into New Gadget
The aptly named Infinite Mobility Inc., a Los Angeles-based company founded a year ago, got a running start two weeks ago at being a leader in its field when it announced a deal with the world’s best basketball team. Later this fall, scouts for the defending champion L.A. Lakers will begin using a new scouting software from Infinite Mobility called Pocket Hoops to run Microsoft Windows-powered personal digital assistants (PDAs). Theoretically, the technology does away with traditional scouting tools like the clipboard, paper and pencil, offering scouts a way to store information digitally on an unlimited number of players. Scouts will be able to record information during a game on their PDAs with voice recordings and by inputting statistics. After the game, a scout can plug the PDA into a modem, touch a synchronization button and upload all the information to a Pocket Hoops server where other members of the basketball organization can check it from any Web terminal. “The scouts won’t be drafting better players because of Pocket Hoops, but the scouts will have a lot more time to watch games, and they’ll be more efficient note-takers,” said Infinite Mobility CEO and founder Jonathan Schreiber. After the Lakers deal was announced, Infinite Mobility also inked a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Schreiber said he hopes to have every NBA team using Pocket Hoops within 18 months. Infinite Mobility will next set its sights on the NCAA scouts and then move on to other professional sports organizations once Pocket Hoops is up and running. The challenge facing Infinite Mobility will be to attain a critical mass of users, said Rohit Shukla, CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance. “They are pioneers, particularly in this market,” Shukla said of Infinite Mobility. “They are targeting narrow interests and it’s a challenge to take that to broader-based services.” Maybe, but Schreiber is certainly trying. In another foray into the mobile technology market, Infinite Mobility teamed up with Interscope Records Inc. in August to launch My Music, a software package that allows music fans to download information about musicians to PDAs. Pocket Hoops and My Music may be Schreiber’s bread and butter for the time being, but it’s just a small piece of the mobile solutions pie that Infinite Mobility is after. “We believe the handheld computer is the new portal to both corporate and personal information,” Schreiber writes at the Infinite Mobility Web site. “If a company does not establish a mobile solution for its users, the company will not be able to survive.” “I still think they’re pioneers, though, because they push the envelope in terms of what mobile applications are going to be used for,” Shukla said. “The technology extends the usability and usefulness of the handheld devices and looks forward to a day when all the devices become integrated.” “L.A. is a great market for us,” Schreiber said. “There are very few places as mobile as L.A. You need to be mobile here.” As an example, Schreiber pointed to L.A. lawyers, who he said waste hours of non-billable time in transit. A law firm could increase out-of-office productivity and revenue, he said, if it was supported by a mobile solutions provider. Schreiber said Infinite Mobility distinguishes itself from competitors like IBM Corp. and AT&T Wireless Services because of its “brand agnosticism,” meaning his company is free to hand-pick hardware, software or platforms of any brand name whatsoever. Infinite Mobility has partnerships with Microsoft Corp., Extended Systems Inc., Puma Technology Inc. and Vancouver, B.C.-based SoftScribe Development Corp. Infinite Mobility received $1 million in angel funding in October 1999. The company has 14 employees working in its L.A. office. |
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