Wong sat down with FierceVoIP to discuss his company's recently announced mCUE UC interface for Google's Android platform.
FierceVoIP: Why do you think D2 was the first to release an Android-based interface?
Wong: There are two reasons primarily. While other voice companies focused on VoIP software for things like WinMobile and Linux based research, we believed that JavaSC would be the language of choice. It is open-source and it has a huge developer base, so we liked that combination, and we were working with the language before Google even announced Android. We have also acquired or developed in house, all of the components necessary for completely integrated, fixed-mobile convergence, and like I said, we were already working on the platform for them.
FierceVoIP: Do you see any companies challenging you in this space, or challenging the mCUE specifically, perhaps?
Wong: I think that each component of mCUE, yes, it has several competitors. For instance, there are many people with good codecs, or good protocols, or competing languages, but they don't combine all of the features and abilities mCUE has. So, I don't know of anyone combining technologies like we do to make the best product. If you look at the Apple iPhone, there was not one new component in that product, but the interface was user-friendly and they combined things no one had thought of before. That is part of why they succeeded so much.
FierceVoIP: That's an interesting point you raise, so you think the Apple example is a good parallel to your product?
Wong: I think we combined existing components with our development expertise and software background to make a product that will be successful and fill a niche very well. I tell my employees, people these days suffer from "user indigestion." What I mean, is people are overwhelmed sometimes with how many technologies there are, and if you make things simpler, create a good user experience, you are going to do well. I think in this tech environment, the challenge is not to come up with better technology, because it's already here. The challenge is integration, and making complicated systems easier.
FierceVoIP: Can you comment on first-adopters or companies planning on using the product?
Wong: Well I can't comment on specific companies just yet, and the product still needs the Android platform to be released, but we have already entered negotiations with several firms. We've been happy with the variety of interested parties; we've worked with handset OEMs, enterprise OEMs and service providers.