Webaroo unveiled — lets you carry cached Internet on your PC/smartphone

April 10, 2006 | Matt Marshall

Webaroo is launching a new service that allows computer users to download versions of Web sites on their computers so that they can read them later while not connected to the Internet.

This is the same Seattle-Santa Clara company we mentioned a couple of weeks ago here, which at the time was being secretive, and was started by Junglee co-founder Rakesh Mathur.

We’re a little flummoxed that this could be a big idea, as it seems sort of backward. Gosh, isn’t the world moving to ubiquitous wireless availability? Not!, says the company. There are still plenty of places you can’t get on the Internet, and having Web sites downloaded automatically can save people time and worry, the company is betting. Basically Webaroo users install the company’s software on their computers, select the Internet sites they want collect from the Web, and the computer downloads it while it is connected to the Internet, and stores it so the user can view it while on the road.

The company also announces today that computer manufacturer, Acer, plans to bundle the Webaroo software on its laptop PCs.

Remember the rise and fall of Pointcast, which tried something similar years ago?

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About the Author, Matt Marshall

Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.