Happy Cloud, which is launching Monday in a semi-private beta, is the brainchild of Jacob Guedalia and his brother David Guedalia, who founded iSkoot, the mobile communication app start-up which Qualcomm purchased last year . The Happy Cloud service works by tapping the cloud to get AAA games running within minutes while downloads are completed in the background. Video services have done this for a while, but it’s been harder to do this for video games because they’re not linear, but are interactive. Happy Cloud achieves this by using a virtualized file system to pre-install a game in the cloud, eliminating the need for a user to go through an installation process. Consumers just load up Happy Cloud on their PC one time and then when they buy a game, the service begins sending the data in the order it’s needed so players can get started right away instead of waiting for the download to be completed.

Instead of waiting a few hours or more to download a large title, gamers can be up and running quickly, opening up the potential for impulse buys. And it offers the ability for gamers to try before they buy. Happy Cloud said a typical 8.5 GB game can be played in 4.3 minutes on a 10 megabit per second connection, compared to more than two hours for a complete download.

“If you can get it now or later, why not get it now?” asked Jacob Guedalia, who is still working at Qualcomm.

Guedalia said this is the way to best use the cloud to deliver video games. He said cloud gaming efforts will run into problems paying for bandwidth and reducing latency, but downloads offer a host of benefits, especially if you can make the pay-off immediate. Gamers can own the game without any loss in resolution, and they can play offline if they want. And there are no concerns about broadband caps or latency. These are similar issues as those raised by critics of streaming video services.

Happy Cloud has lined up gaming publishers Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Frictional Games and Paradox Interactive as launch partners. Publishers will be able to offer their games through Happy Cloud with no effort. The upside for publishers is they can remove much of the lag involved in downloading a game, providing something akin to a cloud-gaming experience complete with free trials and try-before-you-buy offers.

For now, Happy Cloud plans on offering games on a per-download basis at prices similar to competitors. Within the next 90 days, it’s looking at offering rentals and subscriptions. The service can also work for console games, which is something Happy Cloud is hoping to enable later this year. Games, however, won’t be available on the first day they become available on other download sites, because it takes about a week for Happy Cloud to index a game and optimize it for fast downloads. That could be a turn-off for gamers looking to get into games immediately on the first day of availability. But the hope is that it could still be helpful in convincing many gamers to try a title, similar to the way people pick up flash games.

UPDATE: Happy Cloud said it does take time to index a game but the company expects to have early access to games like other download services so they will be able to offer games on day one of availability.

Happy Cloud has raised $1 million so far from Jesselson Capital and Miles Gilburne, a former Warner Bros. board member of Time Warner Inc. Guedalia expects competitors to try to copy Happy Cloud, though he claims to have solid patents and a four-year head start on the field. Guedalia said Happy Cloud is open to licensing the technology to other digital download providers. If Happy Cloud proves successful in driving downloads, it could be an appealing pick-up for any number of online retailers or gaming publishers. I have my doubts about a solution that aims to speed up downloads but will not be able to offer games on the day and date of a big title release. But I think that it’s got some good ideas, trying to blend digital downloads with some back-end cloud work to satisfy the increasing on-demand expectation of consumers. We are still waiting to see how OnLive and Gaikai perform over time but Happy Cloud could be a good alternative.

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The iSkoot acquisition could position Qualcomm well for the future. Although the company is primary known for building baseband radio chips and processors that power mobile phones — most of the newest Android phones today use the Qualcomm Snapdragon application processor, for example — hardware alone doesn’t guarantee a successful future. Neither does software, for that matter, as Qualcomm is simply buying the assets of iSkoot, indicating that iSkoot as a company faced a difficult market and that Qualcomm believes it can better manage or implement the services.

In terms of those assets, iSkoot has a wide variety of software services to offer through its Kalaida product: E-mail, RSS, social networking and instant messaging can all be aggregated through proxy servers for feature phones. iSkoot also has the ability to deliver real-time notifications to feature phones, which is typically a smartphone-only function. Today, iSkoot powers the social networking apps offered on basic handsets from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile here in the U.S.

In the news release this morning, Rob Chandhok, president of QuIC, points out the various options that Qualcomm can bring to feature phones for carriers and handset makers through the acquisition.

QuIC’s acquisition of iSkoot provides us with a push data services platform, a social network aggregation solution and voice 2.0 services that dramatically strengthens our ability to continue providing the most effective mobile solutions for operators and device makers as they serve consumers worldwide.

Although today’s press release doesn’t specifically mention it, Qualcomm is also gaining VoIP-type experience through this purchase: in January 2009, iSkoot began offering Skype services to mobiles and landed 3, a 3G mobile service provider in the UK, as a client. Since that time, Skype has limited similar opportunities by working with specific top-tier carriers to offer such service. However, Qualcomm could find a way to parlay prior VoIP efforts into a value-add or other standalone service with secondary carriers, especially with MVNOs or regional carriers that primarily offer feature phones.

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A tipster — a very reliable one — tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week. CTIA Wireless, a large mobile industry trade event, kicks off in Las Vegas next Wednesday, so perhaps the announcement will be made there. I am working on getting more details, as well as screenshots of the service. 

The biggest clue about Skype’s pending iPhone launch came when iSkoot decided to move on from its Skype-centric strategy. The company had been offering a client that allowed cell phone users to use Skype services. Skype already offers a Windows Mobile version of its client.

As I’ve said before, Skype will have to turn to mobile to keep its growth intact. In recent months, many services, among them Truphone and Nimbuzz, started supporting Skype in their communication clients. However, a standalone Skype client would get a lot of traction among the Skype faithful. In the meantime, I think Skype is slowly flexing its muscles and swatting away little VoIP players with some of its recent moves.

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These startups are realizing that in order to make real money they would need to create billions of minutes in calls to off-net services. It is a game only the biggest -– Skype, for instance –- can play. And even then, making profits isn’t all that easy. More than a few startups have died trying to play the low-margin minutes game. (Related post: VoIP – Dead or Alive?)

For these three , the sheer size of their VC funding — over $100 million among the trio — provides a cushion while they plot their evolution.

Truphone, one of my favorite applications, has already gone from being just a mobile VoIP client to becoming an all-encompassing communications offering. By supporting Skype, Twitter and other communications services, Truphone is hoping to become the default (or at least the most used) communication application on the iPhone, which would allow it to generate more call-out minutes and also open up other e-commerce opportunities.

Mig33 is taking a different tack: going after digital goods for additional revenues. These digital goods would include virtual gifts, emoticons, and other means of self-expression. Such virtual gifts have been hugely popular in other online communities, such as virtual worlds and social networks. (Related Post: Venture Capital Loves Virtual.)

During our conversation, Steve Boom, a former Yahoo executive who recently took over as the chief executive of Burlingame, Calif.-based mig33, said that so far that company’s revenues have come from VoIP and digital goods, and that it will be focusing on the latter over the next six months. The company is looking to become cash-flow positive, and that is a big focus for Boom. Its application (and services) are extremely popular in Southern and Southeastern Asia, in addition to some parts of the developing world, where cheap calls are a lure for signing up new customers. (Related: Mad Money for mig33.)

Like its peers, San Francisco-based iSkoot has also tweaked its focus. So far, the company has been pushing a client-server solution that allowed folks to use Skype on their mobile phones. Its offering is the underpinning of the Skype service on 3, the UK-based 3G service provider owned by Hutchinson Wampoa. The company raised a whopping $19 million in Series C funding in November 2008.

The funds are to be used to develop a new platform for AT&T that would allow Ma Bell to offer iSkoot’s myriad services to its customers. For starters, iSkoot has released Notifier, a mobile application that allows folks to read RSS, and to interact with Facebook and Gmail on plain-vanilla mobile phones.

Company executives say that while iSkoot will continue to offer its Skype solution, the company has bigger ambitions, and Notifier is part of a bigger strategic shift by the company. (Related post: iSkoot Looks at a New Mobile Future) Who can blame them? It’s awfully hard to make a living selling a Skype solution to carriers who hate Skype to begin with.

Like mig33 and Truphone, iSkoot is making a smart move and losing its reliance on voice, a commodity business with razor-thin margins, and instead looking elsewhere for growth. Let’s hope by losing their (proverbial) voice, these three companies find something to sing about in the future.

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It is a smart and logical move – especially if you consider the mortality rate among VoIP-related startups. iSkoot is lucky to have the cushion of $32.5 million in funding from the likes of Khosla Ventures and Charles River Ventures while it executes its reboot.

iSkoot got started with the idea of delivering Skype services to mobile handsets. It wanted to sell the whole solution to mobile carriers who could in turn deliver Skype to their customers. Talk about mission impossible – the company signed up 3, a 3G mobile service provider in the UK, and eventually expanded to eight countries. It has struggled to find larger acceptance among carriers. Skype recently introduced its own mobile client for Android (Skype Lite), and it is only a matter of time before other variants show up. In other words,  a reboot makes perfect sense for iSkoot. And they have the technology for it.

When building its Skype-only offering, iSkoot built a network and developed an architecture that had all the location and presence information about the users. It also had the ability to run a Skype-client in the server but allow the thin client on the phone to control (and use it.) Then, in September 2008, it acquired Social.IM  which had developed real-time communication and desktop notifications that allowed it to deliver new message alerts, information and content to social network or online community members. iSkoot wanted to extend that to the mobile.

By marrying its location and presence information with Social.IM’s notification and push technology, iSkoot has now developed a mobile client that can receive live updates, multitask and use many web applications on lower-priced phones. Push, pull and multitasking are extremely hard. Only a handful of mobile operating systems such as BlackBerry are able to do it well.

iSkoot recently launched the fruits of its efforts without much fanfare. You can use the application, dubbed Notifier, on some of AT&T’s phones by downloading it from the AT&T Media Mall. It allows folks to access web services such as Gmail and Facebook on their feature phones. However, to understand where iSkoot is going, one needs to look beyond the client.

What iSkoot has done is developed a platform for mobile phone companies to offer many services. On a PC, we can download many different applications – browser, email, instant messaging and others – and each one creates a separate connection to our network. Each one consumes a lot of CPU power and quite a bit of bandwidth, though only rarely do we kill the network.

Wireless networks, by comparison, are bandwidth constrained, and featherweight processors power lower-end mobile phones. In order for these phones to mimic their smartphone brethren, the iSkoot client creates a single connection to the network and acts as a conduit to all types of web services. (Citrix does something similar on the desktops.)

The next step for iSkoot would be to marry its client with a mobile OS and deliver an experience very much like the INQ’s Facebook Phone. For mobile carriers, an iSkoot-type solution would be a good way to offer more lucrative data services to its clients, all the while controlling bandwidth consumption — and, more importantly, keeping a tight leash on their customers.

Mobile carriers are scared of a future in which devices such as the iPhone reduce them to a dumb pipe provider. Unlike the wired web, where carriers have little control on what services we use, mobile operators are fighting to control the mobile web experience. They tried it with things like their on-deck stores and WAP. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they use technologies like iSkoot to create a new walled garden, though one with a perception of openness.

In that process, there’s a good chance iSkoot might actually find a better future for itself.

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The carriers: BlackBerry Storm was designed for two major carriers, with proven 3G network performance, who aren’t able to carry the iPhone: Verizon and Vodafone (also coming to Canada on Telus and Bell). This opens up access to several large existing customer bases (70 million at Verizon) with strong presence in both consumer and enterprise markets. For roaming outside North America, the Storm for Verizon/Bell/Telus includes the appropriate European/Asian-supported GSM bands.

A smarter touch screen: It employs new “haptic” touch keyboard technology with three keyboard options: QWERTY in landscape mode, SureType and Traditional 12-key in Portrait mode. Kevin Michaluk’s “First Impressions” review talks about his user experience with the keyboard and its unique features. One example: Hover on a letter and you’ll get other language options for the letter such as “é”. This YouTube video demonstrates the dynamic nature of the Storm’s keyboard.

Enterprise ready: IT managers already supporting BlackBerry within their IT infrastructure will readily accept the Storm as simply one more BlackBerry device. There is a legion of stories building about IT managers’ refusal of employee requests for iPhone support. With its multimedia features, including syncing to iTunes, Storm presents an opportunity to have a touchscreen smartphone that easily meets both business and personal needs.

A BlackBerry App Store is coming: Last week, RIM held its first BlackBerry Developer Conference, at which the 700 attendees learned about the BlackBerry App Store opening March 2009. Unlike Android Market, struggling to get to 100 applications, there currently exist more than 4,000 applications available via various web-based stores. The BlackBerry App Store makes it much easier to purchase applications directly off the device, both existing apps, as well as new ones that will appear as a result of developer support announced during the conference. Some developers will be backed by the $150 million BlackBerry Partners Fund.

Major general-purpose applications appearing for BlackBerry: Several applications I have been using on a Nokia N95 are now becoming available for the BlackBerry. Last week, I saw a demonstration of SlingPlayer for BlackBerry (still in pre-alpha, not yet released) on a Bold. Yesterday, there were two announcements: an alpha release of the popular “live-to-Internet” video recording application Qik became available and Truphone Anywhere for BlackBerry became available.

Background processing: While the Storm brings a different user interface, its underlying operating system is still the traditional BlackBerry O/S. I have been using a Bold for the past eight weeks and an iPhone for about three months. One key differentiator is BlackBerry’s ability to handle true background processing of data-based applications. For instance, you can run IM applications, such as Skype IM, via iSkoot, in the background, keeping you up-to-date on IM messages in real time while performing other data applications such as web browsing or checking your email concurrently. On the iPhone, you can make voice calls and play iTunes while looking at an application; otherwise, applications stop running until you return to it. Full background processing on the Storm, as on all recent Blackberry models, not only brings a significant productivity benefit to users but also allows notification and delivery of time sensitive information in real time.

What does it lack? Wi-Fi support. Probably because Verizon does not support UMA/GAN. Yet Wi-Fi is becoming important for creating additional access points in places such as warehouses or high rise buildings, where cell phone signals can become too weak.

Bottom line: Combining the Storm’s feature set and its carrier customer base, along with AT&T’s forthcoming Nov. 4 launch of Bold, BlackBerry Storm is lining up to be the “stealth” contributor to sustaining BlackBerry in its smartphone market leadership position, with a low-key, performance-based approach to the market.

Disclosure: The author has held a minuscule number of RIM shares since 1998.

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In the meantime, the ongoing adoption of 3G broadband and the inclusion of Wi-Fi in many high-end phones is drawing a growing amount of attention to mobile VoIP services. Indeed, research firm Disruptive Analysis predicts that the number of VoIP-over-3G users will top 250 million by the end of 2012 — from virtually zero in 2007.

We at GigaOM are constantly tinkering with these mobile services, so we’ve put together a list of seven mobile VoIP apps that we think you’ll find handy.

Skype Options

Service: Skype Mobile
Platform/Network: Java-based application that works on 50 popular phones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung. Can be used on numerous cellular data networks.
Cost: Free
Features: Chatting (including with a group), presence settings (offline, online, do not disturb), and Skype-to-Skype calls (including SkypeIn).
Our Opinion: If your phone is supported, Skype Mobile is a great way to add Skype chatting and calls to it. Though it would be nice if the Skype application weren’t written in Java, as these applications are often sluggish and unstable.

Service: 3 Skypephone
Platform/Network: Uses a specialized handset. Currently available in the UK, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Australia, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden.
Cost: The phone costs £49.99 (about $98) and can be used on a pre-paid basis. Calls cost nothing if they’re made from Skype.
Features: Free Skype-to-Skype mobile calls and the ability to conduct Skype IM conversations, all without touching your computer.
Our Opinion: The 3 Skypephone is best suited for those who need a few monthly mobile minutes and wish to talk/IM to their Skype friends along the way. The pre-paid feature makes it an attractive and inexpensive option for Skype chatters in the geographies it serves.

Service: iSkoot
Platform/Network: Mobile handsets such as BlackBerry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and Palm OS models. Also works on GSM networks.
Cost: Modest to expensive, based on usage. Because iSkoot is a hybrid VoIP/GSM service, it uses SMS and mobile minutes when making and receiving calls or Skype IM messages.
Features: SkypeIn and Skype-to-Skype calls, Skype IM messages.
Our Opinion: iSkoot is a good option for keeping in touch with your Skype contacts. However, I would look at other software applications that just use data to send Skype SMS and Skype voice traffic.

Mobile VoIP Players

Service: Truphone
Platform/Network: Nokia handsets
Cost: Incoming free calls while on the Truphone network, low per-minute rates while on a GSM network. Outgoing calls are billed at very low per minute rates.
Features: Truphone offers free calls, SMS and voice mail while logged into the Truphone network via Wi-Fi. Otherwise, Truphone forwards calls to your mobile handset and you pay a low per-minute charge.
Our Opinion: With its smart forwarding options, Truphone is particularly useful for international travelers. Whether you’re on Wi-Fi or just your normal GSM network, you can be reached via your Truphone number no matter where you are (charges apply in certain cases, see their site for details). For times when Wi-Fi is not available, Truphone just released Truphone Anywhere, which utilizes local gateways for outgoing calls at low per-minute charges. I have trialed the service by forwarding calls from my Truphone number to my cell phone and the call quality was fantastic; voices were indistinguishable from any other cell phone call. A Truphone-to-Truphone VoIP call yielded even higher voice quality.

Service: Fring
Platform/Network: Nokia/Symbian handsets, Widows Mobile, iPhone (pre-release beta)
Cost: Free
Features: Allows you to make VoIP calls on any SIP network, Skype or to other Fring users. Additionally, Fring is a multi-protocol IM client that will allow you to chat with your buddies on Skype, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo.
Our Opinion: I have used Fring to make SIP and Skype voice calls, and over EDGE the call is choppy and hard to understand. However, Wi-Fi provides enough bandwidth to make Fring calls clear and understandable. I wouldn’t say the quality is fantastic, but it is very comparable to a normal cell phone call.

Service: Talkonaut
Platform/Network: Available for Java-based phones, Symbian and Windows Mobile
Cost: Free
Features: Talkonaut offers free VoIP and IM chatting. For instant messaging, the application supports Google Talk, ICQ, AIM, and Yahoo. Talkonaut can also use SIP for VoIP calling.
Our Opinion: Talkonaut is a Russian offering and is still very new. The application was quite unstable on my Nokia N82 handset. With iffy performance and a very rusty user interface, I would recommend looking at other applications for this functionality, namely Fring.

Service: Nimbuzz
Platform/Network: Java program, Symbian; an iPhone version is coming soon.
Cost: Free
Features: Allows you to engage in IM conversations and conduct VoIP calls, as well as to share media such as photos and video. Nimbuzz also allows for client-to-client calls and has widgets enabling calls to originate from Facebok and MySpace. Compatible with Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook and Jabber IM networks.
Our Opinion: The Symbian application is very responsive and easy to use. A VoIP call originating from my Facebook page to Nimbuzz over a Wi-Fi connection sounded good — just as good as any call over a GSM network.

Service: Gizmo5 (formerly Gizmo Project)
Platform/Network: Nokia Symbian handsets, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Nokia Tablets
Cost: Free for VoIP calls, low per-minute charge to call landlines and to SMS to mobiles.
Features: Gizmo5 allows you to conduct voice calls to other Gizmo5 users and grants IM conversations with friends on Gizmo5, MSN, AIM, Yahoo and Jabber.
Our Opinion: Gizmo5 is a great competitor to Skype, just not as established or well-known. They have wisely developed their client software for many platforms including numerous mobile phones, and on both Mac and PC. VoIP call quality is stellar when calling between clients, as well as to landline/mobile phones.

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