Search firm Webaroo has launched a service allowing offline searches of the internet on laptops or mobile devices, reports VNUnet. The application works by downloading sections of the internet to Webaroo's servers and creating "web packs" that are then downloaded to the user's device; the information is then available to search through without an internet connection.
The Webaroo software is available free of charge. The company plans to monetize it via targeted advertising. PC-maker Acer plans to bundle the software with its laptops, which will contain 40 gigabytes of data, "representing a snapshot of the Web," writes the New York Times.
"There is a lot of junk and a lot of redundancy on the Web," Rakesh Mathur, chief executive and a founder of Webaroo, is quoted by the Times as saying. Still, the company said it strives to deliver entire sites, including their ads, to avoid frustrating users.
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And publishers won't lose pageviews, because when a user updates the web packs, the page will register on a site's servers as viewed even if the pages are read offline later; however, they will also register if they are not viewed.
The company provides packs on topics such as news and sports as well as information on major cities worldwide. The packs are updated when the mobile device is synced with an internet-connected machine.
