LightSurf’s PictureMail Innovation Timeline began in 1997 when Philippe Kahn devised a system for instantly sharing pictures of his newborn baby using a digital camera attached to a cellular phone. Since that time, LightSurf has been at the cutting edge of innovation: designing, deploying, integrating, and managing Multimedia Messaging solutions for trusted partners worldwide.
September 2004
- LightSurf PictureMail and VideoMail are Honored by the CDMA Developer’s Group as the Most Innovative Messaging Solution for Advanced Wireless Networks.
April 2004
- LightSurf launches first inter-carrier Multimedia Messaging service in North America, connecting Sprint to Canada’s Bell Mobility.
January 2004
- LightSurf launches MMSC and PictureMail Services for both CDMA and GSM operators.
December 2003
- Sprint becomes the first carrier to deliver an easy-to-use, affordable and nationwide Video Mail service powered by LightSurf.
November 2003
- Bell Mobility, Canada’s leading wireless carrier, selects LightSurf’s PictureMail technology to provide customers with fun and easy-to-use picture messaging services.
September 2003
- Philippe Kahn honored for 3 decades of innovation in the technology industry by the Computer History Museum.
March 2003
- LightSurf launches the LightSurf 5 Multimedia Messaging Platform bringing real revenue opportunities to MMS, Picture-Messaging, and Premium Content Delivery.
November 2002
- Motorola, O2, and LightSurf launch ‘Media Album’ – a unique, next-generation MMS Service
August 2002
- Sprint Vision Pictures Launches Nationwide: Instant Picture-Messaging – Powered by LightSurf
May 2002
- LightSurf Receives Upside Magazine’s Hot 100 Honors
March 2002
- LightSurf Opens European Sales Offices
- LightSurf works with Microsoft to Support LightSurf Instant Imaging solutions on Microsoft’s SmartPhone and PocketPC platforms
February 2002
- Sprint PCS and LightSurf Announce Partnership to Deploy the LightSurf Instant Imaging Platform, enabling PictureMail for all Sprint customers
- International Imaging Industry Association (I3A) Presents 2002 Leadership Award to Philippe Kahn
- LightSurf’s eSwitch Instant Imaging Solution Delivers More Than Three Million Wireless Images During First 30 Days of Commercial Launch
January 2002
- LightSurf and Yahoo! Partner To Launch Web Image Delivery Solution For All Cell Phones In Japan
September 2001
- LightSurf Announces the LightSurf III Instant Imaging Platform to Deliver Secure Wireless Imaging Solutions to Law Enforcement and Intelligence Communities
- LightSurf Announces Availability of the LightSurf eSwitch, Providing Instant Imaging For Mobile Internet Sites
June 2001
- Philippe Kahn Demonstrates PictureMail for 20,000 Java developers During Keynote with Ed Zander to Sun’s Developer Community
May 2001
- LightSurf Demonstrates GPRS PictureMail Service with One2One (T-Mobile) in the United Kingdom at MobileExpo 2001
April 2001
- LightSurf Announces MediaExchange Server; Enables Visual Message Delivery for MMS
- LightSurf Announces Support for Qualcomm’s BREW platform
- LightSurf Announces Support for Sun’s J2ME platform
March 2001
- LightSurf Announces Availability of the LightSurf Instant Imaging Platform with Support for MMS and other Standards-based Messaging Systems
- LightSurf Demonstrates PictureMail Picture-Messaging Service on Commercial GPRS Network at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany
September 2000
- Philippe Kahn Demonstrates First Wireless PictureMail Solution at DemoMobile Conference
- LightSurf Reveals the First Application of Its Wireless Visual Communications Technology
June 2000
- Kodak Launches the Kodak Picture Center Online – Powered by LightSurf
April 2000
- LightSurf Signs Partnership Agreement with Kodak to Jointly Develop the Kodak Picture Center Online
February 2000
- Motorola Licenses the LightSurf Instant Imaging Platform: Future Motorola Solutions to be “Powered By LightSurf”
1999
- LightSurf Announces New Headquarters in Downtown Santa Cruz, Ca
Spring 1998
- Philippe Kahn Founds LightSurf with Partner Sonia Lee with the Vision to Make Instant Visual Communications Possible for Everyone
1997
- Philippe Kahn and Sonia Lee have a brand new baby, Sophie. While in the hospital, Philippe figures out a way to connect a cell phone to a digital camera to send pictures instantly to friends and family around the globe. They decide this is a fantastic idea, but it needs to be radically simple so everyone can use it.