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We spent last week in Nice, France and tested ExcelEverywhere for Java phones. Operators, mobile phone producers and other developers were there. We spent 3 days making sure that ExcelEverywhere for Java phones works on as many handsets as possible. We succeeded very well and got the 1st prize for “the best interoperable midlet”.

The only real issue we have seen is that network communication from mobile phones is still flaky. This is mostly due to incorrectly configured GPRS and WAP-settings in the phone. Also, we noticed that the performance differ between operators. Some operators have response times of a few seconds, other can take much longer.

ExcelEverywhere was developed with this same WYSIWYG philosophy in mind. ExcelEverywhere converts Excel spreadsheets into web pages that look and function in the same way as the original spreadsheet. When developing ExcelEverywhere we have focused on the following:

• Ease of use. No programming, or experience of programming is required.
  
• Mimicking of Excel behavior. The behavior of ExcelEverywhere should mimic exactly the behavior of Microsoft Excel.
  
• Coverage of all Excel functions. Currently, all but a few advanced financial and statistical functions are supported.
  
• Production of compact web pages. The resulting web page must be compact in order to reduce download times.
  
• Production of quick running web pages. The resulting page must perform calculations quickly, even if the web page was generated from a large advanced spreadsheet.
  
• Support for a wide range of target environments: Windows, Linux, UNIX, Macintosh, embedded systems like set-top boxes. The resulting web pages must run on all browsers including those launched within the last 2-3 years.

• ExcelEverywhere makes interactive calculating web pages feasible. Coding calculating web pages directly using JavaScript is very costly and time consuming.
  
• A 10-fold increase in productivity! The enormous gain in productivity comes from being able to use Excel, with all of its built-in functions, as a tool for developing calculating web pages.
  Improved quality due to easier testing in Excel. Also, the web pages created by ExcelEverywhere have been tested in a wide variety of different browsers.
  
• Quick and easy updates to web pages. The process of updating your web pages is made both quicker and easier: simply update the spreadsheet, run ExcelEverywhere, and then distribute the new webpage.
  
• Reduced consultancy fees. In-house personnel can use ExcelEverywhere, no programming or advanced web skills are required. No need for paying external consultant fees.
  
• Suitability for all. ExcelEverywhere is designed to be suitable for everyone to use, individuals, businesses, governments and associations.