(FORTUNE Magazine) – Software for viewing Web pages on wireless devices HQ: San Mateo, Calif. Founded: 1997 Employees: N.A. Sales: N.A. Stock: Privately held Address: www.avantgo.com

Three years ago Linus Upson had a little problem: He wanted to be able to pull the New York Times crossword puzzle from the Web and squeeze it onto his tiny Palm-Pilot screen. Upson solved his problem and in so doing stumbled upon the solution for a big problem in mobile computing. He created software that compresses the language of the Web into a format small enough to display Website content on handheld devices. Upson knew he had a business on his hands, so he and a friend, Felix Lin, founded AvantGo.

Now anybody with a Web-enabled cell phone or a Palm with a wireless modem can bookmark AvantGo's site and read front-page stories from the New York Times, check local restaurant listings, or find maps on the go. Palm users can also use AvantGo without going wireless by syncing up with their PC. Users get the data free; the company makes its money from outfits like the Times or sites like StockSmart.com that pay AvantGo based on how many new eyeballs it brings them. While devices with AvantGo software can access any Web page, the best results are with Websites that have worked with AvantGo to create readable formats.

AvantGo has a few small competitors, but its technology is fast becoming the de facto standard. Indeed, if you're in an airport or supermarket and see someone spending a lot of time with their Palm rather than just flipping it open and then closing it, chances are they're using AvantGo.The ultimate imprimatur came in April, when Microsoft bundled the software into its Pocket Internet Explorer, a mini-browser that comes embedded in mobile devices from Compaq, Casio, and Hewlett-Packard.

As ubiquitous as the consumer applications may seem, AvantGo makes its real money developing software for companies that want to stay connected to their employees in the field. Pharmaceuticals distributor McKessonHBOC equips its drivers with handheld devices loaded with AvantGo software so that they can get directions and log deliveries. Catholic Healthcare West uses AvantGo to put medical literature at the fingertips of doctors who are trying to evaluate a patient's condition. These kinds of simple, useful applications have attracted plenty of backers, including Hambrecht & Quist, 3Com, and American Express, as well as Microsoft. Says CEO Richard Owen, former head of Internet strategy for Dell: "A lot of high-tech companies sit with a whiteboard and design products that they think are cool but that nobody really wants." AvantGo isn't one of them.

--Erin Kelly