Mobile Os

The mPhone: The answer to Windows Mobile's woes?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0400

The mPhone: The answer to Windows Mobile's woes?

Microsoft gets a lot of flack for Windows Mobile. Many tech journalists (yours truly included) have given the folks in Redmond a hard time for the mobile OS's UI, its cluttered home screen and the company's perceived indifference to ease-of-use. Sure, Windows Mobile might be an enterprise product, but does that mean that it has to be a pain to use?

The answer is no. As we've seen, Apple is gearing up to take the iPhone into the enterprise this June, and the company is certainly betting that there are a few disaffected Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Palm OS users out there that are itching to jump ship. In fact, many have pointed to the iPhone when decrying Windows Mobile's lack of user-friendliness, as if to say 'If Apple can do it, why can't Microsoft?' As you and I know, however, the logic behind this statement is flawed, to say the least.

Microsoft, unlike Apple, is a mobile software company, not a hardware manufacturer. As such, Windows Mobile is built to run on a wide range of devices, CPUs and networks. For this reason, it's a challenging OS to update and while the company is doing its best to improve Windows Mobile--with the 6.1 update and the more distant versions 7 and 8--it's going to take them a while to get those updates out the door. In the meantime, the iPhone OS--which only needs to maintain compatibility with one device, one CPU and one type of network technology--will probably see a number of revisions, as it has during the past year.

So, what's the solution for Microsoft? Some have suggested that the company should consider manufacturing its own devices, in order to benefit from the sort of tight-pairing of hardware and software that the iPhone does. While we'll probably never see Windows Mobile become a closed ecosystem like the iPhone (after all, Microsoft's willingness to license Windows Mobile to just about anyone is what has allowed the company to dominate the U.S. enterprise market), it might make sense for the company to create a few "showcase" devices that demonstrate the full power of Windows Mobile, for users who are willing to shell out for that sort of premium experience.

And that, in fact, is what some are suggesting that the company's recent purchase of Sidekick manufacturer Danger is all about. As you'll see in today's article on Windows Mobile 7, some are already saying that the forthcoming OS is doomed to be a case of too little, too late--not because the OS is lacking in improvements but rather, because it's probably still more than a year away. The only way that the company could get it out faster, some have suggested, is on Microsoft hardware... which is why they bought Danger.

Personally, I think that this is a bit far fetched. Yet, everywhere you look in the mobile world, it seems that device manufacturers increasingly are moving toward a tighter pairing of hardware and software. Today Apple announced that it has acquired P.A. Semi, which will allow the company to be just about the only mobile device manufacturer that fabricates its own CPUs. Meanwhile, Palm is still hard at work on their proprietary next-gen OS and RIM, as always, is keeping things tightly integrated. Is a Microsoft-produced device the answer to Windows Mobile's woes? Hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think. - Mehan

First look: Google's Android

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Did you miss DailyTechRag's online coverage of Google's big mobile announcement last week? For shame! Here's the quick lowdown, in case you're adverse to clicking on links: Google announced a mobile partnership called the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) with a number of high-profile partners including Intel, Synaptics, Marvell, Qualcomm, Motorola, Samsung, T-Mobile, Sprint, Skype, LG, HTC and DoCoMo. The OHA's first product will be Android, an open-source, next-gen mobile OS that will be offered to handset manufacturers free of charge. The catch? Android--like all of Google's other products--will be ad-supported.

At any rate, details on the OS were hazy at the time, with Google offering tantalizingly few details as to what the OS will look and feel like. Luckily, today marks the release date of the official SDK (software development kit) to developers and with that SDK comes the first peek at Android. As part of the SDK, Google has offered a series of videos to developers that demonstrate what Android is capable of. Looks like the initial reports were right: Android is very iPhone-like in a number of ways and even sports an almost identical, webkit-based browser and a suspiciously Cover Flow-like history interface. That aside, it looks very user-friendly and seems to be an extremely powerful platform, with support for 3G, touchscreens and full 3D graphics. The real selling point, however, will be the platform's open-source underpinnings. If the carriers allow customers to load their own applications on to Android devices, Android could become the enterprise platform of choice for those looking to write custom business apps.

For more on Android:
- watch these video demos
- and read last week's article and round-up of industry reactions

Symbian supports Posix for applications

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Mobile OS vendor Symbian doesn't think you have enough desktop-level applications on your cell phone, but they have a plan to fix the situation: they have embraced Posix as an OS standard in the hope of drawing desktop application publishers to their platform. Posix isn't the only development standard supported by Symbian--Flash, Ruby, and Python are among the others--and the company hopes that the variety of standards options will make it easier for companies to port their internal products to the enhanced cell phones.

For more on Symbian's standards support:
- see more in this article at TechWorld

Sidekick 3 long on messaging, short on phone

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 20:01:37 -0400

As today's "how to" item explains, choosing the right PDA for your user base involves investigating a lot of issues and features to make the right choice. If your mobile workforce needs to communicate via text, instant messaging and email and needs photo capabilities for field work, you might want to take a good look at the latest Sidekick 3, which boasts great email and text and Web capabilities as well as image functionality. The latest device from Danger does fall a bit short, though, if device use is primarily phone driven. And the biggest drawback is with third-party application integration as it's extremely limited compared to other PDA offerings such as Palm and Windows mobile OS-supported devices. Yet as one reviewer notes, if messaging capability is your road warrior's top need, this is a device worth considering. Article

How to prepare for mobile malware

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 19:01:38 -0500

There have been some early headlines about malware (spam, Trojans and viruses) being aimed at the mobile user base, but the problem isn't anywhere near what desktop threat levels are. Thus, technologies to detect and defend mobile devices haven't experienced much growth or excitement. Right now the Symbian OS seems to be the No. 1 malware target, with just a few viruses being thrown at the Windows Mobile OS. But that trend is very likely to change as malware writers and criminal enterprises begin realizing the potential value in attacking mobile device user information. As experts explain, the best time to get a good security effort in place is before threats begin bombarding wireless networks and devices. As one security guru notes, mobile devices are the weakest link when it comes to network security architecture.

Fighting mobile malware requires planning, investigation of early tools coming to market and realizing how great a role the mobile device user plays in keeping data and networks safe. That means developing and enforcing user policies about downloading and network access. If your enterprise mobility use is growing each day, it's time to get a security plan in place before anything bad happens. It's likely one of the few opportunities IT has today to be proactive when it comes to security. Article