Mobile Enterprise

Apple and IBM team up against Microsoft

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Lotus Notes is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch, and both Apple and IBM hope that the result will make you want Microsoft solutions a little bit less. If the mere presence of the new client isn't enough to convince you, the price might: $39 per client for new customers, and no charge at all for customers who've already implemented Lotus Web-access. The benefit for IBM is obvious; for Apple, it's increasing the perception that the iPhone is a good enterprise-class platform. For customers, it could mean having a good excuse for buying an iPhone on the company tab. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

For more on the new Notes client for iPhones:
- Read the whole news story at DailyTechRag

More majors leap in

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

Have you felt the ground shake? It seems, with all the huge players rushing to be part of the mobile wireless market, that the Earth would be trembling on a near-constant basis. First Google confirms that it's moving into the mobile world in a big way, then Amazon builds (and sells out of) a portable reader that features constant, free data networking. The Kindle may or may not be a long-term success (I tend to agree with the analysts who say it's a neat machine with a price tag that's too high), but it's already significant in bringing always-on, un-metered cell data networking to a consumer product. In this regard, the Kindle is a significant new product introduction.

What's next? I don't know, but I can imagine devices and applications that take your financial services into a new realm of functionality and convenience. You've probably got a comment about this, too: Let me know what it is and I'll try to get it into the next issue. -Curtis

Google domination designs

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

It's not that Google wants to put out just another mobile wireless product--the search-engine giant has designs to change the nature of the wireless market. There's a big 700Mhz spectrum auction coming up, and no one knows how that will turn out, but with Android, Google has created a Linux-driven center of gravity for the wireless market to orbit. The operating system, which will power devices that compete with systems running the Symbian, Palm, and Windows Mobile operating systems, is intended to change the way the market functions--regardless of whether the radio in the device runs on 2G, 3G, or 4G.

For more on Google's wireless prospects:
- Read the market analysis at WirelessWeek

MMS starts to grow

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

There's no question that multi-media computing is growing in importance. There has been, so far, a very real question about just how well consumers were embracing MMS (multimedia messaging services) to send photos and videos to friends and family. Why do businesses care? Because, like so many other aspects of wireless and mobile computing, consumers are leading enterprise players into the future. If you've seen the value of multimedia, then the news is encouraging: Nielsen Mobile says that 41 percent of wireless customers (or approximately 97 million users) had signed up for MMS by the end of June, 2007. The MMS market in North America is now second only to China in the total number of MMS users--and that means business mobile IT folks should be looking at how they're going to use and market the MMS functions in their mobile wireless fleet.

For more on MMS wireless:
- Read the service news at WirelessWeek

OMA takes control

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Management has been an issue for personal computers since PC number 2 was carried through the office door, and mobile device management is beginning to take on a sense of urgency at many enterprise IT shops. The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is a group set up to deal with many mobile issues, but the working group that addresses Device Management (DM) criteria and standards is one of the most active. Both carriers and enterprise customers care about standardizing methods of keeping devices updated and administered, and neither really wants to be tied in to a single vendor for those capabilities. That doesn't mean that vendors are sitting back and waiting: Innopath Software is notable, but not unique, for making mobile device management a possibility.

For more on managing your fleet of smartphones:
- read the open-source report at WirelessWeek

Privacy blocks wireless directory

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:56 -0400

With more and more individuals (especially younger individuals) eschewing traditional POTS lines in favor of a cell phone-only strategy, a comprehensive directory of cell phone numbers takes on some importance. For better or for worse, though, privacy concerns and a collection of divergent state laws have made a national directory impossible. Now, Intelius, a Bellevue, Washington-based company, is offering subscriptions to a service that purports to provide just that elusive national directory. State officials in Washington and other jurisdictions are beginning to look at the service, and the CTIA is weighing in to urge the government to regulate this sort of subscription, but until things move further along the development path, most of us will have to read about it, rather than trying it for ourselves. Stay tuned for more directory news.

For more on Intelius and its challenges:
- read the whole story at WirelessWeek

3G goes everywhere

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

In movies and on television, a Blackberry or Treo is the sure sign of an executive or highly-paid professional. Increasingly,though 3G phones are finding their way into the hands of tradespeople and non-professional workers. The democratization of 3G is rapidly becoming one of the most significant trends in wireless networking. What does it mean for your business?

For more on the spread of 3G:
- read the complete article at NetworkWorld

RingCube secure mobility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

One of the larger challenges in mobile enterprise computing has always been giving road-warriors access to their in-house environment when away from their desks. RingCube has introduced a system to provide secure access from essentially any connection on the Internet. The foundation of the system is a USB key that holds complete environment information for the user's laptop computer. The system, called MojoDrive, provides a complete image of the user's environment wherever they go. MojoDrive will even work to give the user their familiar environment on a stranger's computer--and it erases all traces of the environment from the host computer when it's unplugged.

For more on MojoDrive:
- read the product news at InternetNews.com

Google shows phones to manufacturers

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It's one thing for Google to say that they're interested in phones. It's another to put a prototype phone in the hands of hardware manufacturers. According to reports, Google has shown off a device and has begun looking for a solid partner to help bring the phone to market. Between cell networks and WiMAX, the possibilities for wireless Google are growing rapidly. No one can mistake Google's intentions in the space, and the existence of the prototype says those plans are getting ever closer to reality.

For more on Google's wireless plans:
- read this editorial from DailyTechRag
- and read up on the full story at NetworkWorld

Look to Kentucky for public/private wireless

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

When trying to figure out how to divvy up the spectrum freed up when U.S. television goes digital in 2009, the FCC looked at working examples of shared spectrum operation. They found a model they liked in Kentucky, where a public-private partnership has raised computer literacy and ownership by huge margins during the last four years. That partnership is the basis for the proposed plan in which the band will be auctioned to commercial providers who'll then turn its use over to public service agencies in case of emergencies. It might just be the plan that allows emergency workers to keep communicating when things go very, very wrong.

For more on the Kentucky experience:
- read the feature article at eWeek