Mobile

Low cost, light weight and Internet-enabled – these are the qualities of the new segment of mobile computing devices, designated as Netbooks by Intel. The new category joins the likes of UMPCs (Ultra mobile PC), MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and many smartphones that are aimed at Internet access.

An excerpt from ZDNet:

Intel’s Atom processors are also now widely available and more than 100 products being built on the platform are being highlighted at Computex (Techmeme). Intel’s Sean Maloney, the company’s sales and marketing chief, gave the Computex keynote and said: “Individuals – not households – will drive the next era of growth with people each owning one or more computing devices.”

At the latest Computex Trade Show in Taipei, Taiwan, Intel stole the show with its Atom processors at the heart of next generation internet devices. No doubt that Intel is hoping for these devices to herald the next wave in hardware sales, but the larger question is whether these devices have what it takes to top laptops and notebooks as the device of choice for mobile computing. Asus and Acer have their products based on the Intel Atom ready while Dell is also thought to be working on a smaller laptop model.

An excerpt from Guardian:

The Acer Inspire One, is a typical example of an Atom-based subnotebook, and Asus has Atom versions of its products. Dell is also expected to enter the market (below). I’m hoping somebody doing Computex will compile a handy list.

Another advantage of these devices is longer battery life. Also, Intel is pushing hard to promote its Atom processor through these devices. At the same time, the price of these devices ( from $ 400 onewards) makes for some interesting competition. On one hand you have the likes of Asus Eee PC while on the other hand you might consider even going for a high end smart-phone.

There is no doubt that being Internet enabled is the buzzword that all are trying to market upon, but the question is – Do you want to take the plunge now or wait to see how the price scenario unfolds.

Not sure your to point your mobile browser? We can help!

10. BBC News
An oldie but still a goodie. If you want to learn the latest news, you can alwas get it from BBC News. It has its top three news first, followed by other top stories around the globe, followed by features, sports, place-specific, and field-specific news. Simply the best news website for your mobile! And it helps your mobile for being text-based, as loading and functionality is efficient. BBC News is really a staple for news on-the-go.

9. Doppler

Relatively new but making its mark in the Web 2.0 space, Dopplr helps you with your travels through sharing it with your friends and colleagues online. Interestingly, it also tells you if some of your friends are on the same area as where you plan to be, aw if by coincidence. It manages online calendars and your social networks to let you know where everyone you know is. This is a definite must for globetrotters and sightseers alike.

8. MySpace

Many of us knows about MySpace, the social network that almost every one around the world is a member of. Handsome and clean as it may seem on your regular desktop browser, mobile MySpace doesn’t look as stylish as its desktop counterpart. Almost typically text-based, mobile MySpace offers menu in an orderly manner, expanding and contracting links much like your regular website sitemap, giving it a very simple look. But don’t get me wrong. MySpace’ simple interface still gets the job done despite the simpleton look.

7. Amazon

From the simplistic MySpace, I now give you a somewhat heavy loader for your mobile web surfing: Amazon. But despite taking some time to open the website, Amazon’s main purpose—online purchasing, can really be done in a breeze after logging in. It’s the best mobile web store for impulse buyers and window shoppers alike.

6. Facebook

Facebook isn’t another of your mobile social networking sites, as it offers more than any regular social websites can. What sets it apart from others is the options it gives you when using Facebok on-the-go. Mobile Texts utilizes your mobile phones’ sending and receiving capabilities, but I personally think it isn’t as efficient as the other two options. Mobile Upload allows, well, uploading photos and files from your mobile phone straight to your Facebook account. And, lastly, Mobile Web is simply the mobile version of your regular Facebook site. It’s like Facebook compressed into your mobile phone’s screen, but just as functional as your browser version. I think this is the best option of the three as it can be used to check for all updates for utilizing content.

5. Yahoo

In a simple interface, Yahoo didn’t deny us surfers the full functionality and service that it has been offering us. From Yahoo News, Sports, Weather, to even Mail and Messenger services, it continues to give users the assistance that they have always been known for. Also, its purpose as a search engine is still in the picture. At the expense of an attractive interface, mobile Yahoo still is the same Yahoo that we’ve learned to love.

4. Google

Unlike Yahoo that gives you everything, mobile Google is in pursuit of giving you your personalized search engine page. Though not as wide-ranging as Yahoo, you are sure that you get in your personalized Google page everything you want, be it news or sports update, minimizing clicks, loading time, and visits to unnecessary pages. Although you can also use bookmarking for other websites, Google stands out as they made the bookmarking function a feature in their mobile version.

3. Flickr

Flickr, the online photo management and sharing website, is not what you may call a mobile website. It only shows a few thumbnail photos per search result, and it looks quite monotonous, if you ask me. The reason why it is one of my top mobile websites is because, like Facebook, it has a direct upload capability, from mobile to their server. The reason why it is above Facebook is that it is quite straightforward: one click and you’re there in your destination. No bookmarking or winding menu levels! For a website that manages pictures, Flicker is more than optimized for the mobile phones, if you ask me.

2. Twitter

Twitter has already been discussed in “5 Terrific (and Unusual) Twitter Uses” (link: http://www.dailybits.com/5-terrific-twitter-uses/) by fellow writer Luke, and surprisingly, it is one of those growing and top-notching mobile websites in my list. With above par interface to answer its intriguing “What are you doing?” and other questions, Twitter really rocks your mobile web experience, which is why it is my top two on this list. Being innately text-based, Twitter doesn’t have a problem adapting to the small screens of mobile phones, and with a clear layout, reading updates from your friends have never been easier and more fun.

1. Google Reader

It seems like Google Reader is the talk of the Web 2.0 town! Similar to the Google search engine (which happened to be my top four), it allows you to check your favorites. But this time, the reader allows you to check your RSS feeds! It doesn’t really put a lot of effort in offering you a multitude of services, but with the birth of RSS, your one-stop shop for updated online content, there’s really no need for repetitive checking of your favorite websites elsewhere. Google Reader really focuses on giving you the latest and the most updated, so there’s really no thinking twice with this mobile feed reader.

Verizon’s latest announcement that its joining LiMo (Linux Mobile – a consortia that seeks to put an open, hardware independent Linux based OS at the heart of mobile devices) has been perceived as a setback for Google’s Android initiative.

LiMo expounds the same principles that have been mentioned to be the reason for Google to form the Open Handset Alliance, a group of 30 companies that includes T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo and Motorola. For Verizon, joining LiMo means that they will provide support for devices that are sold through their retail outlets alone (and those will be running on LiMo).

Though Google has made several announcements relating to the Android Programming Challenge and the massive response it got from the developer community, there is some doubt as to whether the initiative is losing its steam. The mobile space is getting cramped as many technology firms are betting high on this being the next great frontier for revenue. Infact, Motorola and DoCoMo are hedging their bets in this by backing both the LiMo Foundation and Android.

The mobile market is indeed a very lucrative one.

An excerpt from BusinessWeek:

Analysts figure the smart-phone market being targeted by the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and London-based Symbian, which is backed by Nokia (NOK), will amount to about 170 million units this year. By comparison, unit sales of feature phones of the sort that could run LiMo or Android should top 300 million. By 2012, figures New York market watcher ABI Research, some 127 million mobile gizmos will be running some form of Linux, up from 8.1 million last year.

Telecommunication companies are known to be vary of releasing control of the network and getting the recent FCC Spectrum auctions to include an open applications clause was a big win for Google. The real proof of its success would come once the Android enabled devices start rolling out. With its extensive experience in managing widely distributed and accessible applications, Google has its image established as a technological leader. But it is argued that emulating the success on PCs in the mobile devices space is much tougher. Mobile devices are resource constrained and matching the software that runs with the underlying hardware is an onerous task. Doing that on an open platform is much more so. Until the new devices come to the market, it will be hard to predict the success or failure of Android.

Also, Microsoft and Apple have made much more tangible progress in the mobile space and it can’t be ruled out that perhaps a string of acquisitions and business strategies from their side may make things more harder for Google.

Adobe’s recent announcement on its Open Screen Project is a move the graphics software maker is making to get its Flash Technology deeply entrenched in the mobile internet experience. The stupendous success of Apple’s iPhone and the great mobile internet experience that it delivers have accelerated Adobe’s decision to bring major changes to its Flash Model by way of the Open Screen Project.

The salient points of the initiative are (Adobe):

* Removing restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications
* Publishing the device porting layer APIs for Adobe Flash Player
* Publishing the Adobe Flash® Cast™ protocol and the AMF protocol for robust data services
* Removing licensing fees – making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free

The project is backed by major technology and mobile equipment makers such as ARM, Chunghwa Telecom, Cisco, Intel, LG Electronics Inc., Marvell, Motorola, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Verizon Wireless.

That Apple does not support Flash on its iPhone has been cause for some disappointment for internet users but in no way has it hampered the use of internet on the device. The new initiative could see Flash as a part of the next release. Adobe desperately wants to gain a foothold in the mobile devices space akin to what it enjoys in the desktop front. While 98% of desktops support Flash, on mobile devices it comes to around 30% only.

Am important part of the initiative it to roll out updates to devices as and when available so that the most uptodate runtime environment is made available. This seeks to address the issue of fragmentation on the mobile platform as well. With Microsoft’s Silverlight and Google’s Android also coming to fruition, it is being questioned whether the move from Adobe may be a tad too late.

An excerpt from Yahoo News:

Admittedly, Adobe’s Open Screen program falls well short of making Flash an open-source technology, but the elimination of licensing fees and access to some of the program’s specifications will make the software more attractive even to the geeks behind Android.

Far from solving the issue of fragmentation, it will have to be seen who manages to get the backing of most developers.

An excerpt from ZDNet:

“The strategic decision to base the iPhone/Touch SDK on XCode is going to turn out to be a real boon for Apple’s platform strategy as even more engineers get on the bandwagon,” he continued.

Will Apple and Mozilla (and maybe Google) be able to stand up to the Adobe Flash/Air combo and Microsoft’s Silverlight? Will this consortium tip the balance towards one or the other directions?

What is most certain is that Adobe is eager to grab a big share in the mobile internet devices experience and entrench its AIR/Flash platform at the heart of the mobile internet. But from a developer’s perspective, will this really put an end to the question of fragmentation?

Virtualization has been the buzz word in the enterprise space. VMware has made waves with its software that allows companies to run multiple servers over a single physical server unit – reducing costs and making management easier. Companies such as VirtualLogix are doing to mobile handsets what VMware has done to the enterprise servers – offering virtualization solutions for mobile devices that would allow applications written on different OSs to run on the same mobile device.

An excerpt from BusinessWeek:

Handset makers could use virtualization to more easily replicate the features found in one another’s devices and confront the threat posed by Apple, which introduced the iPhone in 2007. Virtualization could also help cell-phone makers offer more features at a lower price. “Ultimately, the [handset] winner is going to be determined by their ability to manage security, costs, and time [to market],” says Steve Subar, CEO of Open Kernel. VirtualLogix got a push forward in its effort by a funding infusion from Motorola, unveiled on Apr. 21.

Virtualization also adds to the security aspect on mobile devices. Virtualization will help separate the core phone services from OS functions and add several layers of control.

An excerpt from Linux Devices:

• “Revenue Protection” — preserves revenue-generating functions, such as placing and receiving calls, in case Linux or another open OS fails
• Supports “trusted services” such as security agents, access control, and authentication, protecting them from potential corruption of the open OS
• Enables “premium service guarantees” to content providers and business users
• Functions such as OS monitoring and automatic restart are isolated from the open OS — allows system repair or restoration, if corruption occurs

Additional touted benefits not related to security include:

• Ability to run Linux without a separate applications processor
• Ability to re-use existing modem software without modification or re-validation
• Isolation of proprietary code from open source license requirements

Mobile devices are as much about hardware as they are about software. That is what makes virtualization in the mobile space all the more challenging. Devices vary in features ranging from on-board chip-sets to the size and features such as keyboard, display area etc. That is where the real challenge is – to get the applications tailored for different smartphones to work on the feature phones as well.

Smart phones are at the higher end of the mobile devices spectrum with separate OSs for running applications while feature phones are equipped with OS to run the essential phone services and some few applications. Virtualization is about making the best of smartphones available on the feature phones with little modification to the feature phone OS. More details can be found from this article on mobile virtualization guidelines at Linux Foundation.

In the next few years, virtualization in the mobile layer may have a big role to play in leveling the field for services from Apple on their iPhone and the offerings from Google’s Android and the other mobile Linux consortia.

Its the coolest mobile gadget pitted against the open mobile software stack with unprecedented possibilities. The iPhone was a major contributor to Apple’s 36% growth for the second quarter results. Google’s Android is the search giants major foray into the mobile applications platform space backed by the Open Handset Alliance of component manufactures and carriers including Intel, Samsung, Nvidia and Qualcomm. Both Apple and Google are vouching for third party software development to make their business model a success.

An excerpt from Fonearena:

The guys at Google were sounding pretty confident at the recently held Emerging Communications Conference in Silicon Valley, and they were saying that Android is not afraid of Apple iPhone platform and will easily outsell the later, that is some confidence Google guys are showing I must say. For the uninformed the Android SDK was downloaded over 750,000 times, Apple are you reading this, if yes, then please respond to these guys at Google.

The battle for mobile platform dominance is also the battle between constrained and open architectures. Apple is known for its control over hardware and software technologies. Google espouses the advantages of openness. Apple has the advantage that the iPhone is a pinnacle of innovation and its software is highly intuitive. Google is yet to see the results of spreading a software stacks across a multitude of devices. There are the advantages of greater reach but then the question of varied user experience across devices.

Apple had to loosen some of its control on the iPhone SDK when it saw what a phenomenal market the whole third party application development was growing into. Through a business model similar to iTunes, users will be able to buy software via the AppStore.

Here’s a technology chart comparing the iPhone SDK with Google’s Android (credit):

Google may certainly have the reach with its Android, but you can be sure that Apple will be looking to gain from having the most innovative mobile hardware platform. Moves such as the acquisition of P.A. Semi are targeted towards reducing the dependence on component manufacturers. Google may claim that it will trump Apple but the fact remains that iPhone has proven itself already while Android will be out only later this year.

And while the battle is on, lets not forget Microsoft, which owns a healthy stake in the mobile OS market. Redmond is not going to sit and watch the show from the fence. The recent acquisition of Danger is a case in point. It is to be noted that Andy Rubins, the Director of Mobile Platforms at Google and leading the Android effort was one of the founders of Danger.

The question comes down to which SDK model provides the best returns for third party developers. Google would have the reach while Apple has an established business model and a slick device. Surely the mobile market is large enough to accommodate both.