|
|
|
 |
|
|||
|
|
|
Striking the Right Balance with Open Source PlatformsBy Richard KinderVP of Technology and New Business for Europe Red Bend Software Red Bend recently exhibited at Symbian Exchange and Exposition 2009 in London. As expected, attendance was down this year given the economic situation, but likely also in part from the fading excitement surrounding the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, which was big news at last year’s event. In many areas, the Symbian Foundation is ahead of the schedule they set themselves. For example, its kernel has been released under the Eclipse Public License. One should not underestimate the amount of work that has gone into an achievement such as this. As with any “new” platform, a major proof point is the availability of devices running on it. Once this happens, I am sure that there will be renewed enthusiasm for the show, but by then, who knows how far the iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices will have evolved. All is not lost for Symbian yet. It has been successful in enabling delivery of smartphone functionality at increasingly lower device price points, but the industry has shifted its focus to usability and features. As Apple’s iPhone has proven, even in a down economy, consumers will pay for the right high-end smartphone with the right user experience. In the case of Samsung, which already has its own robust midrange solution, Symbian will need to offer something unique and compelling for the manufacturer to build on its platform. For Symbian to be successful, its platform must evolve and offer higher-end features in a way that is easily accessible to consumers in order to close the gap with Android and the iPhone. To do this, they must motivate their contributors to add value in the right areas. The challenges for an open-source platform aren’t limited to Symbian. A key challenge is that of clear and fair governance rules. Each community has different takes on governance, making their challenges unique. Take Google’s Android, for example. Android is available under an open-source license but some do not consider it an open source project. The platform is controlled by Google, and a majority of the contributions are made by Google. While this approach has some advantages, it is difficult for a contributor to make a real difference to the platform and speed its innovation. It’s important to remember that the core ethos of what open source offers is a platform for somebody with an idea to share that idea with other people. Open source brings together communities of like-minded people and should give them a forum to communicate in a way that is natural to them—therefore, lending itself to driving innovation. However, open source has often struggled to shape its “in-the-moment” innovation into cohesive robust projects. To be successful, open-source platforms will need to find the right balance between in-the-moment features and the slow-but-structured development approach of traditional mobile platforms. Key to this is governance rules that shape the community around the platform. So which open source smartphone platform will ultimately strike that right balance? At this point, you can’t ignore the Symbian Foundation. Nokia’s volumes and desire to drive usability and new features into the category previously serviced by S40 should not be underestimated. With Android, we’re seeing a broad variety of devices at various price points, and it is interesting to see Android scale from the very high end to cost-sensitive feature phones. The LiMo platform has had a big boost during recent months with the announcement of Vodafone 360 and the use of that platform to power the lead products from Samsung. Lastly, other efforts like Maemo and Intel’s Moblin may have an impact in the longer term. There will be no shortage of compelling smartphone products, based on varied platforms with differing governance models, usability and features, available in 2010. Coupled with this explosion of platform choice will be an implosion in smartphone average selling prices, with the possible exception of the iPhone. Competitive pressure will drive down smartphone prices as well as consumers demanding more for less. Above all, device manufacturers must consider the technical and commercial impact of their platform choices as never before in order to acquire a new customer base and keep the customers they have. ¡Viva la revolucion! Labels: 360, Android, Blackberry, iPhone, LiMo, Maemo, Moblin, Red Bend, S40, Symbian, Vodafone
Independence Is Coming to the Mobile Industry By Lori Sylvia EVP, Marketing Red Bend Software Summer is almost over, but I have been thinking lately about Will Smith’s blockbuster movie from the summer of 1996 - remember Independence Day? In the mobile industry, our own version of this movie is playing out before our eyes. I’m referring to the independence of software from hardware. Consumer demand for new applications and services is “opening up” the mobile phone and creating a separation between the software that drives the user experience and the hardware it runs on. Software has become more important than it used to be, driven by consumer interest in downloading applications. But we know that software is much more than just apps. It’s also responsible for the core functions of the phone like browsing and messaging, and for the key enablers that power mobile services like navigation and music. Consumers are forcing us in the mobile industry to think differently and act differently if we are to meet their needs for a personalized user experience. And software is at the core. For the mobile phone to truly be personalized, the software must become independent of the hardware, so that it can continuously evolve to meet consumers’ changing needs. In the current model, there are multiple software creators that make up a phone, and the OEM serves as the systems integrator. All too often though, the OEM as systems integrator has the unintended consequence of serving as a bottleneck for new innovation and enhancements that come from the software creators and service providers. Once the phone has shipped, the OEM uses firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating to deliver a new version of software. To do this, the OEM must aggregate software updates from all of the software creators that contributed to the phone. Most OEMs will use FOTA to update the phone’s software from 1-3 times during the phone’s lifetime. This usually happens within the first year of launching the phone. After that, the OEM reassigns the engineering team to develop a new device. Don’t get me wrong--I’m the first to tout the benefits of FOTA. Red Bend is the leader in FOTA with more than half a billion FOTA-enabled devices shipped. FOTA is extremely good at what it was designed to do, and that is to provide a more efficient and cost-effective way of performing software maintenance. It’s not that FOTA has become less valuable to the mobile industry. It’s that software has become more valuable than it used to be. Therefore, the need to manage the software assets both discretely and dynamically throughout the phone’s lifetime has become critical to meeting consumer demand. The paradigm must change. Mobile Software Management (MSM) changes the paradigm. With MSM, each player in the mobile industry--OEM, operator and ISV--can independently control its own software assets on the mobile device, and can break the bottleneck of the current model. The way to achieve this is for the mobile phone to have multiple software owners, not one. The OEM can own the phone’s core functionality, the operator can own the key service enablers and the ISVs can own the applications. So, while the OEM serves as the systems integrator, it can then leverage the other players to be responsible for their software assets after the phone ships. This will result in a phone that is constantly evolving and whose software features, services and applications can be personalized to the consumer’s preferences. The OEM can even delegate some or all of its responsibility for the phone’s core functionality to the individual software creators. For example, the OEM can enable the web browser provider to update and manage its browser without affecting the other software on the phone. The technology to enable this level of software independence exists today with Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile™ solution for managing software components over the air (SCOTA). Several mobile industry leaders including DOCOMO are already moving to adopt the technology. With a SCOTA-enabled phone, consumers can subscribe to new data services or download the latest applications regardless of the phone’s pre-existing capabilities. The result is that more revenue is generated per subscriber throughout the phone’s lifetime. And at the end of the phone’s lifetime, the consumer has been delighted and grown loyal to the experience she received. There is a legitimate question to be asked: Why would the OEM share or delegate its responsibility for managing the phone? The answer: to stay competitive. OEMs can leverage their supply chain (ISVs) and retail channel (MNOs) to share in the responsibility to keep the consumer satisfied, and ultimately keep their phone actively used and generating new revenues. The current status quo is a losing proposition, where OEMs generate nearly all their revenue once every two years when a new phone is purchased. If the OEM wants to stay relevant as the systems integrator, it should take a dynamic approach to this role, where software creators can update their software during the phone’s lifecycle. If not, OEMs will struggle to keep up with consumer-demanded Internet services and new applications, and will face eroding brand loyalty when the consumer grows dissatisfied and buys a new phone from a competitor. Let’s be truthful: The replacement cycle has not shortened, and in some markets it has even lengthened due to the economy or regulatory changes that have caused consumers to spread their investments over longer periods. Let’s be truthful on another point: Phone hardware doesn’t last that long. And the OEMs will always encourage new purchases with their latest designs. Today it’s the touch screen. Next year it will be something else. Independence Day is coming to the mobile industry. Consumers are driving this change with their increasing demand for software. The technologies are ready to enable a truly personalized mobile phone whose software is continuously enhanced and dynamically personalized. Those players in the mobile industry who embrace this new model will win with loyal consumers and new revenue streams. Labels: firmware, FOTA, OMA-DM, Red Bend, wireless
Moving Forward in Advanced FOTA Features With Revertible UpdatesBy Ilana BogomolnySenior Product Manager Red Bend Software Red Bend continues to pioneer new advances in managing mobile software over-the-air (OTA). In my last blog, I discussed background updates. This feature lets manufacturers and operators perform firmware updates while the consumer’s phone is online and fully operational, so that consumers have a working phone--from browsing the Web to making phone calls--a feature that is especially valuable during an emergency. In this blog, I want to discuss another Red Bend feature called revertible updates. This is a feature that enables the use of the same update file for both updating the device to the new version and for reverting to the previous version--without the need to download a “downgrade” file from the server, saving bandwidth and time. Revertible updates enable devices to roll back updates to the previous version of firmware in case the consumer cancels the update while it is in progress or in the event that a defect is detected in the new firmware version. Revertible updates support both uncompressed and compressed images. Part of Red Bend’s vRapid Mobile™ FOTA software solution, the revertible update feature is a must-have capability in several use cases:
Besides handset manufacturers, revertible updates are also valuable for machine-to-machine (M2M) manufacturers and service providers. FOTA is being used to keep the M2M module software up-to-date with changing standards and customer requirements, and to remotely perform software updates in a fast and reliable manner. With M2M modules growing in complexity, FOTA enables manufacturers to perform software improvements over the air, without needing to send a field technician on site. It is also important to mitigate risk if a defect is detected in the new firmware version. With revertible updating, the M2M manufacturer can perform a server-initiated rollback to the previous firmware version on all or select modules. In the case of the defect affecting the cellular stack, the module can initiate a self-update triggered by a watchdog to revert back to the previous version. This revertible update can occur without any contact with the server. Labels: firmware, FOTA, mobile software management, Red Bend
What's Next in Mobile Software ManagementBy Lori Sylvia, EVP, MarketingThis week we took a bold step. We combined our vCurrent® Mobile and vRapid Mobile™ products together into a single solution for mobile software management (MSM). At Red Bend, we are committed to providing you with innovative solutions for managing mobile software over the air, and we continuously invest in developing our products to ensure we meet your current and future needs. From our industry-wide experience, we see a growing need to add and enhance revenue-generating applications and services to the installed customer base. Responding to this need requires a cross-platform, standards-based and flexible solution to manage firmware, applications and software components over the air. Earlier in the week we announced Version 6 of vRapid Mobile -- the industry's first MSM client capable of managing any type of software on any mobile platform or device. It supports the full set of FOTA functionality previously available with vCurrent Mobile, along with the advanced capabilities of managing software components over the air (SCOTA). Combining FOTA and SCOTA together into one MSM client makes it easier for customers to move from updating firmware as one complete image to supporting advanced use cases where embedded software is managed by individual components. In addition, we've added new features to optimize the management of built-in and downloadable applications. With FOTA, manufacturers can reduce support costs and increase consumer satisfaction by remotely updating firmware with software improvements and new functionality. With SCOTA, operators can increase data revenues by deploying branded applications and service enablers in embedded software without requiring a complete maintenance release. Using application management, software developers can speed time to market of new applications and versions, faster than handset replacement cycles. With vRapid Mobile, Red Bend is enabling the industry to unlock the value of mobile software and seize the next wave of opportunities. We are committed to enabling you to manage software in any way that you require -- today and in the future. Labels: device management, DM, firmware, Red Bend
3G Drives China Operators to Adopt DM and FOTABy Danny Wang, Country Manager, Greater ChinaFor the last several years China has been a vibrant center of innovation and activity in the mobile industry. China remains the largest mobile phone market in the world with 657 million subscribers. Greater China is also the manufacturing center for many of the mobile devices shipped worldwide. Earlier this year, China assigned 3G mobile phone licenses to its three largest operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. In preparation for the rollout of 3G services, the operators have begun mandating support for device management (DM) and firmware over the air (FOTA) on all mobile handsets and devices manufactured for their networks. By standardizing on DM and FOTA, the operators in China will be able to more effectively manage and support the data services and Internet applications enabled by 3G. The feature-packed phones that flourish in 3G-enabled networks contain greater amounts of software and sophisticated functionality. With DM and FOTA-capable devices, the operators will be ready to commercialize their update services and provide mobile consumers with the latest software improvements and features to stay competitive. With DM and FOTA rolling out in China, Red Bend has increased its local support in China. Leading mobile companies throughout the region have recognized Red Bend's mobile software management (MSM) solutions for being easy to integrate on any mobile platform and for providing built-in compliance for Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards. These features enable our customers to accelerate time to market for new mobile devices. In addition, DM and FOTA solutions from Red Bend empowers operators and OEMs alike to deliver a more enriching experience to mobile users, while minimizing support costs. The push for DM and FOTA in China has enabled Red Bend to sign deals with a number of high-profile companies. Most recently, Borqs International Holding Corp. chose Red Bend’s FOTA updating software and device management software for its Android software platform, called Open Mobile System (OMS). Haier (Qing Dao) Telecom Co., Ltd. also licensed both FOTA and DM for its HG-V70 mobile phone. By adopting Red Bend’s software, these new customers join other leading OEMs in China, including Lenovo Mobile, ZTE and Benny Wave, maker of the K-Touch brand of mobile phones. Red Bend’s expansion in China has also reached the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry. FOTA enables manufacturers to protect their investments by deploying maintenance releases and new software features over the air rather than sending a technician on-site. Recently, SIMCom Wireless Solutions (Shanghai) licensed Red Bend’s FOTA for its M2M product portfolio to increase its competitive advantage by enabling over-the-air software updating. In the last year, the number of Red Bend-Enabled devices in China has grown to more than 20, and is expected to continue to rise, especially as Android-based phones with Red Bend inside hit the market this year. Stay tuned to Red Bend to follow how the mobile software management market develops in China. Labels: device management, DM, firmware, FOTA, Red Bend
Reflecting on Mobile World Congress 2009Below are some highlights from Red Bend Software members who participated in the four-day Mobile World Congress 2009 event in Barcelona.Lori Sylvia, EVP of Marketing, and Morten Grauballe, EVP of MSM Platforms App stores created a lot of noise at Mobile World Congress. Every OEM and platform provider is getting into the app store game. But the pundits are debating the wrong points. It’s not whether app stores should be closed systems from the OEMs or run by operators for the mass market. It’s not which runtime environment should win, in order help developers reduce costs and gain scale. We’ve learned by now that the mobile industry is not one size fits all, not one business model fits all. I think this highly competitive market over the next three years at least will continue to see all of the above: platform-specific app stores, OEM closed systems, operator branded storefronts and myriad development environments. The real issue is how to let ISVs build and deploy applications that can generate new revenue streams for OEMs as well as operators from the nearly 3 billion mobile phones in use. To truly unlock this potential, ISVs need to break the dependency that applications have to be developed for specific devices. By enabling mobile phone software to be customized on demand over the air throughout the handset lifecycle, developers can innovate and consumers can choose handsets, services and applications. Gang Shen, Director of Sales, China Some operators announced plans to take on mobile widgets to help improve app stores. China Mobile, for example, showed a demo of a widget at Mobile World Congress. I expect this kind of service engine will become more popular and welcomed by both operators and customers. Another interesting highlight at Mobile World Congress is that more small brands than I expected showed some amazing phones, which use the Chinese ODM/DH solution. John Pratt, Director of Sales, Europe Control seems to be the big issue on everyone’s mind at Mobile World Congress. As handset manufactures and operators begin to launch app stores to generate incremental revenue from software sales, everyone wants control over this service and to either directly receive revenue or be compensated for their role in the value chain. The race for even cooler handsets packed with more features and capabilities continued, but the real story is who will win the race to control app stores. It appears that handset manufactures and software vendors have an early lead, with the likes of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Microsoft and Google all promoting their stores, but the sleepy giant who owns the end customer (i.e., operators) might have the last say. Companies are also in a constant battle for control over what platform developers choose to develop their apps on as all the major app store companies have SDKs and are aggressively trying to attract application developers. Developers are no longer seen as someone in the backroom, but rather someone who can create that one app that generates significant interest and eyeballs that will ultimately help generate revenue and promote brand awareness. Mobile World Congress demonstrated that the industry is once again going through quite a transition, and it will be interesting to see who will win the race for control over attracting developers and delivering app stores to maintain and grow brand loyalty. Labels: device management, DM, firmware, FOTA, Google, OMA-DM, Red Bend, standards
Reflections on 2008; Anticipation of “the Day After”Yoram SalingerCEO Red Bend Software Reflecting on 2008, unquestionably the state of the world economy had a significant impact on the mobile ecosystem. As such, mobile technology companies, especially handset manufacturers, are changing the way they conduct business. They will be cautious in the first half of 2009, reducing spending, controlling operations, and preparing to react as the economic crisis continues. They will cut the expectations of phone shipments to the market, as they did in 2008. Consumers are also changing their behavior. As a result, the replacement cycle of the phones will change; consumers will not be purchasing new mobile phone models or upgrading as often as they have. In 2008, we saw this occur in Japan when the operators abandoned their subsidies. As a result, there was about a 40 percent decline in new mobile phone purchases. Japanese operators are now faced with severe competition to retain customers and acquire new ones. In 2009, they will need to offer new services to boost their revenues and look overseas to grow their customer base. Despite the slowing pace of replacements, mobile phones are perceived to be essential parts of our lives, no longer a matter of convenience. For some consumers, their mobile phone is their only communication device. For others, it is has become a platform for commerce and socialization. While some OEMs were especially hit hard by the economy, others flourished. Take Apple and its iPhone. Apple has stayed on top despite the financial crisis. They have done this because they cultivated a great experience. And core to this great user experience is the additional applications that Apple offered. During the summer of 2008, Apple announced it had generated $30 million in one month by selling 100 million downloads from its Apple App Store for its iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The proliferation of other mobile application storefronts like Google’s Android Market, Microsoft’s Skymarket, Nokia’s Mosh and the Ovi initiative is allowing consumers to freely customize their phones with new applications and services. The expected result for these companies is noteworthy. For example, the App Store alone is expected to be a $1.2 billion business by the end of 2009, states investment firm Piper Jaffray. Even though Apple evolved as a significant player with an end-to-end proprietary system, it has several obstacles to confront. How will the iPhone reach Nokia’s level of mass market shipments? How will Apple evolve long term in the industry? Apple was not the only disruptive force in the mobile industry in 2008. Open source software changed the economics of the mobile platform in 2008. There was the Google Android launch and the birth of the Symbian Foundation. Because OEMs will build more phones on Android and Symbian, these platforms will become more community driven. But the big question is: Will the manufacturers release the code back to the industry, further driving collaboration and innovation while decreasing costs, or will they leverage it to their advantage? For 2009, both consumers and mobile companies will be careful with their money. But when consumers are ready to make that purchase, they’ll find more compelling options than ever before, specifically increasingly affordable smartphones and new kinds of innovative wireless devices to surf the Internet or read an electronic book. According to ARCchart, by 2013 non-handset devices—everything from data cards to game consoles to ebooks and M2M applications—will account for $93 billion in service revenue generated by operators. This is an exciting area of growth for our industry. Mobile software management will provide device manufacturers, mobile operators and ISVs greater flexibility and control over managing a device’s software throughout its lifecycle. They will be able to create new revenue opportunities and improve customer satisfaction through personalization. Features can be offered for a one-time fee or through a subscription service. Further on the bright side, we will see some recovery in 2009 because at the end of the day, the mobile phone is a lifestyle product. By 2010, there will be 4 billion mobile phone subscribers. Their mobile phones have become sophisticated computing devices—equipped with powerful software, enabling rich user interfaces and advanced features and applications, from streaming video to location-based services to music players. And these rich capabilities only serve to further integrate the mobile phone into our daily lives. Have you ever left the house without your phone, and not gone back to retrieve it? While there is certainly a level of fear, uncertainty and doubt, companies that prepare for “the day after” during this economic downturn will be the visionaries. The first to react will be the thought leaders because they will be able to identify opportunities through partnerships, mergers or acquisitions. These are the companies that will be proactive with feeding the market with new platforms, devices, features and services. And Red Bend Software will be one of those companies. Labels: Apple, device management, Google, mobile, mobile software management, Red Bend
SCOMO Goes Beyond FOTA and Focuses on Managing Individual Software ComponentsBy Elad GanotDirector of Standards and Alliances Red Bend Software Last month I enthusiastically purchased an advanced home entertainment system. I paid a lot of money to enjoy its high sound and picture quality, which were enabled by the cutting-edge technology that’s available in today’s market. It took me about seven years to upgrade my system even though I am a gadget fan and have a technical background. My new system is composed of an HDTV, an advanced receiver (which includes an image enhancer), a media streamer and a DVD player. You might wonder why isn’t Blu-ray part of my system—especially if I want to enjoy high definition movies. The DVD won’t help me so much as it cannot store the capacity required for HD quality. Well, as you may know, there is still doubt on whether Blu-ray will indeed become the next mainstream format for movies, so I’ve decided to wait and see. I can always upgrade separately my existing DVD to a Blu-ray (or whatever other format wins the market). Upgrading my DVD will not force me to upgrade the whole system because it is a stand-alone part with well-defined interfaces to the rest of the system. This makes it a “component.” When the time comes, I will receive an email telling me about this cool new device and for the right price I would click the “buy it now” button, and a delivery package will be on its way to my home. Going from the hardware world to the software world, things look even cooler. Here not only do components are upgradable, but also they even do so almost instantly and quite frequently. I change software components on my computer at least 100 times a year (not just once every few years). I install software, update existing software and uninstall software that I don’t use. Sometimes I just disable software for a while and re-enable it later. Yeah, I like tweaking the software on my computer, and recently I started playing with my mobile phone in the same way. My mobile phone has so many software components available for it that I even abandoned my stand-alone PDA, which had served me loyally for several years. Most users are not even aware of the fact that their mobile phone could actually be used as a personal computing platform. They probably know they can customize it in terms of a fashionable look (with wallpapers, sounds and colorful covers), but will they know how to discover a useful software component? Then be able to download it? Install it? Disable it if needed and re-enable it? Remove it? It was back in 2005 when the mobile industry saw an opportunity to improve the user experience with regard to software management and offered a service of managing the “life cycle” of software components on remote devices. To be able to realize this concept, you have to achieve a mass market, and the industry must agree on some common methods of communication—to allow for every device on every network to connect to the service, regardless of the manufacturer of the equipment (be it a managed client device or a managed server). The good news is that we NOW have a consensus with the Candidate Release of SCOMO 1.0 that was ratified by the OMA on Nov. 17. Now let us componentize the last sentence in a reversed order:
But a Candidate state also means a lot from a business perspective. Interoperability testing period typically happens in parallel to commercial deployments of the enabler. This means that Candidate Release of an enabler is a signal for businesses to start implementing commercial deployments, since the enabler is stable.
Labels: design, device management, DM, firmware, FOTA, mobile, mobile software management, Red Bend, standards
305 Million Mobile Phones, 29 Licensees and $10 Million in Funding to Fuel What’s NextBy Yoram SalingerCEO Red Bend Software There are many exciting developments happening here at Red Bend. Our vCurrent® Mobile FOTA software has shipped in more than 300 million mobile phones. This milestone has been reached thanks to your continued support. Over the past year and a half, we have seen our business grow rapidly as firmware updating and device management achieve mass market adoption. According to Ovum, more than half of all new mobile phones are coming to market with FOTA software, and this number is projected to increase to 84% by the end of next year. With FOTA-enabled phones now widely available, we are working closely with our customers and partners to increase usage of over-the-air software updating. Our innovative Background Updating feature, we believe, sets the new standard in FOTA and significantly improves the mobile user experience by performing the firmware update in the background while the consumer continues to use the phone, without taking the device offline. As of Q1, we now have 29 licensees of our software products. Red Bend has amassed a wealth of experience and knowledge about best practices in OTA software updating. We recently launched an effort to document best practices in creating “FOTA-friendly firmware.” I encourage you to contact us to learn more and see how we can assist you in efficiently provisioning firmware updates. Lastly, I am pleased to inform you that Red Bend has closed a funding round of $10 million. The new funds will be used for sales and marketing to grow our position in the mobile market as well as seize new opportunities in licensing our software for other connected wireless devices. In addition, the funds will be used to accelerate investment in research and development to bring you new innovations in mobile software management. Stay tuned to see what’s next. Labels: FOTA, mobile software management, Red Bend
“Pizza or cell phones?” – Observations from CTIA Wireless 2008By Lori SylviaVP, Corporate Marketing Red Bend Software “Pizza or cell phones?” asked the taxi driver, when I stated that my destination was the Las Vegas Convention Center. To her, the fare was the same, but my answer would direct her taxi to one of two shows taking place at the Convention Center last week. Perhaps I should have said “pizza”… “If you're a pizzeria operator looking to improve your business or if your business provides equipment or services to the pizza industry, you've come to the right place. You'll find networking, learning, great deals, and just plain fun at International Pizza Expo® - the World's Largest and Oldest Pizza Tradeshow.” Who doesn’t like “great deals” and “fun?” Compare that with: “The convergence of more than 1,100 exhibiting companies, dozens of industries, and over 40,000 professionals from 125 countries all working toward the common goal of revolutionizing wireless. Whether in broadband convergence, enterprise, advertising, social networking or entertainment, CTIA WIRELESS 2008 is the global marketplace for connecting wireless and YOU.” It’s ironic that the show billed as “The Most Important Global Technology Event of the Year” wasn’t eventful at all. I know I’m not the only blogger to make this observation. The lack of “big news” from the operators, OEMs and Internet players last week was noticeable by all. Still, there were three things that I’ll remember from CTIA last week.
But enough of the shameless plug… back to my observations… once Yahoo! Go 2.0 was downloaded to my phone, I immediately powered it up to check it out. What was the first thing I tried? The map tool of course. I identified my location as Las Vegas, and then I could search for businesses nearby. Like pizza shops, shown in the example on Yahoo!’s promotional graphics. But I already knew where to go for that. Labels: CTIA, Handsets World, mobile, Red Bend, wireless
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Copyright ® 2012 Red Bend All Rights Reserved.
Home | Solutions | Customers | Partners | Company | Terms | Contact Us | Site Map |