By Andrew Till
What a short time a week is in the mobile world. This week saw not one but two new announcements in area of mobile platforms and development. Firstly Samsung announced its new Bada mobile platform (http://www.bada.com/samsung-launches-open-mobile-platform/) designed for smartphones. Judging from the dedicated website and developer focused activities, development days, developer challenges and a new application store are all planned, this is a platform that Samsung is serious about pushing. While not all details are as yet fully clear, for example it does not state if the platform is Linux based or using some other kernel, it is clear that Samsung will be pushing Bada as a key platform to delivery both compelling user experiences and also perhaps more notability an integrated service experience.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world Google was busy making interesting noises about Google “Go”. A new mobile development language designed for the 21st century. While details remain scare it does seem to be a move by Google to improve the overall efficiency of application development and to leverage perhaps two of the most popular languages in Python and JavaScript along with promising enhanced support for key features such as garbage collection and SMP. While Go is relatively new in town given the effort Google is putting in to all things mobile it has to be taken seriously as a key future environment for application development. For more details on Go visit http://golang.org/
So another week and once again assumptions we may take for granted are being challenged. Will these initiative be successful only time will tell but once again as we approach the end of the week I look at the past 5 days and wonder what other industry possess such high levels dynamic change or opportunity.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
SEE Symbian Exposition -The last or first? October 3rd
By Magnus Ingelsten
Being at the Symbian show 2009 was a frustrating experience. How come? Well, being a believer in Symbian with its maturity, wealth of applications, great and proven business features, and, although Symbian having gone through a challenging time, (Not only adapted to a whole new business model, but also went through the mother of all business transformations with a new ownership and new organization) still retaining a large developer community and eco system.
We also continue to see the most advanced handsets being launched on the Symbian OS. But at the same time we have seen the show being slashed to less than half its size compared to its peak 2007, which has had an impact on the excitement level generated by the show and the overall impact it makes on someone attending.
While the number of licensees are now down to "a few", listening to one of the main stage discussions on the future of Symbian, much praise was given by SEMC, Fujitsu, Nokia and DoCoMo on the future potential for Symbian as the OSS of choice.
However, the spirit amongst the attendees was great at this years SEE, the hopes were high, and the determination was there. The right subjects were brought up, but was the main question really answered: How can Symbian attract more licensees and retain it´s leadership position for multimedia devices?
-The challenge is of course to convert the eco system. To make everybody partly changing their businessmodel and become comfortable with contributing assets to the foundation. And to be fair this is not just a question that Symbian needs to answer but many other OSS platforms as well.
Next year SEE moves to Berlin in the middle of November and being "replaced" by the OSIM that moves to London at the end of October.
So will OSIM be a replacement, and will the SEE be a developers event for the die hard fans only? Will OSIM cover all aspects of opens source objectively or will there be a need for the specialized platforms event on Symbian in this scale? We are many considering this thought right now. See you next year in London and/or Berlin…
Being at the Symbian show 2009 was a frustrating experience. How come? Well, being a believer in Symbian with its maturity, wealth of applications, great and proven business features, and, although Symbian having gone through a challenging time, (Not only adapted to a whole new business model, but also went through the mother of all business transformations with a new ownership and new organization) still retaining a large developer community and eco system.
We also continue to see the most advanced handsets being launched on the Symbian OS. But at the same time we have seen the show being slashed to less than half its size compared to its peak 2007, which has had an impact on the excitement level generated by the show and the overall impact it makes on someone attending.
While the number of licensees are now down to "a few", listening to one of the main stage discussions on the future of Symbian, much praise was given by SEMC, Fujitsu, Nokia and DoCoMo on the future potential for Symbian as the OSS of choice.
However, the spirit amongst the attendees was great at this years SEE, the hopes were high, and the determination was there. The right subjects were brought up, but was the main question really answered: How can Symbian attract more licensees and retain it´s leadership position for multimedia devices?
-The challenge is of course to convert the eco system. To make everybody partly changing their businessmodel and become comfortable with contributing assets to the foundation. And to be fair this is not just a question that Symbian needs to answer but many other OSS platforms as well.
Next year SEE moves to Berlin in the middle of November and being "replaced" by the OSIM that moves to London at the end of October.
So will OSIM be a replacement, and will the SEE be a developers event for the die hard fans only? Will OSIM cover all aspects of opens source objectively or will there be a need for the specialized platforms event on Symbian in this scale? We are many considering this thought right now. See you next year in London and/or Berlin…
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Techday- a really good idea. October 20th
By Magnus Ingelsten
We at Teleca have started a series of Technology Days. Just run a couple of them on two interesting subjects. LBS (Location Based Services) was the subject of a Techday in Bochum at our Teleca office, and another on Android at the Thistle, in central London. What is awesome is when you get a quality audience. Great level of people, high competence, dynamic characters and so interested they bother to come and visit us about it. Moreover, they (both peers, competitors as well as others in the value chain) engage in heated debates on whether positioning services are cloud service or clients, who is owning the media screen in the car or on a media device. Or if multi-media content and apps should be distributed OTA or via Wlan…. Next Teleca Techday is on Android and venue is at San Francisco November 3rd. Maybe we see you there?
We at Teleca have started a series of Technology Days. Just run a couple of them on two interesting subjects. LBS (Location Based Services) was the subject of a Techday in Bochum at our Teleca office, and another on Android at the Thistle, in central London. What is awesome is when you get a quality audience. Great level of people, high competence, dynamic characters and so interested they bother to come and visit us about it. Moreover, they (both peers, competitors as well as others in the value chain) engage in heated debates on whether positioning services are cloud service or clients, who is owning the media screen in the car or on a media device. Or if multi-media content and apps should be distributed OTA or via Wlan…. Next Teleca Techday is on Android and venue is at San Francisco November 3rd. Maybe we see you there?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Teleca and Dashwire partner to deliver best-in-class mobile-web services for operators and handset makers
By Anette Gregow
Yesterday Teleca annonced a marketing agreement with Dashwire (http://www.dashwire.com/) to deliver best-in-class mobile-web services for operators and handset makers. Dashwire is an industry leader in connected services that simplify backup and transfer of information, content and services between mobile devices and the cloud. Under the agreement, Teleca will team with Dashwire to help customize, integrate, test, and verify solutions that mobile operators and device makers create on top of the DASHWORKS platform from Dashwire, and integrate into their mobile devices. We are excited through the partnership with Dashwire leverage our expertise and off-shore sites to enable our customers to quickly roll-out customized E2E services!
Find out more here: http://www.teleca.com/Home/news_room.aspx
Yesterday Teleca annonced a marketing agreement with Dashwire (http://www.dashwire.com/) to deliver best-in-class mobile-web services for operators and handset makers. Dashwire is an industry leader in connected services that simplify backup and transfer of information, content and services between mobile devices and the cloud. Under the agreement, Teleca will team with Dashwire to help customize, integrate, test, and verify solutions that mobile operators and device makers create on top of the DASHWORKS platform from Dashwire, and integrate into their mobile devices. We are excited through the partnership with Dashwire leverage our expertise and off-shore sites to enable our customers to quickly roll-out customized E2E services!
Find out more here: http://www.teleca.com/Home/news_room.aspx
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Spend spend spend .. time and money -October 15th
By Magnus Ingelsten
Well, much is at stake these days. No need to remind about economic hardship in the global market. Although the west is week, China is relieving the pressure on the global economy by increased car sales in mid 2009, + 48% compared to last year! And the cell phone user base is growing with about 10 million users every month!! In spring China crossed the 50% cellular penetration mark. ..
So, belonging to the western economy, did you all have the relaxation that we needed during your summer holiday without having to worry? Did you do fun things! Bought the stuff you like such as a new cool phone or a nice new cabriolet. Yes, spend money and time on fun experiences, on happy moments with your friends and family, then we all will come back to a better, richer tomorrow and the rise of better global economy.
To relax at holidays you should leave your work PC behind, keep your phone off, get the voice messages only occasional-if at all... But what about the new phone you bought? Use it for writing your diary of fun experiences, getting the latest barbecue recipes, or checking the currency being down at the Croatian archipelago prior to using the phone to navigate there, and play a game of Sudoku now and then. Relax to recharge. Happy holidays! By the way, isn´t it time stop calling it “a phone” as telephony is probably the application least used these days! Why no call it Webby .. or Apply (oops too close to..) or just Player .. or …… eh?
Well, much is at stake these days. No need to remind about economic hardship in the global market. Although the west is week, China is relieving the pressure on the global economy by increased car sales in mid 2009, + 48% compared to last year! And the cell phone user base is growing with about 10 million users every month!! In spring China crossed the 50% cellular penetration mark. ..
So, belonging to the western economy, did you all have the relaxation that we needed during your summer holiday without having to worry? Did you do fun things! Bought the stuff you like such as a new cool phone or a nice new cabriolet. Yes, spend money and time on fun experiences, on happy moments with your friends and family, then we all will come back to a better, richer tomorrow and the rise of better global economy.
To relax at holidays you should leave your work PC behind, keep your phone off, get the voice messages only occasional-if at all... But what about the new phone you bought? Use it for writing your diary of fun experiences, getting the latest barbecue recipes, or checking the currency being down at the Croatian archipelago prior to using the phone to navigate there, and play a game of Sudoku now and then. Relax to recharge. Happy holidays! By the way, isn´t it time stop calling it “a phone” as telephony is probably the application least used these days! Why no call it Webby .. or Apply (oops too close to..) or just Player .. or …… eh?
Friday, October 9, 2009
Long live rich Games!
By Jari Saarhelo
Hey, following up last week blog, but to suggest a different point of view!
There probably wouldn`t be 3D HW accelerators on home PCs without games. The launch of a blockbuster game creates a peak in game console sales. New HW features are used in games as soon as the feature is available. Not so in games for mobile phones. A high volume seller can be 345th remake of a popular 70s/80s arcade game implemented with a “lowest common denominator” design.
The worst device supported dictates the game feature set and complexity. I bet it is not because the consumers insist on poor games, but because most of the systems on the market do not have the basic enablers needed for rich gaming to happen:
- Easy, fast and cost efficient game distribution to the device
- Large enough game asset size to accommodate the graphics & audio
- Gaming friendly device form factor (read: landscape display and gaming keys)
- Reasonable SW platform for creating and deploying the games (read: binary compatibility + fast access to HW)
- Enough firepower in device HW to make rich gaming happen
- Gaming ecosystem: publishers investing enough in game development, enough consumers buying games
Looking back, most of these things simply weren´t there. You can´t make a rich game on a platform that has fast HW, but very small media. You can´t publish a rich game for a device with only a small consumer base. However, most of the enablers are starting to be in place in the smart phone segment. Binary compatibility remains a challenge, but that is bound to improve – how can you otherwise compete with application business of Apple Store?
I bet that we will see a blockbuster rich mobile phone game within the next year. There will be a significant peak in the sales of the devices supporting the game … And the world of mobile gaming is changed for good … Goodbye Tetris!
Hey, following up last week blog, but to suggest a different point of view!
There probably wouldn`t be 3D HW accelerators on home PCs without games. The launch of a blockbuster game creates a peak in game console sales. New HW features are used in games as soon as the feature is available. Not so in games for mobile phones. A high volume seller can be 345th remake of a popular 70s/80s arcade game implemented with a “lowest common denominator” design.
The worst device supported dictates the game feature set and complexity. I bet it is not because the consumers insist on poor games, but because most of the systems on the market do not have the basic enablers needed for rich gaming to happen:
- Easy, fast and cost efficient game distribution to the device
- Large enough game asset size to accommodate the graphics & audio
- Gaming friendly device form factor (read: landscape display and gaming keys)
- Reasonable SW platform for creating and deploying the games (read: binary compatibility + fast access to HW)
- Enough firepower in device HW to make rich gaming happen
- Gaming ecosystem: publishers investing enough in game development, enough consumers buying games
Looking back, most of these things simply weren´t there. You can´t make a rich game on a platform that has fast HW, but very small media. You can´t publish a rich game for a device with only a small consumer base. However, most of the enablers are starting to be in place in the smart phone segment. Binary compatibility remains a challenge, but that is bound to improve – how can you otherwise compete with application business of Apple Store?
I bet that we will see a blockbuster rich mobile phone game within the next year. There will be a significant peak in the sales of the devices supporting the game … And the world of mobile gaming is changed for good … Goodbye Tetris!
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Future of Rich Games in Mobile -September 28th
By Craig Turner
Teleca often discusses and debates hot topics from various viewpoints. Today, we present one viewpoint on the future of mobile gaming. Next week, we’ll follow this up with a counterpoint!
Rich games will never grow beyond a niche market on mobile devices. In this space, casual games will continue to take the lion’s share of revenues. That is not to say that only games like the original Snakes will be successful or that there is no interest in good-looking, fun games on mobile devices. I think the interest in mobile games of the caliber of the Halo or Grand Theft Auto will remain the exception to the rule.
1. Mobile gamers are casual gamers. We want to play quick and be able to start and stop at any time. Not that a game may not last longer than 5 minutes, but it shouldn’t have to last an hour.
2. Mobile games are limited by the form factor and hardware of their target device. These are extremely fragmented. There is no single hardware like in the console world and no unifying DirectX software platform that makes games easy-to-build. And games need to be playable and fun on such a wide range of systems that economics alone will continue to boil them down to the lowest common denominator.
For my mobile games, I expect them to start quick, entertain and challenge me, and not punish me when I take a break to get off the train or (heaven forbid) answer a phone call – all this without instantly draining my battery, please. If I want to blast my way uninterrupted through mind-boggling 3D scenery, I can turn off my phone and sit down with my PS3.
And I’m still waiting for somebody to show me a truly casual multiplayer game. Maybe that will be the key to bigger and better things in mobile gaming…
Do you feel challenged? - Any comment on this is welcome. Next week we expect a counter point blog!
Teleca often discusses and debates hot topics from various viewpoints. Today, we present one viewpoint on the future of mobile gaming. Next week, we’ll follow this up with a counterpoint!
Rich games will never grow beyond a niche market on mobile devices. In this space, casual games will continue to take the lion’s share of revenues. That is not to say that only games like the original Snakes will be successful or that there is no interest in good-looking, fun games on mobile devices. I think the interest in mobile games of the caliber of the Halo or Grand Theft Auto will remain the exception to the rule.
1. Mobile gamers are casual gamers. We want to play quick and be able to start and stop at any time. Not that a game may not last longer than 5 minutes, but it shouldn’t have to last an hour.
2. Mobile games are limited by the form factor and hardware of their target device. These are extremely fragmented. There is no single hardware like in the console world and no unifying DirectX software platform that makes games easy-to-build. And games need to be playable and fun on such a wide range of systems that economics alone will continue to boil them down to the lowest common denominator.
For my mobile games, I expect them to start quick, entertain and challenge me, and not punish me when I take a break to get off the train or (heaven forbid) answer a phone call – all this without instantly draining my battery, please. If I want to blast my way uninterrupted through mind-boggling 3D scenery, I can turn off my phone and sit down with my PS3.
And I’m still waiting for somebody to show me a truly casual multiplayer game. Maybe that will be the key to bigger and better things in mobile gaming…
Do you feel challenged? - Any comment on this is welcome. Next week we expect a counter point blog!
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