Connecting People, Redefining Mobility

Forum Nokia Mobile Application Summit held recently in Taipei

drove home one point-that interactive content is the King. Over two days,

developers of mobile applications from across the Asia Pacific region showcased

a slew of applications that would take the use of mobile phones much beyond

voice and Internet. Take, for instance, Mumbai-based Hungama Mobile, which has

come out with the world's first Air Pacific Flight Planner that makes for

management of flight schedules through mobile phones. Targeted at globetrotters,

the flight planner does a range of jobs. One can check whether one's flights

are delayed, or seats available, etc. By using the flight planner one can plan

the entire flight itinerary. The hallmark of the solution is that it was

developed using the Flash Lite technology and information is given to the user

either through 3G or GPRS. The flight planner is one among the many applications

that were showcased in the Nokia Forum. According to Brad Brockhaug, senior

director, business development, and channels, Nokia said, "We support

developers through all stages of application life cycle and provide development

tools for Symbian OS like Carbide C++ Express, Developer and Professional

editions."

The Emerging Scenario



Through Forum Nokia, the company is trying to evolve new benchmarks in

multimedia, gaming, and tracking applications. Three key themes for sessions

were location based services (LBS), session initiation protocol (SIP) and Flash

Applications. If we take a closer look at the emerging mobile application

categories, for instance, by using SIP, it is now possible to create new service

possibilities and the benefits the operators can accrue. One can bring out rich

multimedia services with video sharing and VoIP. Take the case of the Sydney

based company MobiData, which has used SIP and developed various applications

such as-MobiPod-which enables the mobile user to back up the entire mobile

phone contacts to a secured website, where it can be managed. Meanwhile, another

application called MobiGuard is mobile protection software that locks the mobile

in case the phone is stolen or lost. The users just need to alert the MobiGuard

security center. The MobiGuard security center in turn sends an SMS to the

customer's mobile and locks the phone, and only Nokia in factory conditions

can unlock the code.

On the LBS space the focus areas are search and tracking

applications. A German company by the name of ADnota, showcased their solution-ADnota

Album, which searches photographs stored in the mobile. Another classic example

of LBS comes from a company called Route 66, which has presence in Amsterdam,

and China and specializes in geographic software and hardware products. In 2004,

Route 66 launched the first personal navigation solution based on the Symbian

Series 60 mobile devices. Route 66 in China has launched the first ever-Chinese

personal navigation solution.

What emerged at the end of the Nokia Forum was that convergence

as we know of now is just the beginning and there is going to be a whole lot of

stuff that's about to unfold in the ensuing days. Mobile would no longer be

just a communication gadget, it would double up as a word processor, a financial

and stock market analyst, a music jukebox, flash games, a GPS tool. The

possibilities go on endlessly as the mobile application developer community

grows by the day, and the Forum Nokia is a testimony to this burgeoning creed of

geeks, who are redefining mobility.

Shrikanth G in

Taipei