OMTP Consensu Ensures Smooth Mobile Application Future
Written by OMTP
Monday, 15 October 2007
Benefits include: Longer Battery Life, Easy application set up &
configuration; wider adoption of revenue generating services
London, UK, 15th October 2007 – The OMTP today announced that, following wide industry consultation and agreement, a recommendation framework has been put in place that will see the mobile consumer user experience dramatically improved and could possibly be the tipping point towards greater adoption of ‘connected’ application services.
To date, whenever an end user downloads a connected* application to their mobile (from a game to an email application), the way in which that application is set up and configured is at the very best inconsistent. Sometimes the application fails to materialise at all, sometimes it needs to be re-configured to work and sometimes it never actually works. The application can also ‘fight’ with other applications for control of the mobile operating system, often resulting in reduced battery performance. In extreme cases, where an email application has been installed, this application ‘anarchy’ can result in sizeable bills if the user is roaming and the application decides that regular connection is required.
The problem arises because, until now, the way in which developers design their applications varies considerably. There have been no generic written guidelines to define common practices, and therefore applications have been released with no reference to hierarchy or best practice. In a sense, each developer only considers their own application and not the bigger picture.
Ratified and promoted by OMTP members the paper, available at www.omtp.org, tackles numerous scenarios and provides detailed recommendations as to how connected applications should be developed to maximise their efficiency and interaction with the mobile device, ultimately giving the user an improved experience.
Benefits of this latest recommendation, include:
> extended battery life
> connection management which will help manage bills
> the usage of connected applications will be driven up
Nick Allott, CTO of OMTP commented, “This latest recommendation is yet another example of the practical and wide reaching benefit to come out of the OMTP’s work. The use of best practice techniques for connected applications will greatly improve the customer experience and drive the take up and usage of such applications”
A ‘connected’ application is one, which needs to be in contact with another device through local connectivity such as Bluetooth or remotely with a server using GPRS or 3G connections in order to retrieve data/information.
About OMTP
OMTP is focussed on improving the mobile customer experience. It works with key mobile operators and vendors to gather, unify and recommend mobile terminal requirements. It is technology-neutral, with its recommendations intended for deployment across the range of technology platforms, operating systems (OS) and middleware layers. Operators, content providers, middleware vendors, handset manufacturers and users all stand to gain from the forum’s recommendations.
More information regarding the OMTP visit www.omtp.org
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
