TM Mobile: a ‘One Size Fits All’ Application for Smartphones
Written by Prana Computing
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Mobile Software Application Uses the WebApp Deployment Scheme to Overcome the Fragmented Mobile OS World
MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Aug 21, 2008 – Prana Computing, a leading developer of multiplatform hosted smartphone software applications, today announced the release of its Time Manager Mobile (TM Mobile) flagship product line. The TM Mobile product line appeals to a wide variety of customers ranging from those in need of a powerful mobile calendaring tool to enterprises that need to provide live mobile access to their back-end database information in the field.
How many major mobile development platforms can you count on one hand?
In today’s fractured smartphone operating system environment, software vendors are required to introduce multiple versions of the same product to satisfy a wide array of demand. Many vendors find this multi-OS development approach for smartphones cost-prohibitive and embark on the risky proposition of picking and choosing among the contending mobile operating system platforms to develop on.
With the advent of ever-popular Apple iPhone, the mobile platform field has indeed become a crowded field. Joining the venerable iPhone are: Symbian (popular on the Nokia brand), Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry and Mobile Linux. With all these development platforms vying for market share, the bewildered mobile software vendor is forced to make a vital business decision of where to direct its precious resources.
Web-hosted software to the rescue
Indeed this mobile platform fragmentation has given birth to a new trend in mobile software development: web-hosted software application designed specifically for the mobile platform that can run on any web-enabled smartphone regardless of the presiding operating system. Even though web-enabled smartphones have been popular for some time now, the introduction of iPhone in mid-2007 was a watershed event for this emerging smartphone development platform.
Simply put, iPhone declared itself as a web-centric smartphone and ushered a new era in networked mobile devices. This gave birth to wide array of mobile web-based applications (referred to as ‘WebApps’), such as TM Mobile, that use the smartphone’s browser as the deployment platform and perform the primary application processing on back-end servers.
Java, combined with the browser HTML, makes one size fit all
TM Mobile has taken this trend one step further by creating a multiplatform Java-based desktop application that serves as the companion application to the browser-based smartphone version. In doing so, TM Mobile has become a true ‘one size fits all’ software application by allowing users with virtually any computer or smartphone to take advantage of what it has to offer. This capability enables enterprises with a wide variety of desktop and handset hardware to be able to use only one software application to serve all their constituents.
PIM customizability: breaking new ground for smartphones
Mobile Personal Information Managers (PIM) generally fits into a preset mold provided by the framework of the software application. TM Mobile departs from this traditional approach by introducing PIM customizability to the mobile platform.
TM Mobile enables customers to attach Excel-formatted spreadsheets to their data file and have that information made available to them in the field. This adds an unlimited capability to create a customizable PIM interface for users who are familiar with spreadsheets. A near perfect compatibility with Excel provides customers the ability to maintain their formula and formatting throughout the customization process.
“I conceived Time Manager Mobile as a software product that can serve a customer with a simple calendaring application to the most sophisticated database-connected application that extends and customizes the application’s interface.” said Kam Rezvani, Chief Architect of TM Mobile and Founder of Prana Computing. He added: “That is why I chose the spreadsheet interface as the building platform for this application. It is customizable, easy to use and yet powerful enough to be extended as far as the user wants it to. We certainly intend to extend TM Mobile beyond its basic calendaring application in the future using its open-ended architecture.”
WebApps deliver enterprise data to the smartphone
Enterprise mobile computing has been experiencing a tremendous growth in recent years. Most of this growth has centered on email mobile applications and their ability to keep the field personnel in constant touch with the company affairs. Now, WebApps such as TM Mobile Enterprise make it possible for the enterprises to deliver data to the field in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
TM Mobile enables enterprise clients to connect to their back-end databases, write custom queries via the application’s query interface, and format the resulting downloaded data in a highly presentable spreadsheet format. The final product is then made available to the mobile device and utilized by authorized personnel in the field. The ability to perform live data updates from the user’s smartphone puts the customer in touch with the latest and greatest information available on the enterprise servers.
Today’s enterprises are in great need of creating mobile computing applications that fit their needs, are easily customizable, connect to their back-end databases and seamlessly operate across a wide variety of desktop and mobile hardware. TM Mobile, using the emerging mobile WebApp application deployment architecture is offering enterprises a cost-effective and efficient way of achieving this goal. For more information on Time Manager Mobile product line visit the web site at www.timemanagermobile.com.
About Prana Computing
Prana Computing is on the forefront of developing customizable and extensible multiplatform smartphone software applications that are readily interfaced to remote databases. Established in 1987, its software application development portfolio provides a rich base of experience to draw on.
Prana Computing’s latest product line, Time Manager Mobile (TM Mobile) lends itself to a high level of customization making it an ideal development platform for specialized enterprise and OEM needs. The company also provides a wide array of services that retrofit TM Mobile to specific industry requirements. For more information on Prana Computing, visit the company's web site at www.pranacomputing.com.
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
