Monthly Archives: December 2009

When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that TCP/IP really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site [...]

1 You can create the Project IMG by selecting …A. Countries and Application components based on Ref. IMG B. Currencies and Reference activities. C. By Customizing of IMG. D. Project Documentation and Project Information2 In IMG, Activities for which …

Looking back at 2009, the biggest story shaping the mobile development landscape was the emergence of Google’s Android open-source operating system as a truly viable rival to Apple’s iPhone. Android seemed to gain momentum with each passing month this year–during the company’s third quarter earnings call in mid-October, Google CEO Eric Schmidt contended all the “necessary conditions” are now in place to galvanize the platform’s global growth, with close to 20 smartphones now available worldwide and many more in the pipeline. Looking ahead at 2010, it appears Android will continue to dominate discussion, but not all of it positive: Fragmentation fears continue to escalate, and Google itself is behind the latest wave of concern, albeit indirectly. A recent post on the Android Developers Blog underscores the complexities to come: According to the Device Dashboard, a new online tool providing data about the relative number of active devices running a given version of Android, 54.2 percent of smartphones currently run Android 1.6, 27.7 percent run Android 1.5 and 14.8 percent run 2.0.1. (Android 2.0 runs on 2.9 percent of devices, and 1.1 runs on just 0.3 percent.)

That’s not all. “Starting with Android 1.6, devices can have different screen densities and sizes,” writes Google software engineer Raphaël Moll. “There are several devices out there that fall in this category, so make sure to adapt your application to support different screen sizes and take advantage of devices with small, low density (e.g QVGA) and normal, high density (e.g. WVGA) screens. Note that Android Market will not list your application on small screen devices unless its manifest explicitly indicates support for ‘small’ screen sizes. Make sure you properly configure the emulator and test your application on different screen sizes before uploading to Market.” Moll also reminds developers that all Android 2.0 devices will upgrade to 2.0.1 before the end of the year, recommending updates for applications using features specific to 2.0.

While the stated objective of Moll’s post is “to provide [developers] with the tools and information to make it easy for you to target specific versions of the platform or all the versions that are deployed in volume,” the Device Dashboard nevertheless paints a sobering portrait of an Android ecosystem that’s splintering off in an increasing number of directions. Insiders even suggest that one of the motivating factors behind Google’s rumored development of its own branded Android smartphone is to guarantee a consistent user experience across its applications. For now, developer interest in Android remains strong: According to data released by applications tracker AndroLib, Android Market added 3107 new applications in November, and 2732 new apps so far this month. But with so many new Android devices in all shapes and sizes expected in 2010, the question isn’t whether the platform will grow too big for developers to ignore–it’s whether it will grow too big for them to manage. -Jason

P.S. Please note FierceDeveloper will be on publishing hiatus until Tuesday, Jan. 5. Have a memorable and safe holiday season, and see you back here in 2010.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein confirmed the device maker is poised to release version 1.3.5 of its webOS mobile operating system during the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2010, which starts Jan. 7 in Las Vegas. Speaking during Palm’s investor conference call last week, Rubinstein said webOS 1.3.5 will enable users to download and store more applications, enhance app and WiFi performance, and improve battery life as well as device speed and responsiveness.

“We have an aggressive webOS software roadmap in place and we’ll continue to deliver enhancements to our user experience on a regular basis. This includes investing heavily to make webOS a preeminent development platform,” Rubenstein said, according to PreCentral.Net. “At CES in January, we’ll be celebrating Palm’s move out of its early access program and showcasing our full production developer program and the many ways Palm in innovating in this area. We clearly recognize that having a critical mass of apps is important. Today, the Palm App Catalog has over 800 apps from our early access partners. Almost 10 times the number of apps we had in our last earnings call. After we open the door to all interested developers, we expect to have thousands in very short order.”

Rubinstein also touted webOS as a platform uniquely positioned to leverage the migration of content and communications to the cloud. “In particular, our over-the-air software update capability is a powerful way to continue to evolve and improve our products even after they’re in customers’ hands. Since the launch of the Pre, we’ve provided eight over-the-air webOS updates and each has included a wide variety of new functions, improvements, and fixes–ranging from things like support for new Synergy partners such as LinkedIn and Yahoo to improvements in email and messaging to enhanced security measures for the enterprise. Our 1.3.1 update was made available to webOS users in mid-November and within just one week it was installed by 70 percent of our userbase. This tells us that consumers are quickly learning to appreciate and look forward to this Palm capability.”

In related Palm news, the company said its Ares mobile application development platform is now in open beta, promising a complete set of integrated software creation tools hosted entirely within the browser in an effort to reduce the barriers restricting web programmers from shifting their attention to the mobile segment. Writing on the Palm Developer Network Blog, Palm Developer Community manager Chuq Von Rospach notes that Ares features a drag-and-drop interface builder, a robust code editor, a visual debugger and built-in source control integration. Ares is optimized for Safari version 4 and higher, Chrome version 3 and higher and Firefox version 3.5 and higher.

For more on webOS 1.3.5:
- read this PreCentral.Net article

Related articles:
Palm dumps Windows Mobile in favor of webOS
Palm to release webOS SDK, allow legacy apps

While 94.4 percent of iPhone users have upgraded their smartphones to run on iPhone OS 3.0, only 52.24 percent of iPod touch users have made the switch according to a new study released by online advertising network Chitika. The iPhone OS 3.0 software update, issued in mid-June, is free to iPhone owners, but iPod touch users must pay between $5 and $10, depending on when they purchased their device–iPod touch units shipped within the last six months arrive with iPhone OS 3.0 preinstalled.

“What’s it all mean?” Chitika asks. “Well, despite its hype, iPhone OS 3.0 had very little to offer iPod Touch users. Push notifications? MMS? Tethering? Essentially useless on a device that relies on WiFi for a connection. iPod Touch users are essentially asked to pay for copy/paste, in-app purchases, and the ability to buy a segment of the latest apps from the app store.”

For more on Apple mobile OS usage:
- check out the Chitika website

Related articles:
Youth movement driving iPod touch app usage
AdMob: iPod touch ad requests triple

Mobile application downloads are expected to reach 5 billion in 2014, more than double 2009′s estimated 2.3 billion downloads, according to a new forecast issued by ABI Research. Citing growing smartphone adoption–sales grew 20 percent this year–as well as the proliferation of app stores behind the surge, ABI anticipates the iPhone will remain the leading platform for mobile software, although its share of the overall application market will contract during the latter stages of the forecast period–the forecast declares Android will benefit most from the upcoming boom, increasing from 11 percent of total application downloads this year to 23 percent five years from now. “This rapid growth is driven by the mass adoption of the Android OS by both vendors and consumers from 2009 onwards,” says ABI wireless research associate Bhavya Khanna in a prepared statement. “There are now more than 14 phones that run the Android OS, and many more will launch in 2010. This, coupled with the rollout of application stores from both smartphone vendors and network operators, will see the iPhone’s share of the total market shrink between 2010 and 2014.”

Despite growing consumer interest in mobile applications, ABI expects revenues from app sales will decline by 2013 as competition forces downward pressure on prices. Another trend to watch: An increase of free and advertiser-supported applications rivaling premium apps, typified by the launch of the free Google Maps Navigation turn-by-turn service.

For more on the ABI Research forecast:
- read this release

Related articles:
The App Store hits 2 billion downloads
Droid’s debut galvanizes Android app development

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So I’m doing some prototyping at the moment and one of the most frustrating aspects of getting started with any prototype is capturing the: Flow Main Screens Specification I think in mind maps, so one of my biggest problems when starting …

While most of the analysis on Google’s forthcoming Nexus One branded Android smartphone emphasizes the company’s escalating rivalry with Apple, it’s also worth considering how far the gap between Google and Microsoft has widened in recent months. With a growing number of handset manufacturers pinning their hopes on the Android OS and software developers shifting their creative efforts to writing Android applications, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform seems increasingly irrelevant with each passing week. After Windows Mobile lost 28 percent marketshare between the third quarter of 2008 and Q3 2009, according to market research firm Gartner, concern over Microsoft’s mobile viability is at a fever pitch–last week, analyst Mark Anderson told the New York Times “It’s time to declare Microsoft a loser in phones. Just get out of Dodge.” According to Anderson, Microsoft’s enterprise-centric culture is the problem: “Phones are consumer items, and Microsoft doesn’t have consumer DNA,” he said.

To its credit, Microsoft has admitted its mobile missteps. Speaking in October at a private breakfast in Boston, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company understands it must make significant strides with the long-in-gestation Windows Mobile 7 operating system, adding “We know we have to kill on that one.” At the recent Connect! technology summit in London, Microsoft UK head of mobility Phil Moore was also candid in assessing the firm’s struggles: “We’re still playing catch-up,” he admitted. “When Apple came on to the scene a couple of years ago, it threw away the rulebook and reinvented it. We unfortunately don’t have that luxury. It’s true–Apple caught us all napping. It launched something that was very iconic, new and unseen with a very good user interface.” Moore then dropped a bombshell, admitting Windows Mobile 7 has been pushed back to late 2010. “It is definitely coming,” Moore added. “You’re going to see a lot more on Windows Mobile 7. Giving the enterprise users and consumers what they want will be part of Windows Mobile 7. You’ll get flexibility on a much easier touch UI.”

Given how much the mobile landscape has changed in the last 12 months, it’s impossible to imagine how much further the industry will evolve in the year ahead, and even tougher to imagine where Windows Mobile 7 will fit into the equation when it finally does arrive. Microsoft has already said WinMo 7 is its last shot at a comeback–how could the project veer so far off schedule? Because no matter how innovative or user-friendly the OS turns out to be, a Q4 2010 release seems like too little, too late. Asked in a recent interview with The Washington Times what keeps him up at night, Google CEO Eric Schmidt responded “I’m always worried about Microsoft. The position they have with Windows and Office is so profoundly powerful.” With Windows Mobile 7 out of the picture, something tells me Schmidt’s resting a lot easier right now. -Jason