Nokia Joins Open-Source Trend for Mobile Platforms
Google’s recent decision to open its Android mobile-device platform is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to open-source plans for revolutionizing wireless environments worldwide.
Nokia’s transition of Symbian to a new, free licensing model is also well under way, according to executives attending this week’s Symbian Smartphone Show in London. Plans to establish a new Symbian Foundation with strong open-source underpinnings are expected to reach fruition during the first half of 2009, said AT&T Vice President Kris Rinne.
“Making the platform available in open source by June 2010 will only enhance its appeal to developers, solutions providers, and network operators around the world,” Rinne said.
Challenging Microsoft
Despite Nokia’s embrace of a free licensing model for Symbian and the opening of Android, Microsoft executives recently indicated that the software giant has no plans to abandon the proprietary nature of its Windows Mobile platform model or switch to a free licensing model. Rivals see Microsoft’s decision to stay the course as an opening for the introduction of new products that will go head-to-head with some of the more visible components of Microsoft’s proprietary mobile environment.
Code-named Fennec, Mozilla’s mobile iteration of Firefox has already arrived via an initial alpha release for the Nokia N800 and N810 Internet tablets. Though the Fennec development team says it is making great progress on a Windows Mobile version, it is not ready for general use. However, the group released new versions of Fennec for use on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux desktops.
The development of a mobile OpenOffice platform for wireless devices is also in the works. Earlier this year, java.net opened a new project that aims to build a new set of tools for creating and updating OpenDocument format (ODF) documents in mobile devices. Though still in the early development stage, the new Java SE and Java ME platform tools eventually should enable mobile devices to interact with the ODF-compatible OpenOffice.org productivity suite.
Open MobileWe
Other industry observers see the current economic downturn as reason enough for many consumers to abandon proprietary mobile models for open-source alternatives. For example, push e-mail provider Funambol thinks RIM’s proprietary BlackBerry e-mail platform is vulnerable to cheaper open-source alternatives.
“A trend is that when people can get a mobile service for less, they will switch, when they can,” Funambol said. “For many people, this means no longer paying $30+ a month for BlackBerry service when they can get push e-mail and mobile sync for $5 or $10.”
Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco notes that the mobile industry currently faces a new imperative to differentiate its offerings by enabling users to sync a wide range of mobile content — including push e-mail, photos, personal-information management data and document files. Capobianco thinks the answer is an open-source flavor of mobile e-mail he calls Open MobileWe, which in some respects follows Apple’s MobileMe platform for the iPhone, but adds a push capability to the mix.
“MobileMe has shone a bright spotlight on the large pent-up demand for the ability to easily sync and share mobile content,” Capobianco said. “Since MobileMe’s debut, we have had many inquiries from mobile operators, service providers, portals and device manufacturers who are sensing the urgency to provide a comparable service to MobileMe.”