Interactive content is the King

Forum Nokia Mobile Application Summit held recently in Taipei drove home one
point - 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 the
Internet.

Take for instance Mumbai-based Hungama Mobile, which has come out with world's
first Air Pacific Flight Planner that makes for management of flight schedules
through the mobile phones. Targeted at globetrotters, the flight planner does a
range of jobs. One can check whether their 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 through the user either through 3G or GPRS.
The flight tracker 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."

BRAD BROCKHAUG Showcasing mobile phone applications much beyond voice and Internet

Through Forum Nokia, the company is trying to evolve new benchmarks in
multimedia, gaming and tracking applications. Three key themes that did the
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 the case of 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 customers 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 name 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,
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 also launched the first ever-Chinese
personal navigation solution.

What emerged at the end of Nokia's application summit is 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 as word processor, a financial and
stock market analyst, a music jukebox, flash games, GPS tool and the
possibilities go on endlessly as mobile application developer community grows by
the day, and the Nokia Forum is a testimony to this burgeoning creed of geeks,
who are redefining mobility.

SHRIKANTH G