SevenClick! Mobile Technology Evangelists

LiMo, the Linux Mobile Platform founded by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone has just released seven new phones. This increases the number of available phones running LiMo to 21.

Over the new phones, the Motorola Motozine ZN5 stands out thanks to his 5MP camera with Xenon Focus and KODAK Imaging Technology, achieving shots with an unusual level of quality which you can share through WiFi.

These phones demostrate that LiMo has a promising future. Another important move that point this out is that Texas Instruments, member of the Open Handset Alliance (Android), joined the LiMo Foundation as a board member on April. So a war has begun and LiMo is out and armed, precisely on a fragile moment for the Android platform, as its development seems a bit stuck.

Via The Register
Links LiMo Foundation, Open Handset Alliance, Motozine ZN5, Kodak Imaging Technology

OpenMoko Freerunner came out past July 4th, after some months waiting for this new release of the most open cellphone in the market. We have talked about it a couple of times.

As Neo 1973, the target of Neo Freerunner is mainly developers and hackers more than mainstream users.

It includes some very interesting features:

• AGPS
• WIFI
• 3axis Motion Sensors
• 2,8” touch screen VGA (640×480)

… but lacks some others like 3G and camera.

Anyway, the release seems to have been succesful since OpenMoko’s web store has sold out the GSM 900 model. OpenMoko also has a handful of distributors, but no data about availability is provided.

Link OpenMoko

This news has gone unnoticed but in really specialized blogs. Openwave’s mobile clients business has been acquired by Purple Labs. This includes Openwave’s browser and client messaging products including all code, patents, customer contracts and the engineering team.

Openwave was the leading mobile browser vendor few years ago. But his business has vanished as WAP has been fading away and mobile versions of desktop browsers (Webkit, Opera) has appeared on the scene. This explains the low price of the acquisition: just $30 million.

Purple Labs is a French company backed by European venture capital firms and is the only independent software vendor with a complete Linux solution for mass-market 3G phones. The deal will provide them not only the technical assets but an entry point to very important customers.

A very insightful analysis on this topic, as usual, on VisionMobile.

Via Moconews
Link VisionMobile

Next 6th of May, HTC is going to present his new phones.

Among them we can probably see a mobile booted Android and the other ones booted Windows Mobile interface Manila (new version of TouchFLO).

Moreover, they could surprise us with a new model with two different version (with and without sliding QWERTY board, the far left model and the far right of the second row in the picture).

Via: Xataka

OpenMoko FreeRunner was annonunced by the begining of this year. Now we have the first images coming from the Bossa Conference in Brazil, where OpenMoko’s Mickey Lauer talked up the Neo1973 successor.

Some of the new features of FreeRunner are three-axis motion detection, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi 802.11n and a better Samsung processor.

Surely, developers will enjoy this stuff, though … we hardly see OpenMoko targetting the general public.

Anyway, I hope the project won’t fade away despite the Android effect. At least as an educational project.

Via XatakaMovil

Last Monday, during MWC, LiMo Foundation published a number of press notes announcing new members, new devices and reference models and what’s more interesting for us, a SDK strategy!! Don’t forget SevenClick is a company specialized in Mobile Software Development.

The only information I’ve been able to obtain from the long press note is this:

• Native, Java and WebKit SDKs.
• Eclipse based
• Available in H2 2008

By the way, native means Linux. The specifications and APIs have already been disclosed, so we already figure out how the applications will look like. I specially like the Eclipse approach, since this free IDE is available in different Operating Systems, so you can choose your preferred environment to develop.  The Java and WedKit approaches are still a mistery. We don’t know it the Java flavor will be based on JME, but I don’t expect an Android-like approach. It’s just an opinion. Regarding WebKit, we expect a JavaScript engine with an extended DOM containing telephony functionalities. Maybe we are asking too much, but we are only guessing.

Link LiMo Press Note

As we announced last Monday, we have visited Mobile World Congress 2008, and the feelings have been very satisfactory!!! Our expectations for the event have been completely fulfilled.

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LiMo Foundation, a global consortium of mobile leaders delivering an open handset platform for the whole industry, has announced the availability in March 2008 of the first release of the LiMo Platform along with the application programming interface (API) specifications.

 As we announced, LiMo Foundation member Azingo, plans to launch the first LiMo complaint product, Azingo Mobile.  The same day this information was published, LiMo Foundation surprisingly published the beta version of the platform APIs. This specs can be found here (deep programming knowledge needed!!!).

It looks like 2008 is going to see the beginning of what we want to call “Mobile Linux War” between LiMo Foundation and Google’s Open Handset Alliance. Things are getting funny. Have you noticed that certain companies are involved in both initiatives? Maybe these are the most clever ones. Maybe.

Link LiMo Foundation Press Note

Mobile Linux company, Azingo, formerly Celunite, have announced Azingo Mobile. This suite of open mobile software and services claims to be the first LiMo compliant product. The platform will be demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Azingo says that the platform is available to be licensed immediately. The platform is supported by an SDK and development tools.

As long as we know, LiMo foundation haven’t published definite versions of their specifications. Azingo is currently part of LiMo foundation, but I’m sure that the specs are currently far from being finished. We’ll have to wait until a commercial product is launched to evaluate it.

Via Engadget Mobile

Nokia and Trolltech ASA announced on Monday that they have entered into an agreement that Nokia will acquire Trolltech, a recognized software provider with world-class software development platforms and frameworks. Nokia will offer NOK 16 per share in cash.

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