Software Everywhere — David Beers on Mobile Computing

Just a quickie in between sessions at JavaOne.

I sat in on a very interesting session about OSGi (JSR 232) on mobile devices this morning and heard a lot of enthusiasm for this technology being expressed by Sprint. That's good news to me and you can read this to understand why I think it heralds a better day for mobile developers (if it actually gets good adoption). But what I found even more encouraging is the news that Sprint plans to release three to four new wireless "PDAs" during Q4 2007. It's not clear what that means (in some circles a BlackBerry is considered a "PDA") but since these were distinguished from "handsets" I think it's safe to say we're talking about devices that are focused on wireless data, not making voice calls.

This is such a good sign: good for developers and good for users. You see, part of the problem with the slow adoption of mobile data is that we're trying to get people to use it on mobile phones. The carriers have such a hard time opening up their handsets to applications because the expectation among users is that a phone has 99.999% uptime. Think about it: if you demanded that your desktop PC work as well as your landline telephone, you would have ditched the thing years ago and would probably still be buying postage stamps and reading newspapers. Consequently, the carriers are mortified that even one poorly written or malicious application could cost them customers for whom they have made considerable up-front investments with device subsidies. The result is that they often close developers off from doing anything interesting with the handset, or at least erect costly, time-consuming hurdles that few developers can afford to leap. The frustration level among the Java ME developers at JavaOne is approaching fury when they talk with the carrier reps in the sessions here because of the perceived hypocricy of these companies who say that applications constitute the value-add that keeps them from becoming "dumb pipes" yet seemingly block developers from getting apps to market at every opportunity. And the mood among those carrier reps is not any better, let me tell you. Being assigned to go to the world's largest developer conference probably feels like being fed to the lions for them.

So where am I going with this? Well, what makes data-centric devices so helpful is that they are not phones, so the huge user expectation that they will work like a public utility is off the table. This allows the carriers to (hopefully) losen their grip a bit and let the developer community innovate. Sprint is making a big gamble on this with a new, very open approach to devices and software that can run on their WiMax network. You'll be able to go buy a device from Best Buy and use it on Sprint's network before you even leave the building. These devices will not be subsidized, but you won't have to have a contract with Sprint to use them either. That gives Sprint the opportunity to think of other ways to keep people on the network, like encouraging a software ecosystem to flourish. If they deliver on this as they are talking about doing, I think the mood among mobile developers at next year's JavaOne could be a lot more positive. And as a user I'm really looking forward to seeing those WiMax-enabled Internet tablets!