THE MOBILE HORNET … for those who get turned on by mobile devices

Over 100+ millions smartphones are sold every year and according to UMPCPortal, 95% of the market share goes to Nokia Symbian (65%), Windows Mobile (13%), Blackberry (10%), and Apple (7%).  LiMo, Android and others (mostly Linux offsprings) formed the balance 5%.

If you look at the above statistics, and if you are a developer (hardware or software), it will be wise for you to focus on the top 4.   You cannot be wrong there.  Open source OSs like Linux and Android will take sometime to create any impact. 

Linux is making a mistake by creating so many versions (LiMo, Moblin, Meamo, Mobilinux, OpenMoko etc) of their mobile OS.  Now that Nokia has taken over 100% control of Symbian, you can expect to see further increase from their present 65% share. And if Nokia Symbian become an Open Source OS, the rest can kiss goodbye.  Microsoft cannot sit down and watch.  Their focus on their Windows Enterprise OS will definitely slow down their Windows Mobile growth further.

Nokia now owns 100% of Symbian. And what this means is that Nokia has total control of Symbian to allow them to offer Symbian for free to hardware manufacturers. On top of that Nokia has promised to release the Symbian source code too.

Microsoft has not been fair to Windows Mobile by treating it like a “mistress” and Windows PC being the “wife” was the one that get the true love and attention.  Windows needs some tender loving care from Microsoft so that it can be the defacto OS for smartphones.

The free offer by Nokia coupled with the free Google Android will one day force Windows Mobile out of the smartphone market unless Microsoft wakes up and give it some well-deserved attention.  Who will want to pay for something (the OS) when you can get it for free. Until today Nokia still holds over 70% of the smartphone market.  So it is not so difficult to wallop the balance 30% market. 

THE TIME HAS COME TO UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR WINDOWS MOBILE OR UIQ SMARTPHONES.  IF YOUR PHONE HAS 3G AND WIFI THEN YOU MIGHT SOON BE ABLE TO USE IT AS A WI-FI HOTSPOT FOR CONNECTING YOUR NOTEBOOK OR ANY OTHER WI-FI ENABLED DEVICE TO THE INTERNET.

THIS IS AWESOME!

North Carolina-based TapRoot Systems Inc today announced its WalkingHotSpot software, designed to effectively turn a Wi-Fi- and mobile broadband-enabled handset into a Wi-Fi router. Initially, it will be available only for Windows Mobile or Symbian series.

No additional client software required to connect with a wide variety of WiFi devices:

• Laptops
• Smartphones
• PDA’s
• MP3 players
• or other WiFi enabled devices
• Easy to install, simple to run

While waiting for the commercial release of the WalkingHotSpot you should check out WMWIFIROUTER for a FREE trial version which is supposed to do the same thing.

The Nokia N96 is similar to the Symbian 60-powered N95, and is Nokia’s 5MP GPS finest, but with 16GB of internal memory and a 2.8-inch screen. This model also has a built-in DVB-H receiver for digital TV signals in Europe and Asia, and a kickstand for desktop viewing. You also get to have the backlit touchbuttons on the face, dialpad and top slider section of the phone. Approx $800 (RM2,560) but will not be available until the third quarter 2008.

Jonas Geust of Nokia: “In 2007, the Nokia N95 became an icon of convergence of Internet and mobility. With over 7 million units sold to date, the N95 has changed the way people use their mobile device. The Nokia N96 we introduced today builds on the success of N95, further enhancing the experience. Through the power of the Internet, video and TV are becoming even more prevalent in people’s lives. With its large, bright screen, and a range of high-speed connectivity options and the enhanced Nokia Video Center, the new Nokia N96 is a personal window to entertainment.”

The specs in brief:

HANBASE…THE DATABASE PROGRAM THAT DOES ITS JOB WELL.

HanDBase is a light and fast relational database manager for desktops, PDAs, and smartphones which offers data entry, searching, sorting, filtering, printing and synchronization across a wide variety of desktop computers, handheld computing devices and smartphones.

• Forms Designer lets you create your own custom interfaces for your Palm OS, Windows Desktop, Windows Mobile Classic/Professional (Pocket PC) and now Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) records.
• High Resolution, Landscape & Portrait support on compatible Palm OS and Pocket PC/Windows Mobile handhelds
• Multi-user Syncing technology merges two or more users data into a single database / table
• Conduit tools to automate data integration with Microsoft Access, FilemakerPro and ODBC databases
• Build and print custom handheld reports, view image files and more using HanDBase Addon’s
• HanDBase Exclusive! Learn how use HanDBase, Forms Designer and Conduits from Training Videos or Tutorials
• Only HanDBase has a Runtime tool for transforming databases into free standing PalmOS & Pocket PC/Windows Mobile applications
• Desktop companion software offers development, data entry, printing, exporting, importing and more
• Free-databases– Over 2,000 tiles to chose from in our gallery!

Just see what you can do….

PERSONAL
Shopping Lists
Music/DVD Collections
Project organizers
Packing Lists
Password Manager
Prayer Lists/Religious Study Notes
Home To Do Lists
Christmas/Holiday Card and Gift Lists
Workout Tracker
Recipes
Checkbook Register
Weight Loss/Nutrition and Point Counts
Sports Schedules and Statistics
Mileage and Auto Maintenance

BUSINESS
Inventory
Packing Lists
Field Surveys
Company Directory
Custom Forms
Time and Billing
Project Tracking
Customer Management (CRM) 
Delivery tracking
Estimates
Attendance and Grades

MEDICAL 
Patient Lists
Billing Codes
Charge Capture
ICD-9 and CPT Codes
Antibiotic Efficacy
Drug Formularies
Lab Values
Medical Reference

Hanbase is available for various mobile OS: