:: Operators "become handheld OS companies" ::
How timely that I should read this article today. I was just writing (in my new book) about the nascent shift in mindset that the operators are going through, some would say from telecoms mentality to IT mentality. The investment mentioned below by Vodafone and Orange would seem like a bid to get directly involved in the IT action to claw back some of the revenues that they would say they bring to handset OS licensors. On the one hand I'm glad they have gone to SaveJE (pronounced "savij"). I was an early adopter of SavaJE on my iPAQ, wiping Pocket PC clean from its memory only to find that this particular version of the SavaJE OS wasn't to be supported any longer by SavaJE - very savage indeed!
I just hope that this is not a bid by these operators to control the end-point of the network and tie-down all the value added services
Vodafone, Orange Invest in Wireless Java OS. Wireless carriers are increasingly getting into the software business as they look for more ways to differentiate their offerings and gain some leverage over Nokia, Microsoft and Symbian. As the market moves toward smartphones software becomes more important to carriers and handset makers. One way or the other we'll end up with a dominant OS that is used across carriers and handset makers. The question remains which one and when. Vodafone and Orange are doing their part by investing is Java start up SaveJe that is working on a full Java OS for handsets. A Java OS would allow Vodafone and Orange to commission completely custom handsets with their own unique interfaces (not necessarily a good thing) while still allowing the devices to run common java apps.
Source: [Techdirt Corporate Intelligence: Techdirt Wireless]
12:12:37 AM 
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