The Mobile Perspective

Our latest Apps on Tap column is now available, and as we promised the last time around - when we took a look at a bunch of "girl-focused" apps – this time it’s the boys' turn, and we've certainly uncovered some very interesting ways for those of us who are indeed boys to put our mobile devices to use. Check it out!

Before we get to the meat of the week's happenings, let us take a moment of silence to honor WebOS - the last remnant of what was once Palm Computing, which has finally gone the way of the dinosaur. OK, that's a slight exaggeration - in reality Hewlett-Packard sold it off to LG Electronics for probably a song and a dance. LG will now look to use WebOS as the basis for its next generation smart TV offerings. RIP.

The week has finally closed on the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) that was held in Barcelona, Spain this week. The show brought with it some very interesting things, as it always does, and we have cobbled together some key highlights.

First, there have been a host of announcements coming out of MWC which naturally enough focus on the 4G LTE space.

Meanwhile, the new Mozilla Firefox mobile operating system - of which I’m admittedly not a fan - was all over MWC this week. It turns out that the new mobile OS will be getting a 17-carrier launch soon, though we still believe it’ll not amount to much ultimately. There is certainly room for a niche alternative OS, but not much more than that.

“Why bother” is our perspective on it. Sony apparently disagrees with our perspective as it is going to launch at least one new device in Europe based on the Firefox OS some time in 2014. Of course Sony isn't exactly a mover and shaker in mobility these days, so in a sense we "rest our case!"

Samsung, meanwhile, has taken a further step on SAFE - Samsung for Enterprise - and has now announced KNOX, a new security platform component that will specifically deliver the ability to separate personal and corporate data on any KNOX-supported Samsung Android device.

It sounds a lot like BlackBerry Balance and in fact is meant to directly compete with it in the enterprise.

The mobile world continues to expand with never-ending innovation and new applications of connected technology, and of course MWC delivered here. There have been a ton of new gadget developments to focus on. Intel also delivered at MWC, with a range of new products, and ecosystem and enabling efforts that are designed to further accelerate the company’s presence in mobile technology.

Intel will also help to usher in new devices and a richer experience with Intel Inside.

Before we leave MWC, we'll also note that SAP has delivered a new version of what was once Sybase 365 - a subsidiary of Sybase and subsequently SAP (when it acquired Sybase) focused primarily on SMS and MMS delivery capabilities across the world's collection of wireless carriers. SAP rechristened it SAP Mobile Services, and at MWC the subsidiary launched what it now calls SAP Rich Communications Services 365 (SAP RCS 365).

The new set of services, based on partner Mavenir Systems' RCS 5.0 platform, makes such services as instant messaging, video and file sharing as simple and intuitive as sending an SMS message.

Motorola Solutions and Johnson Controls - a global provider of solutions that increase efficiency in buildings - have engaged in a new partnership to create a flexible mobile work environment, while making cross-platform application development easier with Motorola's RhoMobile suite.

The RhoMobile Suite is an HTML5 cross-platform development framework that offers enterprise-class features with a consumer-style user experience.

If you asked a chief information officer (CIO) today what his or her biggest challenge is for the near future, what would that be? Social media? The cloud? Good guesses, but the right answer would probably be mobility, at least according to a new Accenture survey, “The Accenture 2013 CIO Mobility Survey.”

In the study, 79 percent of global respondents cited mobility as a revenue generator. A huge 84 percent said it would significantly improve customer interactions, and 83 percent said it would significantly affect their businesses. As a result, mobility will be a top priority in the coming year for more than 34 percent of CIOs; and 42 percent of CIOs ranked mobility as one of their top five priorities.

These figures are considerably higher than in last year’s survey, according to Accenture.

It's time for these CIOs to join the mobility choir!