Funambol Announces Availability of First Open Source 4G Mobile Device Management

Funambol, a provider of open source mobile cloud sync and push e-mail for billions of devices and 4G mobile broadband provider Clearwire have jointly developed the world's supposedly first ever open-source mobile device management solution for 4G devices.

The solution, consisting of both mobile client and server software, performs over-the-air (OTA) management of devices connected to a 4G network, including bootstrap, provisioning, diagnostics and updates. The software is projected to help device OEMs increase the frequency of 4G devices they are producing for customers in less time.

Clearwire's 4G WiMAX technology is purported to offer high data rates that will generate new trends for the market and prospects for established as well as for new telecommunication businesses. 4G wireless networks, when tied together with mobile phones with in-built higher resolution digital cameras and also HD capabilities will facilitate video blogs.

With the new Funambol-Clearwire mobile device management solution, user devices can be automatically provisioned, diagnosed and updated over-the-air. The service supports virtually all mobile devices and saves users' time while offering increased ease-of-use and improved quality of service.

This is the first time open source device management software for WiMAX has been developed through collaboration between Clearwire and Funambol. It offers several benefits over proprietary solutions and the source code enables the solution to be fully customized for customer devices and needs.

Peter Cannistra, vice president of embedded devices at Clearwire has commented that finding an open source solution was one of their top priorities as they evaluated device management options. They needed the customizability and broad device compatibility that only open source provides. Their collaboration with Funambol has produced a device management solution that offers more choices for users who will discover that Clearwire's 4G networks is easier to use than ever on a broad range of devices.

Fabrizio Capobianco, Funambol's CEO added that device management is more important because people are using more mobile devices, and technologies like 4G are speeding consumption of rich content. As 4G networks become mainstream many mobile companies will follow Clearwire's lead and adopt this solution.