2008 JavaOne Conference: Motorola General Session -- Mobile Evolution, Innovation, and Opportunity

In an era of "Internet everywhere," Motorola is pledged to providing its customers with uninterrupted access to the communication, information, and entertainment that they want and need -- anywhere, anytime, and across any device. And while this exploding ecosystem of diverse technologies and devices has resulted in its fair share of fragmentation challenges in the short term, in the long term, Motorola sees exciting opportunities for developers, manufacturers, and network providers -- as well as stunning new features and services for the end user.

In Thursday's general session (May 8, 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.), Christy Wyatt, vice president of Software Platforms and Ecosystem, Motorola, Inc., explored current and future trends in the mobile market, how developers can best bring their innovations to market, and Motorola's many initiatives to provide an optimal road map for the mobile space.

In many ways, the current mobile market looks strikingly like that of the PC market some 20 years ago. In the mid-1980s, it was possible to fill an entire convention center with CP/M enthusiasts, a PC OS that few even remember today. "We saw an evolution where you went from a very integrated experience, where software was a feature of the hardware, and then we eventually saw a significant OS consolidation," says Wyatt.

"Right now, we're seeing a similar trend in the mobile space. The challenge for developers today is to clearly understand the end user -- what they want, how they will use an application, and how they will obtain it, either through an operator or through retail. If you understand that aspect with sufficient clarity, it will lead you to a certain set of technology decisions and partnering decisions in terms of how to tap into that market."

And in this currently fragmented mobile economy, Java technology offers a much-needed degree of consistency and stability. "It's one of the reasons why Motorola remains so committed to Java technology," says Wyatt. "It's one of the things that you can count on in terms of consistency across the mobile economy. And Java developers remain the largest developer community in the mobile space."

Although some developers might be tempted to pursue sheer market numbers in a given application niche, Wyatt emphasizes the importance of carefully targeted marketing in the mobile arena. "In the current space, mass-market-phones and feature phones grossly outnumber smartphones. But the users on those mass-market-phones are still learning how to use applications and services. So even though the addressable market for smartphones may be quite small currently, the awareness of the average end user, and what they could possibly do with it, is much higher."

Developers also need to decide whether their technology solutions target the end user, or perhaps a mobile carrier or manufacturer. "It really depends on whether your application or service is something that someone like Motorola might deploy as a part of their platform," says Wyatt, "or something that an operator might deploy as part of their deck, or something that depends on an end user somehow finding you."

Such mobile application marketing and distribution is also in a state of great evolutionary flux. Drawing other parallels to the early era of the PC market, Wyatt sees this as the "AOL era" of mobile computing. "Everybody is creating their decks and their portals," she explains, "presenting their favorite applications to the end user, monetizing around those portals, and establishing long-term relationships with customers -- much like the AOLs and CompuServes did with the early Internet. And that was a good thing for the industry, because it allowed the user to better understand what the Internet was."

But when desktop users became sufficiently conversant with the technology, they often decided they'd rather pay a less-costly monthly ISP plan, use a generic web browser, and find what they wanted on their own. "So if you assume we're going to see a similar pattern in the mobile space," says Wyatt, "our current path to market for developers is focused on getting on a carrier deck, and becoming part of that captive audience. But the end user will eventually become savvy enough to know what's out there, and how to get it. And there will then be more opportunities for developers to go directly to the end users."

In September 2007, Motorola introduced its web-based Solutions Catalog to the developer community -- a free and easy tool for developers to make their mobile solutions more widely known, while exploring the market for their given wares. "Our Solutions Catalog is free to use for members of MOTODEV, our global developer program," says Wyatt. "It's not really intended to be a commercial portal. It's really meant to be a directory to all things available. We wanted a place where people could see the variety of things that are possible and available, and to inspire them to create their own if they don't see what they're looking for."

Motorola is committed to helping developers navigate both the present and future of the mobile market. Through the company's MOTODEV program, developers have access to Motorola-wide tools and technical support, with a broad business ecosystem that includes service providers and business and channel allies. MOTODEV also provides development tools, sample code, SDKs, an online library of device specifications, developer guides, media guides, a searchable online knowledge base, and invitations to workshops and special events.

A key feature of the program is MOTODEV Studio, an integrated development framework for mobile applications, based on the Eclipse IDE. "With MOTODEV Studio," says Wyatt, "we can provide a consistent interface to the developer community, where we can give them a robust, comprehensive set of tools and support that allows them to develop applications targeting a variety of different platforms."

On May 6, 2008, Motorola announced its latest major enhancements to MOTODEV Studio -- an update to its Java ME plug-in, and added functionality to enable application development on Symbian/UIQ, Web UI, and Motorola's MOTOMAGX mobile Linux platform. "By adding new toolsets to our MOTODEV Studio development environment," says Wyatt, "Motorola is providing developers with everything they need to create innovative applications across Motorola's mobile device portfolio."

It is estimated that approximately 20% of middle and high-end mobile handsets will be running some form of the Linux operating system by 2013 (ABI Research). And Motorola sees mobile Linux as a strategic platform for their devices. "We have a huge investment in mobile Linux," says Wyatt. "It was just two years ago that we helped launch the LiMo foundation, a consortium of mobile industry leaders working together to deliver an open Linux-based software platform for handsets. Back then we were having conversations with people about whether Motorola believed Linux could be a viable platform in the mobile industry. Today, that's a given. We're committed to MOTOMAGX, which is our mobile Linux platform, and we've shipped over 14 million handsets to date on it. What's most important to us about Linux and Java technology is the fact that they are open, the source is available, and that it's something we participate in. They both allow us to innovate at the rate of the industry, and at the rate of our customers."

Motorola's MOTODEV program is currently hosting a global summit tour, taking their offerings and expertise to developers wherever they might be. "The MOTODEV Summits entail seeking out new innovations from all corners of the world," says Wyatt, "and providing a map to the global ecosystem that will help more companies and individuals turn their great ideas into successful, thriving business. We've already held summits in San Jose, London, and Beijing. And the week after JavaOne, we'll be in Bangalore."