Symbian OS and its three platforms S60, UIQ and MOAP will be merged to become the Symbian Foundation Platform bringing commonality and greater certainty to the Symbian community and third party organisations wishing to develop solutions for all Symbian OS-based handsets.

As a Symbian, S60 and UIQ Competence Center, EMCC has exceptional experience of all aspects of these platforms and is ideally placed to provide stakeholders and interested parties with expert guidance in migrating to the new unified platform.

“The reduction in fragmentation brought about by the common platform will allow a significant reduction in costs to our customers who require their applications and technology implemented on a range of devices based on the Symbian mobile platform” said Leigh Edwards, CEO of EMCC.

“The establishment of standards and commonality is of critical importance to the development of any technology industry but especially in communications-based software. EMCC is delighted by this announcement and plans to be a very active participant in the new Symbian Foundation.”

For more information on any aspect of the Symbian Foundation or the Symbian mobile platform please contact EMCC Software at info@emccsoft.com

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As a Symbian Training Partner and S60 Competence Centre, EMCC has an established reputation for providing expert training courses that cover the newest versions of the platform and has updated all current training materials to reflect recent changes. Our latest courses cover specific issues on UIQ to S60 migration.

EMCC provides a wide range of training and platform migration services to device manufacturers, operators and third party developers across the Symbian community and beyond.

All of our training personnel are project developers or consultants with years of development experience and whose knowledge is continually refreshed by working on leading edge technologies and the latest platform versions.

Course attendees will gain access to these specialists and benefit from the enormous “value-add” through having their detailed technical questions answered.

EMCC is happy to assist with migration issues both through its developer training and consultancy teams. Our unique combination of technical excellence and exceptional experience ensures rapid project turnaround and solution development.

If you would like more information on EMCC’s S60 developer training courses please contact training@emccsoft.com

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m-Call, the latest product from mobile software specialists EMCC Software Ltd, enables mobile users to access the full feature set of their enterprise PBX and can dramatically reduce the bills associated with mobile use both in and out of the office.

It has been designed to be simple to install, very easy to use and is integrated with the Phonebook and other features of the handset. EMCC’s vast experience of developing telephony, VoIP, Wi-Fi and PBX integration solutions ensures that m-Call provides key functionality under a simple UI and is fully integrated with native device applications.

m-Call runs on many popular Nokia E-Series, N-Series and Windows Mobile 6 handsets and does not require any additional middleware server to be installed. It works with any PBXs supporting DTMF dial-through.

As part of the m-Call solution, EMCC can provide VoIP capabilities on compatible non-VoIP smartphones via an installable VoIP engine. Distribution and configuration of m-Call users can be managed centrally through EMCC’s provisioning service.

The application is available as a “white label” product which can be branded and customised as required.

m-Call provides the ideal solution to the following problems:

High mobile bills for regular users?
Business users that frequently make overseas calls or regularly roam abroad can potentially see massive reductions in their mobile bills.

Having to choose between Mobile or PBX calls?  Mobile handsets can now access the features and functions of the PBX.

How to acquire new technology without new infrastructure investment? Build a solution on already installed PBX systems, increasing return on investment.

Are key personnel are easily contactable? Linking PBX and mobile ensures that employees can contact and be contacted wherever they are, boosting productivity.

Do personnel have too many contact numbers? Using m-Call means one number for mobile and deskphone, removing uncertainty for the user’s clients over which number to use.

For further information on any aspect of m-Call and associated products please contact rex.purnell@emccsoft.com or visit our website www.emccsoft.com

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One very popular S60 application that EMCC was involved in recently was AudibleAir which enabled users to download and listen to magazines, journals books, radio programs, TV shows and other audio content on their S60 handsets. Many famous US titles (such as the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American) are offered in this format from Audible’s extensive library, so it was great news to see that AudibleAir was recently a Featured Application on the Nokia website.

Please click the following link http://www.nokia.com/link?cid=EDITORIAL_1008128 for more details on AudibleAir or visit Audible’s website www.audible.com

For more information about EMCC’s development services please email sales@emccsoft.com or call +44 (0) 161 919 0100.

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A number of JSRs (Java Specification Request) have attempted to do this in the past, JSR-185 Java Technology for the Wireless Industry (JTWI) and more recently JSR-248 Mobile Service Architecture (MSA). Both were designed to specify the minimum level of functionality required from mobile devices. MSA went further by not only specifying which JSRs should be present but also clarifying existing JSR specifications in areas that were originally ambiguous. This has been embraced by device manufacturers and now most new mobile devices are MSA compliant.

From an application developer’s perspective MSA has provided a much richer development environment and reduced the need to create new versions of their applications for each device. With the introduction of MSA 2 (JSR-249) it is hoped this trend will be continued. MSA 2 sits on top of the new MIDP 3.0 profile and defines a major leap forward in the Java capabilities of compliant smartphone devices.

MSA 2’s full stack includes all of the functionality that MSA defined plus a number of new JSRs that have been added to reflect the current trends in the mobile industry. These include JSR-256 Sensor API, JSR-272 Mobile Broadcast API (mobile TV), JSR-258 UI Customization, and JSR-281 IMS Services. In addition to this there have been upgrades to existing JSRs such as JSR-287 Vector Graphics API 2.0 and JSR-293 Location API 2.0.

All of this new functionality sits on top of the new MIDP 3.0 profile which in itself adds a number of new features to the application developer. These include LIBlets, auto-starting MIDlets, background-launching MIDlets and screensaver MIDlets. Add to this a more comprehensive security and runtime model and MIDP 3.0 is a significant step forward.

MIDP 3.0 also offers the possibility of using either CLDC or CDC as the configuration of choice. This opens up the arena for full stack CDC implementations for perhaps the first time for many handset manufacturers.

EMCC is currently in the process of implementing MIDP 3.0 and MSA 2. Our implementation will be VM, configuration, and platform independent which will allow minimal porting effort between platforms and further reduce fragmentation. This could enable the use of CLDC and CDC on the same device using the same JSR stack or a cross platform solution based on CLDC. Our implementation also utilises the OSGi framework to allow a highly configurable, portable and easily maintainable JSR stack.

For more information about our Java development services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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These devices are now so ordinary that many people will tell you they can’t imagine what they would do without a mobile phone in an emergency. However the power of these devices is rarely fully utilised by the average user. Why are voice and messaging services so successful while other applications have taken a while to pick up? The answer is simple. Voice and messaging services meet a basic human need in a simple way.

The focus of the Interaction Design team at EMCC is people. Its aim is to provide people with applications that are easy to understand and use and yet make a difference to their lives. How does it do that? By understanding what people need out of the everyday applications and products that they will use and how they will interact with them. The products that we envision will assist people to shop, care for their health and pass the time. We draw on the vast areas of psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology and user investigation to give us insight into the products that they need. The design is not just concerned with the aesthetics of the application (despite the look and feel being quite important); it’s about the users.

The T-Model for Interaction Design

The Interaction Design Team: Ideas

One of the most difficult challenges facing the user’s experience of mobile phone applications is its apparent limited interaction capabilities. We don’t see the mobile phone as an impoverished device despite its low-resolution, fiddly keypad and small screen. While technology developments are continuously allowing designers to address the issues of rich content on mobile phones (examples of this would be the success of the multi-touch on the iPhone and earlier successes with T9 technology on Nokia handsets) it is the insight into human nature which has allowed the development of these devices. This same insight has enabled the design team at EMCC to come up with imaginative ways to face the challenge of designing extraordinary interfaces that go beyond normal expectations.

Poor design can be a result of the overwhelming emphasis on technology over purpose. Technology is exciting for developers and can be a great way to get the users to buy the phones. There is a market for the latest gadget and those users would feel second rate if their device didn’t offer the same features and wizardry as those of their friends, peers and colleagues. It’s a perfect way to lure the customers in the retail shops with dazzling lights and colours, but once they come home after the purchase they have to go through the pain of actually using the thing they bought. This is where consensus building with the client becomes very important in creating a clear shared vision for the purpose of the project, required functionality, and the different user groups and how these factors influence the end result. While products can be sold purely on the way they look and the vast amount of technology they contain, unless user needs are addressed the client will miss out on building a loyal customer base.

For more information about our UI Design services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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