This is the last of three short posts covering some of our thoughts post-MWC09.
First off, let’s mention ONE-API and BONDI. I’m mentioning these together as these are part of the potential ying/yang Zen solution that I dreamed about in my post about Alan Quayle and Developer API fatigue. Exec summary: BONDI – common APIs for Mobile Web Apps; ONE-API – common network APIs for accessing cool’n'groovy operator functionality.
So ONE-API (not sure of the capitals are part of the brand or not) is a new initiative from the GSMA to offer a common set of Network APIs that could be supported across operators. When I first heard about this, I laughed. Yes, it was a hollow laugh. Why? Because the notion of operators collaborating on something a fundamental and useful as network APIs (say, to send SMS’s, or trigger a call) seems pure fantasy based on past form. We’ve had some initiatives along these lines before, and they didn’t really work. The vision thang, as per this diagram, will look familiar.
The promise is for common APIs for messaging, charging, etc. As I say – I had a “not again” reaction the first time I heard of this. However, from talking to people at the show, it seems things *may* be slightly different.
This initiative has come from the GSMA, as in, the operators themselves, and apparently, has significant and senior backing. I imagine it’s a reaction to the ongoing and relentless lunch-eating threat from “those Internet players” who continue to swallow or disrupt major chunks of the traditional Telco business. I don’t care why. If they’re serious about it, that would be good.
Of course, turning the high level willingness in to lower-level action and rollout is hard, but the feedback I picked up at the show was that this was going to receive pretty major attention and effort over the coming year to make it a reality. Apparently there are over ten operators on board. I wish them well. If you’re a developer and you’re interested, you can even try out some of the APIs here.
Next, BONDI. The focus of BONDi is device-side, in the browser, and specifically about providing APIs for mobile web (browser and widgets). It’s part of the Open Mobile Terminal Platform initiative, and has several elements, including a security policy, common APIs to access device capabilities from the browser, and also SDKs.
BONDI has some good momentum in the telecom ecosystem, with support from handset makers and operators in many regions. It was also given a boost by LiMo a few weeks back. The approach they have taken makes it easy to get involved and also to get access to the latest versions of the specs. As BONDI progresses, one of the effects we may notice is that the line between web applications and native applications becomes increasingly blurred. Once a web application can access the GPS, Bluetooth, SMS, address book and other elements on the phone, many developers will choose to offer their applications as web-apps instead of download-and-install native apps. I was sceptical about this initiative when it began, but have been proven wrong in terms of both progress and potential to genuinely affect things within the next 12-24 months on volume handsets. Well worth a look.
Both ONE-API and BONDI were prominent at the WipJam event at MWC on Thursday. If you don’t know what WipJam is, you may have come across it as the DeveloperJam or DevJam at other MWCs or conferences. It’s organised by the Wireless Industry Partnership (hence WIP), and is a developer-event, for developers, largely by developers. It has a deliberately low-key and informal tone, designed to encourage anyone in the mobile development arena to join in and take part. This one was well-attended (I’d say maybe 75-100 people over the day) and was really good. It has a two-phase format: there’s an unconference in the morning, followed by a structured set of discussions, in small teams, around a flip chart, in the afternoon. They get great people for the unconference (in this case for example: Christopher David of Sony Ericsson, Nicholas Landrin of I-Source, Jason Lim of Microsoft, David Woods of Symbian Foundation, and James Parton of O2 Litmus).
There was a *lot* of good discussion at the unconference, much of it regarding App Stores, pricing, and of course Apple. I’d say thirty percent of all conversations mentioned the word “Apple”. It’s constantly entertaining how spooked the whole industry has been by the boy-wonder non-Telco player 
As a sampler – check out this interview at the show with Strand. The comment stream makes for good reading too – my rant included
As a sampler – check out this interview at the show with Strand. The comment stream makes for good reading too – my rant included Anyway – at the WipJam I helped with the session on “Making Money”, and the first picture in this post is our “mind map” from our discussions (it was an *excellent* few sessions – and I’m going to create an annotated version for the WipWiki site). If you’re going to be at CTIA, then sign yourself up for the next one at CTIA Las Vegas, Thursday, April 2, 2009, 10am – 5pm, Rm N262, LV Convention Center.
Ok – a few last items and then I’ll shut up.
6 responses so far ↓
Caroline Lewko // February 26, 2009 at 9:43 pm |
Thanks Sean. Always great to have your enthusiastic and experienced participation. You are part of the community that makes our Jam sessions great.!
Thibaut Rouffineau // February 27, 2009 at 3:28 pm |
Looking forward to see the explanation of the mindmap on youtube. Any plans?
sos100 // February 27, 2009 at 3:31 pm |
Great idea – I was going to do a blog post for them walking through it – maybe I’ll try both! Cheers, Sean
MWC 2009 - So that’s it for another year in Barcelona at WIP Jam Sessions - Connecting Developers // February 28, 2009 at 3:22 am |
[...] The “Mak’n Money” discussion resulted in complex flow diagrams and some great ideas around how to look at alternative revenue channels such as “freemium vs. premium”, ad-subsidized apps and discovery apps thanks to discussion leader Harald Neidhardt of Smaato, Raj Singh of Skyfire and Sean O’Sullivan from Dial 2 Do (check out his MWC wrap up here). [...]
Brendan Lally // April 27, 2009 at 9:40 pm |
Sean,
Interesting in the mind-map as well.
I hoped here via Bondi as looking at that as well. Like a lot of initiatives in the ‘mobile space’ u do get skeptical that they will ever c the light of day (at least from a customer/being deployed standpoint)
It will be interesting 2c how both of these fare over the next 6 mths. Not sure if they can get the real commitment and sharing between the carriers by then. Beyond 6mths+ is just 2 long in the internet space – but maybe mobile is a little longer ?
PS I’m sure the ‘rules’ (against IRL co’s) for the Vodafone competition can be tweaked
Brendan
Sean O Sullivan // April 27, 2009 at 10:13 pm |
With regard to BONDI and being sceptical: yes – I’m often very wary that some of these things will ever turn up in real hardware. With BONDI however I feel some confidence. I’ll try and elaborate in a separate post why that’s so.
As for the Vodafona competition – Nope – I asked, they won’t. No tweaking. UK and Netherlands only!
Good competition though….