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Press Release:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 30, 2009 — Funambol, the leading provider of open source mobile cloud sync and push email, today introduced the world’s first open source mobile cloud sync solution for mVoIP. The solution lets mVoIP users sync contacts from a variety of sources, including mobile phones, email systems, personal computers and social networks. Its contact syncing enables users to call more people and increases mVoIP utilization. The solution’s basis on open source allows it to be fully customized, in contrast to proprietary solutions.

mVoIP enables users to conduct Skype-like voice calls on cell phones using wifi and other non-cellular networks. A recent Visiongain report says that mVoIP will be a game changer and offers significant business opportunities for mobile operators and others in the wireless industry.

A challenge with mVoIP is that users start with an empty address book which curtails their usage because they lack the contact info for people they want to call, such as their email address, phone number or mVoIP user ID. Most mVoIP services are unable to sync contact info from cell phones or other places. Funambol enables mVoIP to sync contacts from many sources via the Internet cloud, automatically populating the user’s mVoIP address book. When contact data is updated anywhere, the changes propagate to the user’s address book, allowing them to continue reaching people when their contact info changes. Funambol’s solution for mVoIP is an extension of its mobile cloud sync software that makes it easy to keep data and content on cell phones in sync with other sources.

The Funambol mVoIP cloud sync solution is based on open source which provides several benefits. As mVoIP is an emerging technology, it is important that providers be able to rapidly adjust their service for trends and market conditions. Open source’s code availability offers full control, which differs from proprietary vendor APIs that permit limited customization. Open source also provides the broadest device compatibility and a global developer community that helps adapt the software for the latest wireless handsets. The Funambol solution also includes an AJAX portal that keeps contact info in sync across many sources via the cloud. This makes it convenient for users to use a web browser to add, change or remove address book info, rather than doing this on a mobile phone.

“Several of our customers are mVoIP providers that sync user address books with email systems and social networks”, said Fabrizio Capobianco, Funambol CEO. “They selected Funambol because open source lets them fully customize the solution to support their needs and target devices”.

The Funambol open source mobile cloud sync solution for mVoIP is immediately available.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Together with a list of many fixes and improvements, Palm has just released its webOS 1.1 software updates and it will solve your iTunes 8.2.1 sync problem. The new updates has also enhanced the support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) and improved the photo application opening speed. The webOS 1.1 updates will be sent over-the-air to your Palm Pre directly. You would need to accept the installation to start the update process.

Version information

* Version: webOS 1.1.0
* Release date: 23 July 2009
* Configuration: Sprint 1.7

New applications
NFL Mobile Live from Sprint

* Watch or listen to live NFL games right on your phone.

Feature changes to existing applications
Calendar

* For Calendar accounts you create on your phone, the default reminder intervals are 15 minutes for timed events and one day for all-day events. A few notes:
o This change applies only if software version 1.1 was on your phone when you bought it, or if you did a partial or full erase on your phone and signed in to your Palm profile again after updating to version 1.1. If you simply update your phone to software version 1.1, the default reminder intervals in Calendar do not change.
o This change applies only to Calendar events you create on your phone, not to events that are synchronized to your phone from an online account.

Camera

* The Photos application opens more quickly when launched from the camera.

Clock

* Enhanced support for time zones in Clock.
* When you set an alarm in Clock, an alarm icon appears in the notification area at the bottom of the screen. Tap the icon to display alarm details. Alarm details include the following:
o If the alarm is set for the current day, the alarm time appears.
o If the alarm is set for tomorrow, the alarm time and “Tomorrow” appear.
o If the alarm is set for any day other than today or tomorrow, the day of the alarm appears.

Contacts

* Friends added and deleted in Facebook on the web are now correctly added and deleted in the Facebook account in Contacts on the phone.
* As soon as you create or makes changes to a Google contact on the phone, the phone begins a sync to reflect those changes in Google on the web.

Email

* When you set up an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email account, you can enter the mail server name as an IP address.
* Support for self-signed certificates with multiple common names has been added.
* When you reply to an email in HTML format using an EAS account, the formatting of the sender’s original message is now retained in the reply.
* Palm’s EAS implementation now supports several Exchange ActiveSync Policies, including the following:
o PIN/Password Required. IT administrators can ensure a password is assigned to the phone. Administrators can also specify the minimum length of the password.
o Inactivity timeout. IT administrators can ensure that an inactive phone goes into a locked state after a certain time period. You cannot set a higher timeout interval for your phone, but you can set a shorter interval.
o Remote Wipe. IT Administrators can remotely erase all data on a phone from their Exchange console. IT administrators can also have the device wipe itself if an incorrect password is entered more than a specified number of times.

Messaging

* You can enter emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages. Emoticons also display in incoming messages.
* If you set the phone to use a 24-hour time format, the message times shown in a conversation appear in 24-hour time.
* If you go into an IM account’s preferences, all the options are available even if you are signed in to the account. You can tap Remove Account to delete the account, enter a new password to update the password, or tap Sign In to sign in with your updated password. Previously, you needed to sign out of the account before you could use these preferences.
* When you delete an IM account, a message now appears asking you to confirm that you want to delete the account.

Phone

* When multiple missed call notifications are displayed on the dashboard, the time of the most recent missed call is shown.
* When you slide the ringer switch off, a bell icon with a slash is displayed. Previously, the icon was a speaker with a slash.
* In Phone Preferences, the Show Contact Matches preference is now turned on by default. When typing on the keyboard in the phone app, the phone automatically displays both the numbers being entered and any contact matches for the characters entered.

System

* Improved functionality of person reminders. A person reminder is a notification that you create in a contact entry. The notification appears when you have a call or exchange an email, text, multimedia, or IM message with a contact.
* Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).
* When you enter a search term in Card view or the Launcher to perform a universal search, if you select the Wikipedia web search option, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.

Web

* You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym Sym key icon + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box.
* If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back Web Back button button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away.
* A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward Web Forward button button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area.
* When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.
* When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open.

YouTube

* After you enter search text, you can tap the Search Search icon icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter Enter key to perform the search.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Blackberry users with Mac computers will soon be able to manage their BlackBerry from the desktop. Research In Motion announced Tuesday that it will release BlackBerry Desktop Software for the Mac in September.

“Many of you commented on my ‘updated your BlackBerry’ post back in April saying ‘…this is great! But what about Mac?’” said Andrey, a product manager on RIM’s handheld software team, in a blog post. “We have all been hard at work here for a while now, and you may have noticed some Mac support with the preview version of BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac released back in December.”

Using RIM’s software, BlackBerry owners with Macs will be able to sync iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts and tasks. Currently, there is no way for Mac owners to update an operating system, back up, and restore data without running some kind of Windows application.

Come September, however, the software will allow users to add and remove applications, update their BlackBerry when new software becomes available, and back up and restore the handheld with automatically scheduled backups and security features.

“It’s significant for Mac users who’ve been using BlackBerry devices,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. “Up until now, all BlackBerry use has been done on the device, but no synching of data with the Mac has been possible. Now both devices, the Mac and the BlackBerry, can be extensions of each other, which is ultimately what a user wants.”

Strategic Move

Making the new software available is a strategic move by RIM and may just help the smartphone maker better compete against Apple’s iPhone with a new market to manage BlackBerry devices. It also may help small businesses that use only Macs to utilize BlackBerry devices.

“Every one of these steps is important and not about one particular strategy like marketing, making sure carriers are getting phones on time, etc.,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Interpret. “It fills a hole RIM had with consumers, and particularly Apple customers, who do not have access to a RIM server to sync their BlackBerry.”

Whatever RIM’s intentions in developing the software, BlackBerry owners are anxious for its release.

“This is great news, so thank you RIM,” said one poster under the name of Moles. “Is there going to be a public beta? If so, where can I sign up?”

Jive Turkey posted: “Yippee, now if by September you mean September, this is my happiest day as a BlackBerry owner.”

“Great News,” said poster BlackBerry Tune. “My Mac is desperately waiting for this. Release it soon, please.”

Those interested in using the software are being encouraged by RIM to register for updates on the software at RIM’s Web site.

In The Meantime

While waiting for the September release, users can still download the free version of PocketMac for BlackBerry, which supports Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. The new BlackBerry Desktop Software will support Mac OS X 10.5.5 and above, according to the company.

Thanks Mobile Tech Today

Popularity: 9% [?]

Funambol provides easy-to-use push email and mobile sync between billions
of smart & feature phones, the Internet cloud and popular desktop apps.
Their open source MobileWe software works with a large number of webmail systems, including Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, Gmail and Hotmail, as well as work email via POP/IMAP and Funambol community projects for enterprise messaging.
It supports syncing with popular desktop apps, including Outlook and Thunderbird. Funambol also provides the broadest mobile device compatibility, supporting two billion phones and counting. MobileWe performs push email as well as syncs contacts, calendars, tasks, notes and soon additional content such as photos and much more.

And at CTIA, Funambol debuts their new Ajax powered MobileWe portal.

Mobile cloud sync is rapidly gaining momentum, as witnessed by the introduction of Apple MobileMe, Google Sync, Nokia Ovi Sync and Microsoft My Phone. Funambol v8 MobileWe is the only open source cloud sync and push email solution that can be rapidly branded, customized and integrated into customers’ infrastructure. In addition to the AJAX portal, the software provides enhanced clients for several smartphones, including BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android. It enables PIM sync for hundreds of new SyncML phones and lets users easily sync rich content such as photos.

“Cloud sync is red hot, and everyone in the mobile ecosystem needs a solution to grow user loyalty and increase revenue,” said Fabrizio Capobianco, Funambol CEO. “Funambol v8 MobileWe, based on open source, is as simple as ‘just add water’. It enables device makers, carriers, portals, ISPs and ISVs to rapidly deploy a branded service, which can be hosted by Funambol or internally implemented.”

Funambol MobileWe supports billions of phones, including smartphones such as Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Storm and Google Android. It syncs and shares contacts, calendars, email, pictures, and more, via the Internet cloud, and popular desktop apps, such as Outlook, and webmail, including Gmail, AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.
read full press release here.

Review which mobile phone supports the features you need to get the most out of your cell phone.

For more information, please visit http://www.funambol.com. You can follow Funambol on Twitter at http://twitter.com/funambol.

Popularity: 10% [?]