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The Openwave V7 Messaging Client January Issue Roxanne "The Expert" Singleton I'm back from CES where I was in complete gadget heaven. Mind you, I like my phone, but I also like fiddling with all the new toys on the show floor. It sends my mind reeling about the possibilities and how technology is finally doing two things: delivering on the promise of convergence and focusing on the user experience. And that's what we've been trying to do at Openwave - bring technologies together to create the best possible user experience. Which brings me to this month's question: What do developers need to know about the new V7 Messaging Client? I talked with Olivier Bartholot, Openwave's Director of Messaging Product Management about the product and the market. In the near future, we see phones becoming 'cool tools'and we'll start to see convergence into a single device. Think about mobility and the things that are valuable when you are on the road," he said. "Users are burdened today. With V7, our next-generation client software, we make technology easy for the user." He enthusiastically described the immediate future, "During the course of 2005, the V7 messaging experience will be enriched by the arrival of the IM functionality and the IMAP4 protocol stack for email. Also the MMS client will be enhanced to support the OMA 1.3 specifications." We discussed how V7 is different from the V6 client. "The V7 messaging client comes pre-integrated with browser, DRM and File Manager," he said. "It is a very efficient implementation with a small memory footprint via memory sharing between applications. And it comes with a Skinnable Native user interface." There are a number of new devices that are shipping with the V7 client including phones from Sagem, Siemens, Sanyo, Sharp and NEC. Bartholot explained that new specifications are being developed for MMS, IM, PoC and mobile email. He has heard that operators are very excited about enhancing their user experience to simplify the technology but also differentiate service from each one another. V7 gives us the opportunity to provide this diversity to our customers. So how does he feel about Openwave developers? "They are on the pulse of the market," he said, "they understand what users want and how to make it accessible. And as we all know, consumers are insatiable, what's hot today won't be hot in a month." Developers can build messaging applications for consumption with the V7 messaging client by using the Phone Simulator V7 and the Openwave MMS SDK, both currently available now on the developer website. Have you had experience with V7? If so, let me know. We are hoping to feature some V7 success stories in the months to come. Roxanne has been working as an application developer for over 10 years. Her goal is to successfully write this column without having to join the marketing team or sit on the top floor with the execs. Roxy recently sold her vintage Motorola brick phone on eBay for $15. If you have a general question you'd like answered or just want us to know what's on your mind, let her know. Or, for more detailed or specific technical support questions, please visit ODN Developer Support. |