Funambol to Deliver Push Email and Mobile Applications on OpenMoko's Open
Source Mobile Communications Platform
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Funambol, the mobile
open source software company, today announced it has been chosen to power
mobile applications for OpenMoko, the world's first integrated open mobile
communications platform. Funambol is the recognized leading open source
mobile software for delivering mobile applications and services such as
mobile email.
The announcement of the OpenMoko mobile communications platform coincides
with the unveiling of FIC's Neo1973 smartphone, which utilizes the full
OpenMoko platform. OpenMoko aims to deliver a completely open, mobile
communications platform by working with a community of open source
developers. The project will give mobile developers a fully open source
software stack from the operating system to middleware, applications and
protocols. Users will get a high quality smartphone that they can easily
customize by installing only the applications they desire, eliminating the
need to upgrade their device every 12-18 months.
"The largest mobile open source project in the world has just joined with
the largest open design manufacturer in the world to deliver on the promise
of a fully open mobile phone for the mass market. We're looking forward to
working with OpenMoko and the folks from FIC on this trailblazing project,"
said Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol. "The time for high quality open
smartphones to deliver user-demanded applications is upon us. FIC's Neo1973
will accelerate opportunities for carriers to increase profits by effectively
delivering on consumer demand for mobile applications and services on mobile
handsets."
The Funambol software will allow OpenMoko-based phones to wirelessly
synchronize mobile applications and content, starting with PIM (contacts,
calendars, etc.) and push email delivery, to synchronization of photos,
video, ringtones, music and more. Funambol is based on the open standard
SyncML and provides a platform that delivers mobile applications and data
regardless of operating system or development environment.
"For the first time, the mobile ecosystem will be as open as the PC, and
mobile applications equally as diverse and more easily accessible," said Sean
Moss-Pultz, initiator of OpenMoko and Product Manager of FIC's Mobile
Communication Business Unit. "Ringtones are already a multi-billion dollar
market. We think downloading mobile applications on an open platform will be
even bigger."
"With any mobile phone, the application platform is critical because it
directly impacts its quality, cost and ease-of-use. We chose Funambol because
it is the most widely used mobile open source project in the world," said
David Huang, COO of FIC. "By partnering with Funambol to provide the
synchronization engine for OpenMoko, developers will flock to the project and
ultimately, users will receive what they have been demanding from their
mobile phones."
Since Funambol's preview release earlier this year, the number of
Funambol software downloads has more than doubled to 700,000, reflecting pent-
up demand for mass market mobile applications. The open source software is
being downloaded by a burgeoning community of developers who are testing it
on a wide range of mobile devices all over the world. Mobile operators around
the world are deploying the Funambol Carrier Edition in their networks. It is
the natural application platform for OpenMoko since it helps carriers reach
the largely untapped market for consumer push email.
About Funambol
Funambol is the mobile open source company. Funambol's Mobile Application
Server offers "push" email, multimaster PIM synchronization, and management
facilities for mobile devices. Funambol (formerly known as Sync4j) is an
open source development platform for mobile applications that has been
downloaded more than any other wireless middleware product -- more than
700,000 times. The commercial version has been deployed at wireless
carriers, Fortune 100 enterprises, hardware OEMs/ODMs and ISVs including
customers such as Computer Associates. Funambol is headquartered in Redwood
City, California with a development center in Italy. See
http://www.funambol.com .