Spiral Arm News

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Learning Goes Mobile: "Mobile learning gives the front-line workforce [...] the access to the critical information sources, learning materials and expertise to learn what they want, where they want, when they want" (from Smartmobs).

Friday, March 26, 2004

Microsoft plans to provide CRM workflow support to Pocket PC devices, reports Computer Weekly. Scheduled for this summer, allowing "salespeople to do things such as review information before a customer meeting and then capture relevant data to feed back into a company's CRM system".

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Sun Microsystems has announced that it is working with RIM to provide web services for the Blackberry. Details are sketchy, but the first to benefit is "a customized insurance application for the Financial Health Research Institute".

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

IT Director gives five questions to ponder when mobilizing applications.

Monday, March 22, 2004

Nokia have announced an RFID kit for the 5140 handset, allowing the phone to read the ID information from tags (reports
Computer Weekly).
RFID is also the basis of the Near Field Communications consortium, promoting communication between devices: touch your NFC device against another to make a purchase, for example
(The Register).

Friday, March 19, 2004

V&S Absolut Spirits have deployed a cut-down email system for executives, removing inessential details from messages, reports the FT (Mobile OS review, Feb 18, p.10). System offers "significant bandwidth savings" and is more convenient to use than a laptop.

"An executive has 18 hours on the go with a lot of meetings and tight schedule. To use a laptop, they have to find the telecoms outlet in the wall, connecting the modem and then downloading the mail. With but with a phone, you can check your e-mail in the airport lounge. Just input quick answers like 'yes, no, no way' whatever."

The company will move to a message download approach, allowing executives to store messages on their phone, rather than having to read messages while on-line. However, the current approach has built-in security in that if the phone is lost or stolen there are no confidential messages on the device.

Security is a concern: the company limits the kinds of information that can be downloaded to a mobile. Until encryption is added, the company is not comfortable with sending internal sales figures to an executive on the road.

The system is supplied by Swedish company, Mobeon.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

New Media Zero has a story about the BBC running trials to allow consumers to interact with programmes via mobile Java Applications.

Monday, March 15, 2004

Staff productivity case study: "Legal firm Watson Farley Williams is giving its staff mobile access to their calendars, contacts, and e-mail", reports
Computer Weekly.