The next Cambridge Wireless Software SIG event on 20th November in Cambridge, UK will consider the problems of developing for the hundreds of handsets on the market. The Software SIG is championed by me and Peter Hazlett of Symbian.

Current opinion says that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ model just isn’t attainable at present, leaving mobile developers with the challenge of producing several diverse product variants.

This diversity arises from several sources:

• Differences between handsets.
• Operator-specific requirements.
• Market differentiation e.g high-end vs low-end products.
• Legal differences (e.g different laws on gambling).

This afternoon event will outline the scale of the problem, look at ways of addressing it and consider whether the future holds more of the same.  Don’t miss out on your opportunity to share your views, ideas and comments and cultivate new ideas from the speakers at this event.

Here’s details of the three talks at the event:

John Scott, Senior Director of Engineering, Qualcomm
“Diversity and Platform Reuse: Using common platform code to unlock innovation”
We will use BREW Mobile Platform as a case study to show how a common platform approach can increase rather than decrease product diversity. We will look at issues faced by handset manufacturers and application developers and how a platform can free them to focus on differentiating aspects, rather than being buried in a mountain of increasingly complex mobile application software. We’ll share some of the hard lessons learnt and current limitations, as well as success stories.

Danilo Beuche, CEO Pure-Systems GmbH
“Running Mobile Software Development as a Product Line – 2 Fast 2 Furious?”
Running a Software Product Line (SPL) can seem like running an ocean liner: a bit slow in the beginning, running full steam ahead after a while, but then taking an age to slow down and change the heading of the ship if something unexpected happens. However, being agile and able to respond rapidly to changing market needs is at the heart of mobile software development.

This talk will introduce the Software Product Line (SPL) approach, discuss when and how SPL fits with mobile development and present some possible approaches for combining the two.

Steven Kelly, CTO MetaCase
“De-clawing diversity with Domain-Specific Modeling”
As mobile developers you’ve had to make the right decisions about new technologies more often than  most: rejecting those that are duds, waiting on those that are still more hype than substance,  but quick to start using those that really work. It’s no surprise then that the mobile industry has been one of the first to show widespread use of Domain-Specific Modeling: early adopters have  consistently seen productivity improve by hundreds of percent. With DSM, applications are specified once at a high level of abstraction, and code generators take care of producing all necessary versions for different handsets, networks etc. Since you own the generators, you can easily adjust for new platforms or their versions: no interminable waiting for tool vendors to release an update.

In this talk you will see how DSM works to tackle diversity in the mobile space, and learn how you can join those already using it and reap the same benefits.

Events are FREE to Cambridge Wireless Members. Tickets for non-members are £150.00 plus VAT.  To join Cambridge Wireless, and attend all future events for free please visit: www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/sign-up