Europe UK : The OMTP has announced that, following wide industry consultation and agreement, a recommendation framework has been put in place that will see the mobile consumer user experience dramatically improved and could possibly be the tipping point towards greater adoption of ‘connected’ application services.

To date, whenever an end user downloads a connected* application to their mobile (from a game to an email application), the way in which that application is set up and configured is at the very best inconsistent. Sometimes the application fails to materialise at all, sometimes it needs to be re-configured to work and sometimes it never actually works. The application can also ‘fight’ with other applications for control of the mobile operating system, often resulting in reduced battery performance. In extreme cases, where an email application has been installed, this application ‘anarchy’ can result in sizeable bills if the user is roaming and the application decides that regular connection is required.

The problem arises because, until now, the way in which developers design their applications varies considerably. There have been no generic written guidelines to define common practices, and therefore applications have been released with no reference to hierarchy or best practice. In a sense, each developer only considers their own application and not the bigger picture.

Ratified and promoted by OMTP members the paper, available at www.omtp.org, tackles numerous scenarios and provides detailed recommendations as to how connected applications should be developed to maximise their efficiency and interaction with the mobile device, ultimately giving the user an improved experience.

Benefits of this latest recommendation, include:

> extended battery life
> connection management which will help manage bills
> the usage of connected applications will be driven up

Nick Allott, CTO of OMTP commented, “This latest recommendation is yet another example of the practical and wide reaching benefit to come out of the OMTP’s work. The use of best practice techniques for connected applications will greatly improve the customer experience and drive the take up and usage of such applications”