The big customer question that I wish we had a better answer to is I just moved to XYZ device with a different operating system on it. Do you support it? On many occasions the answer is not yet. Since we have had some disconcerted replies to that answer, I thought I would share with you a little peak under the hood of what it takes to develop for a different operating system and why we can’t just pop these babies out.

There are three major problems:
1) The operating systems for mobile computers all use different operating systems and development languages. This means that we have to re-write the entire product from scratch with each new operating system we want to support. When we made the decision to develop powerOne for BlackBerry devices, for instance, we started from scratch, re-developing everything that we had done before but for a different platform. Even if my developers don’t have to learn a new language they still have to learn an entirely new way of interacting with the device and that device’s capabilities to create the calculator and templates that are at the heart of the product.

2) Our product is complicated. The intricacies of our software — the math engine, the templates themselves, the ability to create templates — all require vast amounts of work to complete. Very little of this is portable, meaning it can easily be moved from one operating system to another. It takes lots of time. Our small team of developers can take up to a year to port a single product.

3) So why not add more developers? Easier said than done. One, the way these products work, bigger teams don’t pay off except to work on multiple platforms and products at the same time. More importantly, the cost to do this is high. There was a time when we could market to people buying these devices. We used to buy ads in the box and in trade publications. We bundled on devices and retail suites of software. Those opportunities have shrunk because these devices are now sold through carriers instead of retail stores and carriers have constructed walled gardens into the devices. 8-10 years ago it cost us 20% of the product’s price to sell on the web. Now resellers charge as much as 75% with a big chunk of that going to the carrier.

These three do not take into consideration the regular challenges of developing for new systems: lack of documentation, different development tools, poor ability to test because of the tools and the plethora of devices with minor differences running the same OS.

I am not saying we won’t develop for new platforms but we need to see a clear method for getting the word out about our product to a large group of customers before we can even consider it.

I have decided, this week, to break out my crystal ball and gaze into the future.What’s the trend for mobile computing? What is likely to happen? What things do you, as a user of these systems, need to be thinking about as time passes? I will take a shot at a few here.

1. Breadth of Offerings

I don’t see the trend in breadth of offering changing any time soon. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were a multitude of computer operating systems available running on hardware from different vendors. Some systems were proprietary, like the TRS series from Radio Shack/TI, and others were open, like DOS. By the end of the decade, there were in essence two worth discussing: MS-DOS/Windows and Macintosh OS.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, by the end of next year there could be ten mobile operating systems, and that doesn’t include the plethora of proprietary OS’ that run handsets not considered smartphones. I would like to see this trend changing so we are dealing with two or three key operating systems in the next couple of years but I just don’t see that happening. More choice means more confusion for you, as a user of these systems, and for us as we try to figure out which to support and how.

2. Connectivity

More and more, these devices will be connected. Users are demanding it and carriers — starting with T-Mobile and Sprint here in the States — are starting to supply it. The iPhone has Wi-Fi built in. This will put tremendous pressure on all carriers to include wireless connectivity through wi-fi and cellular networks. I am betting this trend will accelerate over the next year with the majority of devices will have built-in, high speed wireless.

3. User Interface and Software

iPhone has raised the bar. I expect better browsers and email programs from all vendors. I expect more touch screen devices without keyboards. RIM has raised the bar. I expect better data plans and “push” email to be standard. I expect the market to diverge between larger screens sans keyboard and smaller screened, keyboard-based devices, with the middle devices — like Treos and Windows Mobile devices — squeezed out.

Conclusion

My bet is on 1) better connected devices that have 2) better software that is more in line with expectations of a desktop system on 3) a wider variety of device form factors and operating systems.

What does this mean for you? It means you will have to do your homework before deciding on your next phone and/or stick with a favorite brand which will force you to adopt a specific operating system.

What does this mean for software companies like Infinity Softworks? It means either picking and choosing which devices we work with or moving our development to the web so we can more effectively support a wider array of devices.

I have to admit I am tired of reports from research companies proclaiming who is winning and losing position in the smartphone space. The latest from the vendor iSuppli, who appears to be a corporate shill for Apple, was happy to proclaim Apple the leader, let it get published in all kinds of magazines and web publications, and then redact part of the information a few days later.

The problem I have is not with the “research” itself, but the fact that the data is always published as if the individual devices matter. I contend that when you buy a device, you are only partly buying into an individual device. By the time you purchase a smartphone, you are actually buying into a platform.

So you are not buying just a Treo 750, you are actually purchasing a Windows Mobile/Pocket PC device. And you are not just buying a Pearl, you are buying a BlackBerry.

This is important because at the end of the day it isn’t about just the device — which is made up of form factor and battery life and other things specific to that device — you are also buying into software and interaction and the things that platform allows you to do.

When I buy an iPhone, I am buying into a rich media experience. And when I buy a BlackBerry, I am buying into an email and instant communication platform. When PalmPilot’s first came out, I bought a personal information manager (now I don’t know what I am buying).

The question is: what do you need every day? Which of these is most important to you? And which platform will satisfy that need most clearly?

Kids everywhere are going back to school and stores have been pushing that simple fact since, well…, since they got out of school. (Maybe that’s the reason kids don’t read the newspaper — tired of being reminded.)

Anyway, back to school is really a time of getting organized for the onslaught of work ahead of us. One area where I always feel that the devices let me down is in the built-in personal information management: calendar, to-do, addresses. The irony is that these devices were all built with one thing in mind — keeping in touch with clients — and they all do the organizational portion of this poorly.

What these devices lack is a perfect opportunity for some third-party developer and that’s the beauty of BlackBerry, Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. (I know I am leaving off Symbian from this discussion. It’s just not a major force here in the States so I haven’t spent much time with it. I am also leaving off iPhone since Apple decided they don’t need third-party developers.)

My expectation is that I should be able to see my day’s to-dos and calendar on one screen. I should be able to adjust those to-dos and appointments with a single tap. I should be able to see to-do priorities easily (color, number, order, etc.). And all of this should be linked to my addresses and mapping so I can quickly pull up a contact’s number if I am late and grab directions to the meeting.

None of the device PIMs do this.

On Palm OS and Windows Mobile, a great third-party application that handles these functions is Agendus (Palm OS, WM Pocket PC, WM Smartphone). I always liked this product and used it on a Palm OS device myself. My complaint — and this is true of almost every piece of software — is that the developer got carried away and added every feature under the sun that he could think of. At least most of it is hidden (or can be).

On BlackBerry, the only choice is PocketDay, a reasonable shareware product that does the core things I want (shows to-do and calendar on same page and allows easy editing) but misses on address book integration, a major issue for rapid contact of customers. It too has a number of extra features that can be hidden.

There’s a lot of room for innovation here: better designs, faster access, improved organization and integration with other applications. I am sure there is a developer somewhere ready to develop it.