TM Mobile: a 'One Size Fits All' Application for Smartphones

Mobile Software Application Uses the WebApp Deployment Scheme to Overcome the Fragmented Mobile OS World

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Aug 21, 2008 - Prana Computing, a leading developer of multiplatform hosted smartphone software applications, today announced the release of its Time Manager Mobile (TM Mobile) flagship product line. The TM Mobile product line appeals to a wide variety of customers ranging from those in need of a powerful mobile calendaring tool to enterprises that need to provide live mobile access to their back-end database information in the field.

How many major mobile development platforms can you count on one hand? 

In today's fractured smartphone operating system environment, software vendors are required to introduce multiple versions of the same product to satisfy a wide array of demand. Many vendors find this multi-OS development approach for smartphones cost-prohibitive and embark on the risky proposition of picking and choosing among the contending mobile operating system platforms to develop on.

With the advent of ever-popular Apple iPhone, the mobile platform field has indeed become a crowded field. Joining the venerable iPhone are: Symbian (popular on the Nokia brand), Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry and Mobile Linux. With all these development platforms vying for the market share, the bewildered mobile software vendor is forced to make the vital business decision of where to direct its precious resources.

Web-hosted software to the rescue

Indeed this mobile platform fragmentation has given birth to a new trend in mobile software development: web-hosted software application designed specifically for the mobile platform that can run on any web-enabled smartphone regardless of the presiding operating system. Even though web-enabled smartphones have been popular for some time now, the introduction of iPhone in mid-2007 was a watershed event for this emerging smartphone deployment platform.

Simply put, iPhone declared itself as a web-centric smartphone and ushered a new era in networked mobile devices. This gave birth to wide array of mobile web-based applications (referred to as 'WebApps'), such as TM Mobile, that use the smartphone's browser as the deployment platform and perform the primary application processing on back-end servers.

Java, combined with the browser HTML, makes one size fit all

TM Mobile has taken this trend one step further by creating a multiplatform Java-based desktop application that serves as the companion application to the browser-based smartphone version. In doing so, TM Mobile has become a true 'one size fits all' software application by allowing users with virtually any computer or smartphone to take advantage of what it has to offer. This capability enables enterprises with a wide variety of desktop and handset hardware to be able to use only one software application to serve all their constituents.

PIM customizability: breaking new ground for smartphones

Mobile Personal Information Managers (PIM) generally fits into a preset mold provided by the framework of the software application. TM Mobile departs from this traditional approach by introducing PIM customizability to the mobile platform.

TM Mobile enables customers to attach Excel-formatted spreadsheets to their data file and have that information made available to them in the field. This adds an unlimited capability to create a customizable PIM interface for users who are familiar with spreadsheets. A near perfect compatibility with Excel provides customers the ability to maintain their formula and formatting throughout the customization process.

"I conceived Time Manager Mobile as a software product that can serve a customer with a simple calendaring application to the most sophisticated database-connected application that extends and customizes the application's interface." said Kam Rezvani, Chief Architect of TM Mobile and Founder of Prana Computing. He added: "That is why I chose the spreadsheet interface as the building platform for this application. It is customizable, easy to use and yet powerful enough to be extended as far as the user wants it to. We certainly intend to extend TM Mobile beyond its basic calendaring application in the future using its open-ended architecture."

WebApps deliver enterprise data to the smartphone

Enterprise mobile computing has been experiencing a tremendous growth in recent years. Most of this growth has centered on email mobile applications and their ability to keep the field personnel in constant touch with the company affairs. Now, WebApps such as TM Mobile Enterprise make it possible for the enterprises to deliver data to the field in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

TM Mobile enables enterprise clients to connect to their back-end databases, write custom queries via the application's query interface, and format the resulting downloaded data in a highly presentable spreadsheet format. The final product is then made available to the mobile device and utilized by authorized personnel in the field. The ability to perform live data updates from the user's smartphone puts the customer in touch with the latest and greatest information available on the enterprise servers.

Today's enterprises are in great need of creating mobile computing applications that fit their needs, are easily customizable, connect to their back-end databases and seamlessly operate across a wide variety of desktop and mobile hardware. TM Mobile, using the emerging mobile WebApp application deployment architecture is offering enterprises a cost-effective and efficient way of achieving this goal.