News

Sybase Mobile Dev Solution Dials into Smartphone

• By Jason Turcotte
• September 13, 2006

Sybase subsidiary iAnywhere Solutions wised up its mobile dev platform by extending its support to include Microsoft Smartphone. Now users can develop Web-based apps for both Windows Mobile Smartphone and Pocket PC platforms.

This week Sybase iAnywhere is unveiling version 6.2 of its M-Business Anywhere product. The upgrade features VGA screen resolution support, soft key navigation and the option of installing the solution on a Secure Digital (SD) card, reducing the need for device memory.

“The latest version of M-Business Anywhere is a perfect match for developers who are looking at ways to quickly and easily mobilize critical business information across a variety of platforms,” said Shubha Govil, senior product manager, Sybase iAnywhere.

Govil says the enhancements let enterprises maximize off and online app development for a host of mobile devices. She says more businesses are looking for economical ways to mobilize apps, especially orgs in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Two examples, says Govil, are FarmWizard and Harvard Medical School.

FarmWizard uses M-Business to enable the exchange of data when farmers are out in the field. They use the solution to input livestock data, synchronizing it with the company’s Web-based app. At Harvard Med., students and faculty use the solution to post assignments and course offerings.

The solution’s VGA screen resolutions utilize technology from Windows Mobile 5 and Pocket PC 2003 to offer improved text and image displays. The soft key navigation feature makes menus, screens and apps more navigable for developers and limits the number of steps needed to achieve tasks. And, lastly, M-Business’s SD card synchronization allows greater memory efficiency for Palm, Smartphone and Pocket PC users, supporting saved data to the card itself.

Sybase iAnywhere is also releasing XTNDC Connect PC 6.0 this week. The mobile-to-desktop software synchronizes contact lists, e-mails, calendar items and notes across PC apps like Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. New features include a redesigned user interface, expanded customization options, image support for contacts and directional filter functions.

M-Business Anywhere 6.2 is available now, along with a free, downloadable Developer Edition.