It appears like Microsoft is slowly losing their love for their Windows Mobile OS as the company is fully concentrating on the Windows Phone platform. What you see above is the full email that is being circulated to WinMo users which details about the company’s decision to officially shut down Windows Marketplace for Mobile 6.x.

According to the email, Microsoft will bring the curtains down on the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace on May 9, 2012. From that day onwards, customers using handsets running on the older platform as well as the developers will not be able to access the store. (In case anyone is having a doubt, the Windows Phone Marketplace will still be there.)

All the apps that are already downloaded will continue to work, although updates will not be available. Therefore Microsoft recommends WinMo users to install available updates before the service goes dark. But new applications might still be available directly from developers.

As you might know, the talks about shutting down the Windows Mobile Marketplace began last year. And the company started giving out hints regarding the matter earlier than the arrival of the email. They have stopped accepting new submissions of applications. The news about the shutdown is certainly not a surprise and most probably won’t hurt anyone, but it is a fact that Windows Mobile played a big role in the evolution of the mobile OS.

Microsoft might be hoping for the best by focussing their whole effort on making Windows Phone a success on the market currently ruled by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. So far, the company’s OS has failed to become popular despite good hardware from Nokia and other partners. Let’s wait and see what the future holds for them.

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Palm may have been the company to produce webOS, but Mozilla might be the company to produce one of the first truly web-based operating systems for smartphones. Dubbed Boot 2 Gecko, it’s a mobile OS that relies primarily on the web… not unlike the Chrome OS for Chromebooks.

The new OS is currently under development as the Mozilla team is working on its “proprietary, single-vendor stacks.” Various APIs for the camera, phone, SMS, and so on are also be developed. The idea here is to have a truly stripped down OS for contacts and phone, and getting everything else through the web.

You’ll notice that early drawings depict an icon-based OS, which will largely fall in line with people already familiar with iOS, Android, and even webOS. We also hear that Boot 2 Gecko will use Android for booting and drivers, but HTML5 for most other functions. In any case, I’m not sure we need yet another OS option. We’ve already seen the slow death of webOS, the diminishing market share of BB, the less than optimistic outlook for QNX/BBX. Even WP7.5 is having a tough time.

In any case, I’m sure the legal types in Cupertino are already readying their papers for another patent infringement suit. I can feel it in my bones.

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If you are a nurse working in a hospital, there are so many cases where you need to have an access to confidential or sensitive data such as the patient’s records in order to perform your duties efficiently. However, when you receive the sensitive records on your phone or tablet, these will still remain on your device even after the day is over. This is where the problem about confidentiality enters. Who wants their records to be flaunted and accessed by strangers?

Virginia Tech is brilliant, and they seem to have devised of a way that could offer a viable solution to the confidentiality problem. The system allows mobile phones to access data in a specific physical location and then erases the data from the phone when the person leaves the area.

The team that designed the system modified the existing Android mobile OS to create the system, and of course, they are not willing to divulge how they modified it. Aside from the data wiping capability, the system can also be used to disable certain phone functions in a specific area. For example, preventing photos from being taken in a “no picture” zone, or blocking texts in the classroom.

Military applications are also possible with the system. Military officials could use their phones to have access to classified information without worrying about the phone being stolen or lost once they leave their base. Spies who are planning to take snap shots or access the stolen device won’t be able to do it. Because it will be erased based on the location of the device. No word on when this system will be available for general use.

The post Virginia Tech Hacks Android to Location Based Device Erase appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Mozilla has announced a new project: Boot to Gecko, or B2G for short. The intent is to create an operating system based on the most basic hardware-related aspects of Android with web-standard technologies for everything else. Somewhere between iOS and Adobe AIR, the “Gecko” operating system will initially be used for smartphones and mobile devices – though it seems positioned to grow into Mozilla’s own Chrome OS equivalent.

While B2G is still a rather vague concept, the company has already set up a code repository on GitHub, which is what has already set B2G apart from Android and other “open-source” operating systems: Developers will be included in every step of the process. This inclusive approach means source code will be posted in real-time as the application is built, rather than waiting until there’s a Beta version for contributors to tinker with.

“This project is in its infancy,” wrote Mozilla on their development platform mailing list. “Some pieces of it are only captured in our heads today, others aren’t fully explored. We’re talking about it now because we want expertise from all over Mozilla – and from people who aren’t yet part of Mozilla – to inform and build the project we’re outlining here.”

When asked if they would collaborate with Webian OS, the company replied that they’re “looking all over the place for both inspiration and collaboration.” Which brings us back to the Seabird concept.

Boot to Gecko seems to be born from the idea that web developers should be able to use their programming skills to make mobile apps equivalent to those of iOS, Android and WP7. If this works as they plan, web development as a career choice will open doors to not only web pages and ebooks, but applications and even OS development. Which would be great. The last 30 years have seen the long, drawn-out death of the “industry standard” in numerous arenas. Any step towards reversing that is OK in my books.

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Jolicloud seems to be pushing the OS towards those who already have netbooks and laptops, touting the largest list of compatible netbooks of any OS on the market.

[Jolicloud]

The post Updated Jolicloud 1.1 available for download appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s not like Samsung is new to the smartphone thing. We’ve already seen a variety of regular Windows Mobile phones, as well as handsets “upgraded” with Samsung TouchWiz, not to mention the Android offerings too. But that’s not enough for ol’ Sammy.

The new mobile operating system from Samsung is called bada, which is Korean for ocean. This name was meant to “convey the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform.”

According to Samsung, bada will offer developers an easier way to create applications, giving consumers a “fun and diverse mobile experience.” Samsung bada will facilitate web-based services and “more sophisticated and attractive UI” designs.

There are no screenshots or any other specific information, but it sounds like Samsung could have something for us next month. You can check them out at bada.com.

Am I the only one who sees an inevitable partnership with Microsoft’s newer search engine? Bada Bing! Tony Soprano would approve.

Source: MobileCrunch

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