Microsoft Pushes To Advance Mobile AppsMicrosoft Pushes To Advance Mobile Apps

Microsoft and other vendors have a mission: To make it easier to develop and support mobile applications. Last week, Microsoft released a second beta edition of its .Net Compact Framework, designed to streamline the way programmers develop applications for .Net, Microsoft's implementation of Web services.

Windows programmers previously had to use a separate developers' toolkit for mobile devices. With the new framework, Microsoft claims, developers can write apps once for desktops, servers, and mobile devices. That capability could boost the mobile market, considering Microsoft's pervasiveness among businesses. "You're going to see a lot more businesses looking at wireless handheld devices and developing apps to run on them," InStat/MDR analyst Ken Hyers says.

But development may not be a snap. Java-based options from IBM, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems claim to work across platforms, too. "Java works on any device, but it still has to be tweaked for each device," Hyers says. "I'm always a little bit suspicious whenever these companies say their software will work on any device." With that in mind, Hyers expects applications developed with Compact Framework to require some fine-tuning.

Microsoft also released a new version of its SQL Server CE database for mobile devices that lets users of Microsoft's Pocket PC and Windows CE-based devices search and manipulate data online or offline. Software for the server side of SQL Server runs on SQL Server CE 2.0.

Other vendors are looking to ease the burden on mobile developers with hardware-based solutions. Net6 Inc. last week unveiled the Net6 Mobile Transformation Gateway, a network-based appliance, starting at $8,000, that takes application content and renders it in real time to work on different devices. That makes life easier for developers, says CEO Murli Thirumale. "When you create an app, you should not have to worry about how it gets delivered to a device."