Nokia
stepped up its commitment to creation of services based on the interoperable
Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) standard with the release of its
Mobile Internet Toolkit 3.1. The new Toolkit is part of an end-to-end
solution from Nokia for development and deployment of MMS services by
operators and content providers. The Toolkit is available for download
at www.Forum.Nokia.com/tools.
MMS,
which opens a new dimension in business and consumer mobile
communication, allows users of MMS-capable phones to send messages
combining text, images, graphics and sound in a single "rich"
message. Nokia is supporting the launch of MMS person-to-person and
commercial content delivery services with a complete suite of MMS
infrastructure platforms and a full line-up of MMS-enabled mobile
devices.
The
new version of Nokia's top-rated Mobile Internet Toolkit will add
momentum to the roll-out of MMS by providing a PC-based testing and
simulation environment that gives developers the potential to easily
create, test and preview MMS messages.
The
new Toolkit includes the ability to edit or auto-generate
Synchronized Multimedia Internet Language (SMIL) files. A SMIL file
is the portion of an MMS message that contains instructions governing
presentation of multimedia content.
In
addition to a realistic, PC-based testing and simulation
environment, which eliminates the need for a handset or access to
carrier infrastructure, the Toolkit comes with the Nokia Mobile
Browser 3.0.1 simulator, which supports WAP 2.0 technologies
including Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (xHTML) and Cascading
Style Sheets (CSS).
"The
merging of rich media and wireless devices is a vital component
of Nokia's strategy for accelerating the transition to advanced
wireless networks with compelling services," said Jouko Hayrynen,
vice president, Forum Nokia. "Now, with the Mobile Internet Toolkit
3.1, we provide a fast-track to bring new MMS applications to the
market and enable end-user migration from existing SMS-based services
to more advanced services."
According
to industry analysts Ovum Research, the combined annual
revenues from content and message traffic associated with MMS-based
services could exceed $14 billion worldwide by 2004. "MMS presents
a
huge opportunity for operators, developers and content providers,"
commented John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum. "The challenge,
especially for operators, will be to create the proper business model
for realizing its potential."
The
Mobile Internet Toolkit 3.1 is the successor to the Nokia Mobile
Internet Toolkit 3.0, which was ranked as the most often used
wireless application SDK in a survey by independent software
development research firm, Evans Data Corp. In addition, the
predecessor toolkit - Nokia WAP Toolkit 2.1 - was recognized as the
"SDK of the Year" at the 2001 Wireless Developer Conference.
Multiple
Nokia handset simulators are available at the Forum Nokia
website for download and use with the Nokia Mobile Internet Toolkit.
The simulators are based on commercially available Nokia devices and
enable the previewing of different browser- and messaging-based
applications.
The
Mobile Internet Toolkit 3.1 has a flexible user interface that
provides developers with easy to use editors as well as expanded
views and preferences. Developers can navigate and request URLs from
any web server on the Internet via a WAP gateway or use a limited
version of the Nokia WAP server included with the Mobile Internet
Toolkit. Applications can also be stored and queried directly from
the PC file system.
