The big news today from Appup Elements in Seattle is Linux and LiMo Foundation's combined platform from Linux's Meego and LiMo's work called Tizen. The platform will have the full support of co-chairs Intel and Samsung.
We knew something was coming. As developers that build for Meego, we felt for a long time that the platform was missing key components that needed to be built from the ground up. Tizen allows 10 years of development and code curation in the LiMo Foundation to be built right into all that has been Meego. The huge leap forward for Appup with Tizen will compliment and integrate with the many other app delivery systems and hardware with the power of HTML5 and WAC 2.0 frameworks.
Really though I see it as a logical model for great content to get to the next generation of incredible devices. I have felt all along that it is all about the app, not the system or device. Give the consumer choices and you will reach the world. As technology creators, both software and hardware developers, our goal should be to make devices that stand the test of use and apps that dazzle, entertain and help customer do their work better. The industry continues to thrash around tablet design and app delivery. Intel's Peter Biddle said a year ago that the streets of Silicon Valley will be paved by the glut of useless tablets. We only need to look at last year's Christmas offering of low-end Android tablets. They were almost universally awful. Consumers couldn't even run apps beyond a limited offering of pre-installed shovelware. It was embarrassing. While the poor-quality-low-cost model will surely persist, we just have to look at the lawsuits and cease and desist filings to see that Apple is not the only one offering value. They would not feel threatened by mediocre. This was not the case even a year ago.
Whether it is Tizen, iOS, Android or others, it all comes back to creating a healthy application ecosystem. As consumers we want synchronization across all platforms. We want to be free to use the devices that match our needs best and we want those devices to work well. We want services that offer up good content regardless of who delivers it.
As developers we need to be listening and doing our best to give the consumer that expereince and as hardware designers the devices that play that experience well.