Press Release
Sophia Cradle Incorporated
Sophia Cradle Releases World's First Virtual Desktop for Mobile Phones
Virtual desktop works by virtually enlarging the small display of a mobile phone handset
Abstract
KYOTO — December 9, 2003 — Sophia Cradle Incorporated (Headquarter: Kyoto; CEO: Kazunori Sugiyama), an innovative developer of mobile phone software, today announced that it succeeded in realizing virtual desktop [*1] on a mobile phone screen for the first time in the world, and will provide it as a new feature of SophiaFramework [*2].
Full Story
Previously, only one application could be run on a mobile phone handset at a time because the display size of a handset was too small for multi-tasking. However, Sophia Cradle realized the idea of virtual desktop, which would solve such problem so that a user can use multiple applications such as mailer, scheduler and browser at a time on the same handset. Sophia Cradle realized virtual desktop that enables virtual enlargement of the display, by utilizing graphical user interface (GUI) framework of the latest version of BREW [*3] application framework SophiaFramework.
Virtual desktop realizes many different uses of a mobile phone. For example, a user can open multiple windows on an Internet browser, read and write different emails on a mailer, and run all of them at a time and use them one by one by switching windows.
Sophia Cradle will also enable virtual desktop on other operating systems than BREW, such as Linux and Symbian, which are expected to be another standard of next generation mobile phones.
Pricing and Availability
Free evaluation version of SophiaFramework v 2.1.1 is available at the Sophia Cradle web site: /english/products/sophiaframework/index.html.
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Terms
A function that constitutes a larger desktop than the physical screen resolution. When a user uses an application, part of this virtual desktop is displayed on the handset. Also means the virtual desktop which is provided during this function. Desktop is a basic on-screen background while running an operating system. A user uses applications and documents on a desktop.
Middleware released by Sophia Cradle in August 2002. It runs on BREW and consists of three layers: graphical user interface (GUI), C++ utility library and C++ wrappers. SophiaFramework helps a developer create a high-quality BREW application in a short period of time. The technology of SophiaFramework is used in many top-seller BREW applications in Japan.
More about SophiaFramework: /english/products/sophiaframework/index.html
[*3] BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless)
The standard of mobile phone software developed by QUALCOMM Incorporated, released in January 2001. BREW applications work fast no matter what the underlying system software in the handset is. A user can download a compiled BREW application from the Internet and use it with any BREW-enabled handset. The worldwide spread of BREW is so remarkable that there are many network operators that provide BREW services, including Japan's KDDI which started offering it in February 2003.
* Trademarks associated with QUALCOMM Incorpotated and BREW are trademarks and registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated.
About Sophia Cradle
Sophia Cradle Incorporated is a mobile phone software developer which currently specializes in BREW C++, GUI middleware and mobile Java. Founded in 2002, Sophia Cradle aims to render services to the improvement of everyone's quality of life by creating innovative mobile Internet technology. For more information about Sophia Cradle, please visit www.s-cradle.com/english/.