Handsets to get update capability

Red Bend releases new vRapid mobile tool

Mobile phones will in future be easier to update with bug fixes or new capabilities following the release of vRapid Mobile from Red Bend software. The tool is designed to enable built-in code to be updated in a similar way to update services on PCs.

Red Bend already provides firmware over the air (FOTA) capabilities used by vendors such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, but vRapid Mobile enables the firmware to be modularised for easier updates.

“Instead of looking at firmware as a monolith, we can break it up into components and update them separately over the air,” said Morten Grauballe, Red Bend’s European vice president of marketing.

The facility could be used to upgrade email clients to support push delivery, update Java JVMs, or add additional APIs. The first updates are likely to come from handset makers, but software vendors may also provide updates for firms to deploy themselves, Grauballe said.