The dilemma for developers: Should they create innovative native apps that take advantage of the unique features of a particular handset, such as the iPhone's accelerometer, or produce more basic apps that will run across many different handsets? That might seem like a no-brainer given the collective failure of handset manufacturers to implement a standard Java run time environment, the fragmentation of Web run time platforms and the high sales levels achieved by some native apps for the iPhone.

Another mobile world first in South Korea - the launch of the first cross-network services based on the Rich Communication Suite (RCS) specifications now being developed by the GSMA with the backing of many of the world's leading equipment vendors and mobile operators.The commercial launch is significant because it will be the first real market test of whether the operator community can use the contacts lists in their customers' phones as a launch pad for a new class of communications services d

Mobile data enthusiasts can take heart from the first quarter results from AT&T and Verizon. Even in the teeth of a severe recession, both the U.S.'s leading operators have reported strong growth in mobile data revenues.AT&T generated a 39% year-on-year increase in wireless data revenues to $3.2 billion, while Verizon Wireless' data revenue in the first quarter was up 37% to $3.6 billion on a like-for-like basis. While the growing popularity of text messaging in the U.S. and the rising usage of