Currently rumors of the first Android based handset of Sony Ericsson can be found on several Internet news portals. The danish phone site Mobile invoke on internal documents of Sony Ericsson, which describe an upcoming XPERIA handset codenamed Rachael. Fist details of the specifications include:

• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• HSPA
• 8 megapixel camera
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• big touchscreen (somewhere between 3.75″ and 4″)

Until now there are no official facts of the smart-phone available. It is unclear if the phone will have a capacitive touch screen or if Sony will have its own special UI on top of Android like HTC is doing. There are no information about the measurements and size of the phone. Furthermore it doesn’t seem to include a slide-out keyboard (because of the thin chassis).

(copyright: mobile)

The phone also includes few buttons on the front which is unusual for Android phones. Current HTC Android phones have at least a home button, back button, pick up, end call, and some sort of navigation input like a dpad or trackball.

It can be assumed that the phone will not available very soon (maybe during 2010). Previously SonyEricsson stated that they would skip Android 1.5 and wait for version 2.0 before releasing their first handset. One of the features that are supposedly added to Android 2.0 is WVGA (800×480 or 854×480) support. So this phone could be the first with WVGA resolution.

[via Engadget]

Google has added 3 more 3d city models in Google Earth. They can be found in the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth. In the post of “Google latlong” Google mentioned that these 3D models are mainly auto-generated and include several user generated 3D buildings.

Currently you can visit several major European cities including Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, London, etc., virtually and in 3D.

[via: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/06/more-3d-cities-in-europe.html]

As you all know the new iPhone 3G S has a build in compass. This allows creating Augmented Reality applications for the iPhone. Such applications are already available for Android Phones. They use the camera, compass and GPS of the mobile device to include additional (artificial) information on the camera view showing the current real situation.

I posted about an Augmented Reality application previously: http://joesonic.com/blog/2008/05/11/augmented-reality-and-mobile-gis-an-interesting-topic/

Following developer’s video shows an Augmented Reality browser running (in this case on an Android HTC G1):

ESRI has published a list of Featured Session for the User Conference 2009.

(logo by ESRI)

How can we design our future with GIS?
Jack Dangermond President, ESRI

How can we design our future with GIS? UC Opening Plenary Session, Mon, Jul 13, 8:30AM – 3:30PM

This inspiring session is a must-attend event where you’ll celebrate the accomplishments of the ESRI community with thousands of your fellow innovative and pioneering colleagues. ESRI president Jack Dangermond will welcome you and acknowledge the people, projects, and programs making a difference in today’s world. Also, hear him discuss geospatial trends, the direction of ESRI, and his vision for GIS.

Can you protect nature without stifling the local economy?
Willie Smits Biologist and Chairman, Masarang Foundation

Can you protect nature without stifling the local economy? Designs for the Environment: Rebuilding Forests, Mon, Jul 13, During the Plenary Session

Willie Smits will share his inspirational passion for rebuilding forest habitat and orangutan populations. He will talk about a project underway in eastern Borneo that is positively impacting communities by creating a better future for local people, trees, and the orangutan.

How can GIS help alleviate poverty?
Hernando de Soto President, Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD)

How can GIS help alleviate poverty? Designs for Poverty: Formalizing Landownership, Mon, Jul 13, During the Plenary Session

De Soto will share how geographic information system (GIS) technology is being used to formalize landownership—an approach he feels is helping the poor take a crucial first step away from poverty.

Which mobile solution best meets my needs?
Jian Lange ArcPad Product Manager, ESRI

Which mobile solution best meets my needs? ESRI Mobile GIS Solutions Overview, Tue, Jul 14, 8:30AM – 9:45AM (1st offering), Wed, Jul 15, 1:30PM – 2:45PM (2nd offering)

This session will help you select the most suitable ESRI software for your mobile application. Topics will include matching personas with products, demos, and providing a decision-making tree. Furthermore, the session will outline the complete ESRI mobile product line including ArcGIS Mobile, ArcPad, ArcGIS Engine, and Adapx.

What should I be doing now to prepare for ArcGIS 9.4?
Sud Menon ArcGIS Server Lead Architect, ESRI

What should I be doing now to prepare for ArcGIS 9.4? ArcGIS Server GIS 9.4 Plans, Tue, Jul 14, 10:15AM – 11:30AM (1st offering), Wed, Jul 15, 3:15PM – 4:30PM (2nd offering)

This session will discuss and demonstrate the key functionality being planned in the upcoming ArcGIS 9.4 release. ArcGIS 9.4 is the next major release of ArcGIS and will be in Beta later this year. This session will focus on the new improvements in ArcGIS Server at 9.4, including new web services, improved APIs, improved raster support, and much more.

Are there better ways to tell stories with maps?
Clint Brown Director of Software Products, ESRI

Are there better ways to tell stories with maps? Bringing Your Geographic Information to Life, Thu, Jul 16, 8:30AM – 9:45AM

The goal of this presentation will focus on how to turn your data into useful information and on how to bring it to life on the web — making it actionable, consumable, and understandable. We will describe and demonstrate a series of simple approaches that you can leverage to publish your geographic information, make it consumable, and to build effective, informative Web GIS deployments.

Can GIS make government more efficient and transparent?
Martin O’Malley Governor of Maryland

Can GIS make government more efficient and transparent?, Mon, Jul 13, During the Plenary Session

The State of Maryland is leading the way with GIS through years of state and local collaboration, all being brought together under the governor’s vision that geography is the common language and one map must be developed for one Maryland (creating an authoritative basemap of Maryland).

How will we share and collaborate in the cloud?
Scott Morehouse and Dirk Gorter

Director of Software Development and Director of Product Management, Web GIS, Taking Advantage of the Cloud, Tue, Jul 14, 8:30AM – 9:45AM

This session discusses the most recent pattern for GIS, “Web GIS” and how it compliments existing patterns of a GIS like Desktop and Enterprise. Together, these three fundamental patterns provide a more powerful and complete Geographical information eco system. We will review the key aspects of a Web GIS, how it relates to the other components and the latest technologies, including cloud computing, that have enabled this new concept.

How do I justify my GIS budget in this economy?
Victoria Kouyoumjian IT Strategies Architect, ESRI

Getting at the Business Benefits of GIS—An ROI Approach, Sun, Jul 12, 8:30AM – 5:00PM

This preconference seminar sets out to teach a standardized return on investment (ROI)-based enterprise GIS strategy and business case methodology for identifying, prioritizing, and calculating the business value of GIS technology for any organization. This will be relevant for those seeking funding for a new or expanding GIS program or seeking to prioritize their existing budget to realize the most impactful return.

How is GIS being used to track stimulus spending?
Pat Cummens Government Strategist, ESRI

How is GIS being used to track stimulus spending in the US? GIS Delivers Transparency & Accountability: Tracking Stimulus Spending is just the Beginning, Wed, Jul 15, 8:30AM – 9:45AM

Worldwide there is a growing the expectation for improved citizen engagement in government activities. This is promising to open up government; providing transparency into decision making and spending. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the Stimulus Act, designed to infuse $787 billion into the US economy is providing a proofing ground for this transparency. Citizens want to know what’s going on, particularly in their neighborhood, and expect easier ways to hold their government accountable. GIS can help citizens view and understand government information in a meaningful way.

How can image processing improve my GIS work?
Lawrie Jordan Director of Imagery Enterprise Solutions, ESRI

How can image processing improve my GIS work? Imagery Then and Now; Detecting Change, Wed, Jul 15, 8:30AM – 9:45AM

Image change analysis is the key component to updating geospatial data sets and reducing the cost. Permanent cultural changes can be pinpointed using 25 years of Landsat imagery to identify changes, while dramatically reducing production time and costs. Correlated Land Change (CLC) using MDA EarthSat’s patented change detection techniques will show how this can be done.

[via ESRI.com]

I have tried out to compare mobile application stores by their number of available applications. Starting with Apple mobile application stores have become very popular to download programs and games directly to the users smartphone. Now nearly every big player has launched a platform where different applications are hosted. I have compared platforms of the 5 major players in case of application variety:

All in all it is not so easy to compare the total number of applications, because there are no official or correct information available. Most headlines give the impression platforms start with 10000+ applications, but if you take a closer look at different applications you find out that these numbers are utopian. By June 2009 there are good numbers about Apples AppStore. They provide about 50000 applications and games, where 11000 of these are free (~87 % Market Share). Android Market has nearly 6000 applications which is about 10 % Market Share. Palm claims to have about 3000 applications available, which is about 5 % Market Share. But I get the impression this number include also Windows mobile applications. Nokia has only about 250 application available for their Symbian S60 v5 phones (0.5 % Market Share). And Blackberry has only 15 featured applications listed in their online platform. I could not verify the total number of BlackBerry applications because therefore you need a BackBerry phone.

Market Share by total number of Applications

In conclusion it can be said that the success of a mobile platform or operation system depends on the variety and number of application. It is a very easy equation that allows you to predict the success of an application:

• The higher the amount of applications the higher the success of a platform!

In my opinion big players in the smartphone market will be the iPhone OS and Android. It is difficult to say what will happen to Palm and the big looser will be Nokia (See also following article: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/26/nokia-ovi-store-launch-is-a-complete-disaster/).