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A bit of action for the O2 XDA
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By Jørgen Sundgot, Tuesday 11 June 2002  
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Although the O2 XDA receives plenty of interest thanks to its hardware, it's also fitted with a new service framework from Action Engine that could prove vital to its success.
One of the most coveted handheld devices of 2002 is the O2 XDA from mmO2 - running Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition operating system, which is only fitting since the device is a combination of a Pocket PC and a GSM/GPRS mobile phone. The XDA, based on a hardware reference design from Taiwanese HTC, has drawn quite a bit of attention thanks to being the first device to use Phone Edition and being one of few combined handheld/mobile phone products - but there's more to it than meets the eye.
 | The Action Engine client provides a browser-like interface to services
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The hardware reference design that the XDA is built around will also be made available from other carriers around the world with slightly altered hardware specifications and network support, which has lead mmO2 to contract the help of service framework provider Action Engine to early add a bit of extra pizazz to its offering.
The Action Engine service framework runs on a multitude of platforms, and offers a browser-like interface to various services on the network of the carrier the client is connected to. Using a 'walled garden'-approach to providing services, carriers can decide which services should be available to users on their network, while the framework also supports billing which allows carriers to introduce services for which users will have to pay to make use of.
The service framework went live in the Netherlands on May 27 as a part of mmO2's XDA launch, and on that particular network provides services such as scheduling flights with British Airways, acquiring driving directions, news and weather forecasts - which also can be synchronized with calendar and contact databases on the XDA. Future services planned for introduction range from booking and purchasing flights with various airlines to buy movies, movie tickets, find restaurants, buy flowers and more.
Following the launch in the Netherlands in May, the Action Engine framework will also be rolled out in the UK, Germany, Ireland, and Isle of Man in June along with the introduction of the O2 XDA in the various countries.
The Action Engine framework is prepared to take advantage of all the new features in XScale processors, allowing for maximum power efficiency while also having a strong focus on security through the implementation of three-level encryption in its underlying protocol. Also, the Action Engine client is - although this feature can be disabled by carriers - by default set to update itself automatically over a wireless connection, and of course also to retrieve new services as these are made available by carriers.
A future scenario mentioned in a phone conference with Action Engine resembles closely that promised by Symbian and Sony Ericsson's Magpie concept; Users will be able to book and purchase flights with an airline, and have itinerary information synchronized to the calendar database. Should the flight be delayed, the itinerary would automatically be updated, and the user would be notified. Meanwhile, co-workers of the given user would, given permission, be able to gain access to the person's itinerary as well, allowing them to for instance re-schedule meetings in case of delays.
The technology to implement services of the kind mentioned in the scenario above is according to Action Engine available already, but has not been commercially implemented - however this is just a matter of time. In the meantime, the framework will be the first to provide a converged platform, much like the device it will be operating on, through merging the billing features of mobile phones with the browsing features of handhelds. And don't be surprised if it shows up in other contexts, either.
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