While Hotsync and Activesync seem to garner nothing but praise Symbian OS PC synchronization products have always come in second best. This may be due in part to the fact that until the Sony Ericsson P800 there was not a desk cradle option, a popular feature with competing platforms. However, synchronization has always worked well in our experience, with the possible exception of tasks on the UIQ platform. Recent experience with the Nokia 9500 does however suggests some features are going backwards (more on this in a forthcoming article).

Therefore there is much of interest in BVRP's recent announcement that it is developing a version of its popular Mobile PhoneTools suite for Symbian OS devices.

French based BVRP has been around for some 20 years. Its first communications software, developed 17 years ago, dealt with Fax. As European operators switched to digital networks BVRP provided fax features on these networks. From this work BVRP gaining experience in cellular networks and has grown to supply a range of applications and products servicing the mobile space.

Today BVRP is primarily an OEM supplier but, its PhoneTools package has also become a significant brand in its own right. In 2004 BVRP estimates that it shipped around 12 million units of PhoneTools through OEMs, including Motorola, Philips, Mitsubishi and many other well known brands, as well as retail copies.

For David Wright, BVRP's Executive Vice-President of OEM Operations the reasons for developing a Symbian OS version of PhoneTools has a lot more to do with the market than any specific weakness in existing solutions. "Our software works with middle to high end phones," says David. "The people buying these phones seem to do so either because they like new gadgets or have a real purpose for the features. What we are also finding is that those who really want to use the features also own a laptop. They want to exchange data between the two devices and connect to high-speed 3G networks through their phones. Our experience says it's a growing market, one which is consistently exceeding our expectations."

The demand for companion devices does not of its self necessarily justify a Symbian OS version of Mobile PhoneTools. "We are seeing many operators pushing high end phones," says David. "In addition, they are making decisions, similar to DoCoMo's, to concentrate on specific operating systems. The operators we are talking to are telling us they are going for Symbian OS. Looking at the market evolution Mobile PhoneTools support for Symbian OS is a must have from our point of view."

In providing Symbian OS support BVRP have chosen to work with Intuwave and build Mobile PhoneTools around the mRouter connectivity solution. "Symbian OS is specialized and requires a certain amount of expertise," says David. "We decided to work with Intuwave to help reduce our time to market. Using mRouter has provided us with device connectivity, saving us from having to start from scratch and do everything ourselves."

Mobile PhoneTools is more than simply a synchronization product. David sees the key features as:

• Providing a clean silent PC installation which completes all the necessary setup work under Windows with minimal user interaction.
• True PIM synchronization.
• Creating Internet connections for the PC through the phone.
• Providing access to text messages, email MMS and video.
• Transferring content between the PC and phone such as ring tones, images - with resizing and reformatting as required - along with pure file transfer.

David is at pains to point out that PhoneTools is a true synchronization tool. "We don't use simple import/export techniques as many other synchronization products do, nor do we employ any third party interfaces. PhoneTools works directly with the underlying PIM database on the phone and PC to provide accurate and efficient synchronization."

PhoneTools also offers OEM's a significant advantage over Symbian OS specific solutions. "There are few manufacturers who are support a single device OS," says David. "Our solution has been designed to work with any OS. From a manufacturers perspective this offers several advantages. For example, integration of Mobile PhoneTools with a new phone is much less complicated and product support is easier as their customers all get the same PC interface." However David does note that the features of PhoneTools are modular, and have to match the capabilities of the phone, so there is a variation in the exact features in any given implementation.

The initial version of PhoneTools for Symbian OS is likely to be a relatively straightforward implementation of the existing product features. David however expects that a number of Symbian OS specific features will be added in the future, with the focus on capabilities which "help differentiate and sell phones."

Initially PhoneTools for Symbian OS is likely to be available through Symbian OS licensees and shipped with phones. David suggests that a retail version for existing Symbian OS phone owners likely in the near future.

The first version of PhoneTools for Symbian OS is to be demonstrated at BVRP's stand (Hall 3, Booth H12) at the 3GSM World Congress 2005, February 14-17, Palais des Festivals et des Congres, Cannes, France.

More information on BVRP and PhoneTools can be found on BVRP's Web site, www.bvrp.com.