Mobile Monday Detroit Explores Open Source Mobile Platforms and Ford's Open XC API

DETROIT - May 9, 2013 - PRLog -- The mobile device operating system war has been won...or has it?  Android and iOS have captured the vast majority of the mobile market, and Blackberry and Windows Phone are competing for a very distant third place; but is that really the end of it? Not in the wonderful world of mobile! Just when you think a standard has been settled on, something else comes along to disrupt that notion - and in the case of mobile operating systems, that 'something' would be open source mobile OS platforms.

This Mobile Monday Detroit event, produced by the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM), and taking place on Monday, May 13th at 5:30 p.m. at Compuware headquarters, will provide an opportunity to learn about new open source mobile operating systems that are starting to enter the marketplace, including Mozilla Firefox OS, Sailfish, Ubuntu Touch and Tizen - and why these new options are starting to be seen as viable alternatives.

MoMoDetroit will welcome Mozilla's Senior Software Engineer, Jared Wein, who will provide an in-depth look at the Firefox OS and Randy Nunez, Technical Specialist at Ford Motor Company to discuss the other mobile OS open source options. Wein will explore the rationale for Mozilla to enter the mobile operating system space, as well as how Mozilla has opened the full hardware stack up to developers and given web developers as much access to the phone hardware as "native" application developers have achieved on other mobile platforms. The presentation will also incorporate novel application discovery mechanisms as part of the consumer experience overview, and will feature a demonstration of the Firefox phone.

Another topic being explored at this event will be Ford Motor Company's Open XC API which enables data from a car's internal network to become accessible from Android apps using the Open XC library. Chris Peplin, technical leader of the open-source project and Ford research engineer, will present an overview of the project, how to get started, and will demo several interesting applications of vehicle data using the platform.

Mobile Monday Detroit is free to attend, however reservations are required at http://www.meetup.com/Mobile-Monday-Detroit/events/107000572/. Free parking is available to those who utilize Compuware's parking deck and have their parking stub validated when signing in at the meeting. Refreshments will be served.

Mobile Monday Detroit is sponsored by the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (http://gomobilemichigan.org/), Mobile Monday Michigan (http://mobilemondaymichigan.org/) and Compuware (http://compuware.com/).

About the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan

MTAM is a non-profit trade association for Michigan’s mobile / wireless industry. The organization's mission is to increase the use of Michigan-based mobile/wireless technology products and services in-state, nationally and globally; to increase the productivity and profitability of every industry vertical in Michigan via the use of these technologies; and to create sustainable jobs and increased entrepreneurial opportunities in the state based on the use of these technologies, thereby achieving substantial growth of Michigan’s economy. Information about MTAM can be found at www.GoMobileMichigan.org.

MTAM is also the statewide producer of Mobile Monday Michigan – a mobile / wireless industry networking and education organization which is a branch of an international organization. Here in Michigan we currently have 4 chapters (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing and Grand Rapids) with over 2500 members state-wide, and additional chapters in the planning stages for 2013.