BlackBerry Developer Interview Series - Patrick Kosiol from Skylab-Mobilesystems

location based services

Filed under: InterviewsThis is the second interview in the BBHub BlackBerry Developer Interview Series. This series will put a face to many of the software programs you know and love. Developers are often power users who have unique perspectives on the industry. Many are entrepreneurs with colorful careers in technology. This series will give you a glimpse into their worlds and their outlook on the future of the BlackBerry.The second interviewee is Patrick Kosiol from Skylab-Mobilesystems. Patrick's company makes Spot for the BlackBerry, a piece of software that turns your BlackBerry into full-fledged GPS device that you can even Geocache with. Feel free to pose questions to Patrick in the comments of this post and he'll answer them. Dave: Tell us a little about yourself, Patrick.Patrick: I'm Patrick Kosiol a German living and working in China. I'm responsible for the actual development of our current and future products. That includes direct access to customer feedback for bringing more features, products and services our customers want.What BlackBerry do you use now and what PDAs have you used in the past?Patrick: Actually I'm not as handheld addicted as I should be. I never owned a BlackBerry or PDA privately as there are enough at work and I have to "play" with them quite often. Anyway, I'm currently impressed by the Pearl which has a lot of features but still lacks of built-in GPS support.Dave: Why is the BlackBerry a good platform to develop on?Patrick: The BlackBerry's well established system architecture enables us to develop comprehensive applications for the BlackBerry platform. There are less incompatibilities between different versions, a good security system you can rely on and well experienced users who know what they want. So this is a very good base to build high quality products for the BlackBerry market.Dave: Other than your own, name your three favorite applications for the BlackBerry.Patrick: Sudoku (great for lunch time), PocketDay, and MyFlashlight.Dave: What's your favorite trick or feature that you use on your BlackBerry?Patrick: Definitely, the incredible screen. The brightness and quality of the BlackBerry's screen is absolutely top. Even outside while the sun tries to dazzle around, you can easily work with the BlackBerry. If you compare the screens there is no current platform able to compete with RIM's BlackBerry. No PocketPC, no Palm, no smartphone.Dave: What's the most important feature that the BlackBerry lacks?Patrick: Excluding the 7100i, 7520 and 8703e (Sprint) they are all lacking of built-in GPS. I hope the 8800 Series will come with that feature that would be great for all devices and providers. By the way, I still don't understand why Verizon as well as Bell Mobility deactivated their already built-in(!) GPS receiver in the 8703e.Dave: Where do you see the focus of third party programs for the BlackBerry going over the next few months?Patrick: As you might imagine there is a lot of potential in the Location Based Services market and we believe the interest in such programs will rise. Therefore we are currently developing new systems which will interact with our BlackBerry version of "Spot" and enable our users to work with their data on their desktop, on the internet as well as on their BlackBerry when they are on the road. The term "GPS" is one of the top 5 key words typed in at mobile-related search engines today. So there is an high potential in the market for such services and products. Other location based solutions are on their way as well and we will participate putting the planet in your hand.Dave: Thanks, Patrick!Patrick: Sure, Dave.Previous interviews in the BBHub Developer Interview Series: