| SyncML® is designed to address the characteristics of wireless networks and mobile devices, such as low bandwidth and a limited amount of memory. Outside the SyncML specifications, there are still many other characteristics relating to wireless devices that need to be considered when designing a SyncML Client. These characteristics are usually linked to the nature of wireless networks, the internal architecture of device platforms, and interoperability. Implementing SyncML for wireless devices results in a large set of appealing benefits. Mobile and wireless devices are intended for use anytime and anywhere. Thus, data must easily be accessible everywhere at all times. Frequently changed data must be conveniently updated using data synchronization when moving around with a wireless device. SyncML offers a uniform synchronization protocol for wireless devices. This is a great benefit for synchronization solutions, since the majority of wireless device platforms do not allow the installation of third-party software. As a consequence, they cannot support a variety of synchronization protocol interfaces from different manufacturers. Therefore, the synchronization interface frequently needs to be provided by the device manufacturers themselves. SyncML is an important enabler for mobile applications. As wireless devices become increasingly data-centric, the number of applications requiring data synchronization capability increases. As a result, SyncML will become a mandatory and integral part of mobile device platforms. Before this vision can be realized, the satisfaction and confidence of end-users in mobile data synchronization and SyncML technology needs to be assured. As a precondition, Client implementations are required to be efficient and interoperable. |
