Airplay Portal
The Airplay Portal comprises a set of tools, services and on-device applications that enable the building of branded, differentiated content channels and communities, independent of device platforms.
The Airplay Portal is based upon the tried and tested Airplay platform. Airplay excels in three key areas: quality of content, speed of performance, and ease of deployment. The Airplay Portal takes advantage of all these features.
Airplay Channel consists of:
- On-Device Portal
- Airplay System Native Execution Environment
- Airplay SDK
On-Device Portal
Ideaworks Labs provide an out-of-the-box on-device portal application (ODP) which can be re-skinned to reflect client branding. The application is built using Airplay, meaning that it can be deployed unmodified to any supported handset.
Airplay’s superior graphical capabilities are used to full effect to create a high-quality user experience which transforms the process of browsing content into a pleasure. The reliability, quality and speed of the on-device application will serve to boost customer confidence and therefore the average revenue per user.
Customisation and Integration
Customisation is a breeze as Airplay enables rapid addition and evolution of new features. The white-label components provide a powerful, flexible and customisable system which can be easily integrated with third-party servers, CRM and billing systems.
Update and Distribution
There are many ways the branded application can be distributed:
- Pre-load onto new open-OS handsets
- Embed onto closed-OS handsets
- Existing OTA channels (e.g.,SIS/CAB file download)
- Web Download (and side load)
- Viral distribution (e.g., Bluetooth in retail outlets or between friends)
The application can automatically download the latest version so the user experience can be updated as the market evolves.
The Airplay architecture supports localised variants of the application core across different territories, meaning it is easy to support language localisation, and different territories can supply different branding or different functionality.
Content Delivery and DRM
The Airplay Portal separates DRM objects and content; digital rights are obtained from the server prior to playing the content. This creates flexibility of distribution while maintaining security.
Content can be purchased on the handset though the application, or digital rights can be purchased using WAP or through a website, and the content downloaded separately. There are a number of ways that content can be distributed to users:
- OTA (using handset WIFI if available)
- Viral distribution (Bluetooth, Infrared, physical media)
- Side-loading, via branded PC-Based multimedia player and retail interface application.
The application also allows you to implement flexible purchasing models, including "try before you buy", full purchase, subscription, gifting, etc.
Airplay System native execution environment
Airplay System is the core Ideaworks Labs technology which allows a single application binary to be deployed unmodified to any supported mobile operating system and handset.
Unlike Java, Flash Lite and Silverlight, there is no Virtual Machine and therefore the raw processing power of the handset is available to applications.
The native execution environment strictly controls the application’s access to the underlying operating system, providing a high level of security.
Airplay runs optimally on any chipset. Airplay detects the presence of any hardware graphics acceleration, and uses it if available. Airplay is optimised for all the major mobile GPU architectures.
Airplay System can be pre-loaded, downloaded, side-loaded or embedded.
Once the Airplay System environment exists on a handset, platform-agnostic application binaries can be downloaded and executed.
Airplay SDK
The Airplay SDK is the world’s most advanced development environment for native mobile applications. It enables the development of premium quality native applications.
Airplay SDK’s advanced graphics middleware delivers improved user experiences. These superior graphics capabilities scale across all platforms automatically, delivering the best possible user experience across the device spectrum.
Airplay SDK is integrated with ARM’s RealView Compilation Tools and Real Time System Model, enabling full testing of the ARM binary on the desktop. This reduces development and testing cost by keeping nearly all development on the desktop and away from a clumsy device debugging scenario.
Airplay SDK is already used by the world’s leading mobile games publishers to deliver multiple award-winning titles across multiple platforms in Japan, US and Europe.