Since MWC some of the guys in VF Group R&D have been experimenting with different Widget ideas and concepts as well as developing templates which can be used to accelerate generation of new Widgets.

We've decided to make some of these available now through a new .mobi site, Widgetvine.

I should point out that these are provided simply to show the kind of ideas and user experience that can be achieved using the S60 Web Runtime; they are not for commercial use.

We'd be interested in your thoughts: which ideas do you like, which do you hate :-) suggestions for additional Widgets, comments on the Widget design, user experience, anything!

Well, we finally made it home after the usual delays ;-)

Feedback from the conference has been very good; if you missed the demos here's a VF Videoblog.

There's also some videos we put up previously on YouTube based around our Virtual Desktop concept on Windows Mobile - MobileScriptsee here.

Always open to feedback so let us know what you think.

Well, MWC is drawing to a close and there's notably less footfall today (Thursday) compared to the past two hectic days. But it's been a good Show; not for the announcements (nothing that awe inspiring) but for the 'speed dating' and the interest we've been getting around Widgets and Web Runtimes in general.

Probably most interesting is that all the mobile browser vendors are now evolving their frameworks in the direction of supporting Web apps (e.g., Widgets) and exposing device APIs to enable mashup services and contextualisation. Obviously for this to be a success will require a degree of standardisation across the industry and the first step along this path will be an initiative in the Open Ajax Alliance to start looking at the security model - tune into the Open Ajax Alliance web site/Wiki to keep up with the discussion... and feel free to join in :-)

Well, it's been a while since I've last blogged on the subject of Widgets but things are really starting to take shape now and this year will be an exciting year for Widgets and the underlying concept of evolving the mobile browser as a Web Runtime environment.

VF Group R&D have a number of demos we're showing at MWC (aka 3GSM) this year:

- Widget carousel concept (S60)
- Widgets running across multiple mobile platforms (S60, UIQ, Windows Mobile)
- Widgets running across mobile and PC platforms (using the Opera desktop and Yahoo Widget engines)
- Using the PC as a means of discoivering and managing Widgets on your phone
- Syncing configuration data between a desktop Widget and its mobile counterpart

I haven't had much time to tour the show to see what other people are showing but we've certainly had a lot of interest in our demos on the VF stand - come and have a look if you're in town for the Show.

For the Widget concept to be commercially successful we need a minimum level of consistency across the different platforms and Widget engines. Currently the W3C (WAF WG) are working on a packaging format (for Widgets in general - both desktop and mobile) and discussions are starting the Open Ajax Alliance on whether it makes sense to standardise on a Javascript API for opening up device APIs to the Web Runtime environment. We'll have to see how this all pans out...

To kick off this blog I'll talk about the Mobile Widgets event organised by Mobile Monday London earlier this week. Turn out was pretty good with presentations from myself, Nokia S60, Frog Design, Qualcomm and many others.

I still think there is a lot of confusion about Widgets and this isn't helped by those people using the term 'Widgets' simply to add spin to what otherwise would be a less sexy proposition.

Immediate reactions are also often misguided, "How can you transfer the experience from my desktop to a tiny 2" screen?", they cry. But of course this is missing the core essence of a Widget and focussing too much on the implementation used on the PC/Mac.

A Widget (for me at least) is a simple, single function Web app that allows the user to more quickly access the information/services provided through the Web. Whilst the benefit of this on a desktop might be questionable (and indeed many admit to trying Widgets on the desktop and giving up), on a mobile platform they make a lot of sense given the UI constraints.

So, when I'm rushing for the train back from Paddington I can, at a glance, get information on when the next train will be heading home and which platform to sprint to. Firing up the mobile browser, navigating to a bookmark and triple tapping my destination just isn't conducive to getting out of London ahead of the commuting hordes.

I discuss this and more in my MoMo presentation; feel free to take a look and let me know what you think (should be on MoMo site soon).