Last month I was at a press summit that was organised by NetEvents. The topics at the summit were squarely enterprise centric. I had to suffer an immense overdose of topics like datacentres, virtualisation, enterprise cloud solutions and networking but one topic made me attend and that was cyber security.

A large number of security solutions providers were there. Companies like Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Sourcefire, Blue Coat and Niometrics. Of course, the speakers who spoke on cyber security issues also focussed on enterprise issues but the background information I gained was invaluable.

In essence, everyone who uses a smart mobile device and his or her employers should take cyber security very seriously.

Firstly, the profile of the attacker has changed. Malware makers are no longer hacker kids out for some mischief and bragging rights. These days, malware threats are more likely to come from organised crime out to make as much money as possible.

Steve Jobs and I go a long way back. Not as in personally knowing each other but rather as in the periods of our lives that have coincided. Many of MW’s readers would have known Steve Jobs from the time when the iPod became a must-have tech gadget. I tracked his career right from the time he began to build computers.

I followed his life when he was a computer whizz kid. I felt sort of sad when he was forced out of Apple. I cheered when he came back because it was so much like a movie with a happy ending. And I looked upon with admiration when he came up with winner after winners, first in computers, then in a music gadget and then, right in the industry I cover, in mobile.

But unlike many of my friends, I never became an Apple fanboy. Till this very day, the only Apple product I have bought is the iPad. Yet, I am a firm believer in Steve’s genius and consider his loss to be irreplaceable. Steve Jobs was unique and I am not sure if we will see one more person with every single one of his stellar qualities so soon.

Why do I consider him a genius and yet not buy his products? It’s a philosophical thing.

Not too long ago, plenty of industry observers were saying that the mobile operating systems space was becoming a two horse race involving iOS and Android. To the inexperienced, it did look like it was headed that way as Apple continued its amazing success story with just one device and Android devices began to turn up in ever increasing numbers and models. Microsoft and Nokia were having well documented problems with their operating systems and HP announced that it wasn’t pursuing its WebOS initiative any longer.

But suddenly and dramatically, things have changed.

It’s amazing how fast things can change.

I was on the BFM 89.9 radio station recently in one of the shows and I did a half year review of the mobile world. In it I said that to date, this has been a forgettable year, with few new phones and not much exciting
developments overall.

That was like just a few weeks before Google announced that it is taking over Motorola Mobility; Steve Jobs said goodbye, HP announced it was giving up on hardware and WebOS and Nokia came up out of the blue with three nice new smartphones and a stunning new Symbian operating system.

But then again, I shouldn’t have been so surprised to see it happen. Over the ten years I’ve covered the mobile industry, I have seen companies rise and fall and rise again and fall yet again. That’s why I always tell people who ask never to write off any brand. You just never know when they might come up with something fresh and become a winner yet again.

So for those who heard the BFM segment titled ‘half year report’ don’t be alarmed to see that my take has changed over a few weeks. After all, the mobile industry has just gone through the equivalent of an earthquake in the last two weeks or so. Since the mobile world can be said to begin with the Mobile World Congress in February, now is the right time to do a half year review. So here goes.

As expected, Nokia announced the first of its WIndows Phone 7 devices at Nokia World 2011, London.

You can read about the Lumia devices here

I must say that I am delighted to see Nokia back in the game. After such a long period in the doldrums, the Nokia star is shining again. First, Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility validated its decision to partner with the Redmont giant instead of Google. Then its Nokia N9 device received mainly positive reviews despite it being launched as a one-off device. Finally, its Lumia devices are not shabby at all.

Of course, a lot of industry observers are asking if these devices will be able to take on Android and iOS devices. In my opinion, that question is irrelevant for now. I think these two Lumia devices are just the first salvoes from Nokia and that too, exploratory ones.

In all likehood, Nokia put together these two devices in the fastest possible time because it wanted to get something out into the market while it builds its 'real' devices. In essence, these devices - while certainly nice smartphones in their own rights - are standard Windows devices that could have been put together by just about any smartphone maker.

I would wait for the next round of devices before reaching any conclusions.

Malaysian mobile developers had a lot to cheer in July. RM5 million worth of cheers to be exact. That’s the amount of money that has been allocated for the second MSC Malaysia Integrated Content Development Programme (ICON2). ICON2 is a follow up from the first ICON programme that was carried out around 2 years ago and which is one of the lines of action that the government is taking to spur the local content, apps and services industry.

That first ICON programme was launched rather hastily, with sketchy information and procedures. Nevertheless, it still managed to result in some nice apps and services developed by the grant holders. At the launch of ICON2, some of these developers shared their successes, which included mobile apps for LRT information, restaurants in Malaysia, a directory app called Malaysian Hotlines as well as an interesting video channel called TryMasak.

The new ICON2 programme is much more structured. I like the fact that it addresses the different needs of the industry. The ICONapps category is aimed at getting more new developers into mobile applications. It starts right at the beginning of the process and so, just about anyone who wants to be a mobile developer can apply and the programme will take him or her through the basics of training until the development of the first app. The ICONdap programme is aimed at current developers and will help them build their next big app. The ICONex programme addresses another need of the industry – that of hosting high bandwidth content online.

All in all, a wholesome approach and I am excited about the prospects that Malaysians will come up with more interesting mobile applications and services very soon.
In case you missed the announcement or if you have been thinking of coming up with a mobie application, go to www.mscmalaysia.my/topic/ICON. All the information you need is there.