Verizon's Open Device Conference coming in March

Verizon Wireless today announced that they will be holding an OpenDevelopment Device Conference from March 19-20 in NY to release its publication of the Version 1.0 specifications for their "Any Device, Any Network" initiative. The March 19 conference will focus on how wireless device manufactureswill be able to bring new devices to the marketplace under Verizon's Open Development initiative.

Anthony A. Lewis, VP of the Open Development initiative said, "Version1.0 will provide the roadmap for wireless device visionaries and tinkerers, as well as existing device makers, to create consumerproducts not offered directly by the company, which can run on the nation's most reliable network."

Most importantly, Version 1.0 will give manufactures the foundation for device certification. While in the coming weeks, Verizon plans to dive deeper with application developer to match applications with device designers.

While the conference agenda on March 19 will focus on the goals and standards of the initiative, March 20 will be designed for one-on-one visits between attendees, developers and the Verizon Wireless Open Development team. Since this is the first major step that Verizon has made in its OpenDevelopment initiative, they are expecting the first approved devices to be available later this year. FAQs regarding the Open Development impact on consumer may be found here.

Based on this preliminary information, any CDMA phone can be submittedby its manufacturer to certify that it will work properly on Verizon's network. Verizon will not be responsible for the software applications on the device, but will simply test network connectivity. Once a device has passed certification, consumers will be able to use that device on Verizon's network. However, it is unclear as to where the consumer will actually purchase the device from.

Verizon will also be webcasting the March 19 conference at the site.

Please continue to visit PhoneArena as we will provide you with additional information as it becomes available.

source: Verizon Wireless