IBM takes Lotus mobile

IBM has released a range of applications for mobile handsets.

The company unveiled Lotus Expeditor, a development tool which allows software developers to create applications for handsets.

The aim of the Expeditor tool is to allow developers to port web-based applications to handsets, allowing "mashups" that take data from multiple sources and combine them into a single application.

The company hopes that Expeditor becomes a tool which allows companies to merge both the traditional operations of productivity suites, such as calendars and messaging tools, with social networking applications. The company offered such examples as holiday planning tools or mobile tourist information as possible applications for Expeditor.

A key feature in Expeditor touted by IBM is the ability to update applications in the background. Users will be able to receive software updates without disrupting their phone's normal activity.

"People want to be productive anywhere, anytime," saidAlistair Rennie, vice president, development for IBM's Lotus software branch.

"IBM Lotus Expeditor enables faster delivery of a new generation of web 2.0 applications to mobile phones."

The company plans to deliver a demonstration of Expeditor later this week at the Eclipsecon conference in Santa Clara, California.