Wireless subscribers are familiar with the over-the-air delivery of ringtones, games, and other content to their mobile phones and smartphones. But did you know network operators could use the same technology to manage your handset remotely?

At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France this week online mobile software retailer Handango introduced an example of the former for Research In Motion's BlackBerry handhelds, while a behind-the-scenes company called InnoPath upgraded its over-the-air mobile device management solution—already employed for over 38 million handsets worldwide.

DeltaUpgrade Plus 3.0 is InnoPath's Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Device Management standards compliant firmware over-the-air solution. OMA compliance guarantees compatibility between different over-the-air implementations. Firmware is non-volatile memory that resides bellow the operating system (OS) layer and often contains a handsets basic and essential applications.

Important, as most mobile operators support more than one.

For example, while Sanyo bundle InnoPath's software with its phones, Samsung provides its own in-house over-the-air application with its handsets. So an operator like Sprint, which supports both manufacturers' handsets, can use the same server-side solution for all the phones its carriers.

Smaller = Faster & More Secure
DeltaUpgrade Plus 3.0 improves both download times and on-device upgrade time. When an update is sent from a carrier to a phone, only the aspects of a file that have change are delivered. So the update can be up to 97 percent smaller than the original.

The proliferation of smartphone viruses and malware—particularly for the Symbian platform (some of which can completely immobilize a smartphone)—is another area where the ability to update a handset's firmware remotely is beneficial.

InnoPath senior VP of marketing told SmartPhoneToday, "The increasing complexity of mobile device applications and the likelihood of viruses striking more frequently is driving the need for even faster downloads and upgrades.

With direct over-the-air access to firmware carriers can bypass the OS by encoding anti-virus software in ROM. They can then keep the security application up-to-date without hassling or relying on the subscriber to do so.

And since security is maintained in the firmware, the anti-virus application is immune to the negative affects malware might have on the OS, keeping the handset safer and the anti-virus immune from

BlackBerry InHand
Handango InHand is an intelligent, device-resident download client for Symbian UIQ, Palm, and Windows Mobile smartphones and wireless handhelds. It is now available for RIM's BlackBerry 7100, 7200, 7500 and 7700 series.

Handango CEO Randy Eiseman declared, "Handango InHand for BlackBerry enables operators to tap customers' appetites for more than just email. With hundreds of downloads available, customers can personalize their BlackBerrys in a variety of ways.

The company asserts InHand helps operators streamline content delivery across all smartphones; presents a compelling, branded interface; improves customer awareness of downloads; increases content revenues and data traffic; and delivers a superior download experience through features such as trials, one-click access, download safeguard, and online backup.

Eiseman added, "We are seeing strong interest from the world's largest mobile operators that view InHand as an excellent way to increase revenue and customer loyalty."

Of course, InHand makes Handango's catalog of software more easily available to BlackBerry handhelds in addition to potentially lining carrier pockets with additional data-driven income. With voice profits decreasing, data services are where the wireless industry is turning to keep up earnings.