Mobile Provider APIs - Part 2

by Kin Lane on 02/15/2011

The other day I noticed three new APIs that were launched by mobile providers.

Just two days after I wrote that up, I saw the announcement of several more APIs from mobileproviders.

Here are seven more mobile providers that are delivering APIs:

Deutsche Telekom Developer Garden provides community, documentation, code, applications and much more around their APIs:

Send SMS API - Send short messages to mobile or landline.
Send MMS API - Send multimedia short message service (MMS)
Conference Call API - Establish voice connections with multiple participants.
Voice Call API - Establish voice connections between two user.
IP Location API - Locate Internet users with their IP addresses.

Ericsson Labs provides a developer community around their impressive set of APIS:

3D Landscape API - 3D Landscape API for integration o realistic 3D MAPS.
Async Voice API - Enables voice communication using small voice snippets, recorded in the browser, delivered in near real-time to all participants in a conversation.
CAPTCHA API - Provides a challenge-response test to stop a computer accessing a website or application.
Cluster Constructor API - Allows the creation of services that can distinguish complex patterns and make intelligent decisions.
Converting Media API - Makes media files adapt in size, codec and format to suit almost any device.
EventSource API - Provides access to use HTML5 server sent events in any current web browser.
Face Detector API - Enables applications to locate faces in images taken by mobile devices.
Group Voice Mixer API - Allows group voice and chat services with ad-hoc voice chat room or conference.
Mobile Identification API - Allows mobile identification so application personalized content for individual users.
Mobile Location API - Allows use a mobile phone user's current CELL-ID to obtain their geographical location.
Mobile Maps API - Provides mobile mapping services.
Mobile Network Lookup API - Provides application personalization by delivering them in the users' native languages or through localized advertisements.
Mobile Push API - Allows applications to push content directly to one or more mobile phones.
Mobile Web Security Bootstrap API - Provides services to establish SHARED SECRET KEYS between an application server and a mobile web client. The key can be used to secure mobile applications require authentication, data confidentiality and integrity, and single sign on.
Network Probe API - Provides services measure certain characteristics of network IP connectivity, firewalls and Network Address Translators.
OAuth2 Framework API - Service enabling authentication and authorization allowing developer to securely access web services using OAuth2.
Sensor Networking Application Platform API - Services for reading, storing and manipulating sensor descriptions and data for integrating the virtual internet world with the physical world.
SMS API - Provides SMS sending and receiving services for applications.
Streaming Media API - Stream media to mobile devices.
Tag Tool API - Provides tag-based services forNear Field Communication, and create NFC and RFID TAGS according to NFC Forum specifications; list all created and deployed tags and see what they contain; and keep track of the position of a tag.
Text to Speech API - Develop web and mobile applications with the text-to-speech enabler to provide services that can speak aloud. The API consists of a simple web interface as well as an Android SDK wrapping the REST API for translating text to audio data in the requested format.
Web Background Service API - Enables web applications to run partly in the background, even when the browser is not running.
Web Connectivity API - Connect and send messages between webapplications, pages and servers, using a unified addressing and messaging system.
Web Device Connectivity API - Provides connectivity between end users' devices and web applications.
Web Location API - Provides location data from a mobile phone using the positioning systems of mobile operators.
Web Maps API - Provides dynamic maps for application integration.

France Telecom's Orange provides tools, widgets, documentation and resources for build applications around their APIs:

Multimedia Conference API - For organizing and managing web and audio conferences.
Location API - Allows applications to get geographic coordinates of a given Orange France mobile phone or a fleet.
SMS Internet API - Allows applications to inform, alert, collect information or broadcast instructions remotely.
Click-To-Call API - Establishes phone calls between two numbers from a web application.
Machine-to-Machine Communications API - Connectivity service for managing and monitoring scattered or inaccessible machines, optimize and automate industrial processes of deployment and production.
Authentication API - Provides access to user personal account APIs.
Calendar API - Provides access and updating to the calendar of an Orange France customer.
Contacts API - Allows applications to access and update the Orange address book of an Orange France customer.
Content API - Allows applications access to Orange France customers virtual data storage.
Favorites API - Enables adding of new links to the favourites of an Orange France customer.
Messages API - Provides access to information about the messages received (email and web SMS) of an Orange France customer.
Photos API - Enables applications to access and update the photo albums of an Orange France customer.
Profile API - Provides access to profile information of an Orange France customer.
RichProfile API - Provides access to more profile information of an Orange France customer.
Payline API - Allows developers to implement electronic payments for their applications.

Singtel Innovation Exchange provides news, resources and tools for developing and marketing applications built around their APIs:

Network Delivery Platform API - Services for sending SMS, MMS, Querying Phone Type, and WAP Push.
SaaS Deliver Platform API - Provides single sign on (SS) and user management services to SingTel SaaS customers on myBusiness.
InSing Business Search API - Provides access to Singtel's 150,000 Singapore geocoded, business listing.

Telenor provides a think it, make it sell it framework around their four APIs:

Communication API - Makes it possible to integrate call or messaging functionality in applications.
Customer Info API - Makes it possible to integrate customer information from Telenors network into third party applications.
Payment API - Makes Telenors value chain for billing accessible to partners and service providers, who deliver services to Telenor subscribers, to bill their customers via Telenor.
Machine-to-Machine Communications API - Provides integrated connectivity solutions into machines, devices and vehicles of different kinds.

Vodafone Developer provides Android development tools and widgets for developing, and resources for publishing and distributing apps. They also provide three web services:

Address Book API - Enables widgets to interact with the phone's on-board address book and calendar, and create new address book and calendar entries, search for and read existing entries, export entries as VCards, and respond to calendar alerts.
Audio API - Enables widgets to play many common types of audio files, and provides a basic player interface that allows play, pause, resume, and stop functions as well as repeat playing of local and remote files.
Accelerometer API - Provides access to the device's accelerometer, which determines the position and movement of the device.

Ribbit is a little different then the others, it uses a Software as a Service(SaaS) model to deliver services.

Ribbit provides a SaaS platform around its telephony APIs:

Calls API - Make and receive calls, click-to-call, and call bridging.
Media API - Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF), .WAV and .MP3 file manager.
Message API - SMS, Transcribing Voice-to-Text, Audio Recording and event notifications.
Device API - Services for registering devices getting phone numbers, land lines, and call forwarding.
Access API - User authentication services.
Contact API - Services for creating contact lists, adding, editing and tagging contacts.

Mobile providers seem to have recognized the value of APIs to their business, and are providing a wide variety of mobile APIs for developers and partners to use.