Clients :: Case Studies :: Interfacing a Mobile Handset with Skype for Mac

Building a Mac Client to Interface Skype
with a Mobile Handset

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Challenge

•   Orbital was presented with a project to develop a Mac   version of an innovative Windows-based product that   interfaced Skype with a Mobile handset for low-cost long   distance calling. Orbital’s client had limited Mac development   resources and needed a software development partner with   extensive Mac OS X development experience. Adding to the   challenge, the Windows-based product, which was to provide   the basis for the Mac product, was pre-release and minor   development work was still being completed.

Solution

•   To complete the Mac version of its product, the client chose   Orbital. Orbital leveraged both its Mac development expertise   and its wireless application development knowledge to   complete the work. Orbital built a Mac UI for the product,   incorporating many Mac specific idiosyncrasies for optimal   usability and performance. Orbital also assisted the client to   complete Mac versions of the product’s core components.   Finishing the project, Orbital integrated the Mac-based front-   end with the client’s core back-end and built an installer to   get the application up and running on Mac OS X.

Results

•   Orbital delivered the completed Mac UI and installer to the   client, working very closely to transfer project knowledge to   best ensure easy maintenance of the product going forward.   The client successfully added a Mac version of its innovative   product to its line-up, offering both Windows and Mac   versions to its customers.

One of Orbital’s clients was in the process of developing a new product that interfaces a user’s PC-based Skype™ client with the user’s mobile phone. This innovative pairing would allow users to stay in touch with their Skype contacts on-the-go, as well as make and receive long distance phone calls via Skype’s VOIP capabilities at a significantly reduced rate. In the process of developing the Windows-based version of the product, the client decided that it would launch a Mac version of the product as well.

However, with limited Mac development resources to complete the work in-house, the client needed a software development partner with extensive Mac OS X development experience. Furthermore, in order for the client to have the option of maintaining the Mac product in-house going forward, it would require the development partner to be willing and capable of transferring all project knowledge and intellectual property (IP) to its developers. Increasing the project’s complexity, minor development work on the Windows version of the product was still under way, and the Windows version would provide the basis for the Mac the product. To expertly deliver its Mac product for launch, the client chose Orbital.

Orbital developed a Mac User Interface (UI) for the product. This UI had to account for various differences between a Mac and a Windows-based computer, and Orbital incorporated additional features into the Mac version of the product to ensure optimal usability and performance within the Mac OS X environment.

Given that the client’s core product components were pre-release and still undergoing minor development, Orbital assisted in making necessary adjustments to the core components to enable integration with the new, Orbital developed Mac UI. With successful integration, Orbital then developed an installer to get the completed solution up and running on Mac OS X.

The completed solution provided the user with a Mac client that could be easily and quickly installed on the user’s computer. This client would then interface with the user’s computer-based Skype client, which in turn would enable the connection with the user’s mobile phone.

The client required that the Mac version of its product be easily maintainable in-house going forward. As such, Orbital worked very closely with the client to transfer all project knowledge and IP to ensure the utmost ease in maintenance.

Orbital delivered the Mac UI and installer, integrated with the client’s core components to enable mobile connectivity with Skype. The client successfully launched the Mac version of its product alongside its Windows version.