O2 Litmus, O2's planned co-development community, headed by James Parton is not yet launched, but its unique approach already has the internet chattering about what is coming with articles in Paul Golding's WirelessWanders, Contagious Magazine, MobileNews, and Infibeam to name just a few.

I must disclose that I was fortunate to be asked by James to help him in talking extensively with developers around the world; to listen to what they need; their problems in developing and launching applications on mobile and broadband networks; their problems in working with operators; understanding from them what works and what does not work in the many operator and internet-centric application developer communities; and gaining their frank feedback on the ideas behind O2 litmus.  It was the most extensive research project I've seen in this space.

I've helped a number of operators around the world in understanding the potential of harnessing the service innovations coming from the internet.  In my opinion, O2 has made the right critical first step in treating developers as customers, listening to their needs, and crafting O2 Litmus to meet those needs.  Check out O2 Litmus, and sign-up for when it soon goes Alpha; it has the potential to fundamentally change the application developer community landscape, providing a template for the rest of the telecom industry.