After what seem ages, SAP NetWeaver Mobile 7.1 is finally in unrestricted shipment. Stefan announced it yesterday in his blog at SDN.

So what does this mean now? First, old Mobile Engine, Mobile Infrastructure, NetWeaver Mobile 7.0 (whatever you want to call it) applications are still running on 7.1. However, there are some things you should be aware of:

• JSP based laptop applications are now displayed directly in the Internet Explorer and not in a MI window anymore. This is really bad because now the user can click around in the menu and on the buttons and navigate with the back button to previous pages - which can be disaster for the application. She or he can also bookmark screens in the application or manually change the URL in the address bar. All things that can bring the application (and even the database!) into an undefined state. Worst case you have to re-install the client).
• Generic Sync applications are bypassing the new 7.1 sync and they are still using the old GenericSync-Layer; which is good in my opinion because it is stable, robust and has proven to deliver. SmartSync applications however use the new 7.1 based sync layer, which in some cases could lead to problems. Because of the different architecture of SyncBOs and DOs, the performance of a fast SmartSync can be painfully slow on 7.1.

Second, the development of applications is changing. While the development of PDA based solutions is nearly perfect (based on eSWT, possibility to include custom controls) with 7.1, the implementation of laptop solutions has one big drawback: You can only model the UI via Web DynPro, which restricts you in your creativity and possibilities.

But let's see how it will work out and how fast 7.1 will replace the old MI landscapes. I personally think 7.1 is a step in the right direction and will increase the acceptance of mobile solutions at SAP customers.