Mobile Distillery to unveil Alembic handset database

Mobile tech firm Mobile Distillery has announced a new product. It's called Alembic, and is apparently a "device knowledge database and device characteristic search engine".

What's that? A big list of mobile handsets, basically, with detailed info on the characteristics, performances and behaviours of more than 1,000 Java phones - with more than 30 being added a month according to Mobile Distillery.

The idea is that developers will use the database and its search engine to choose the features they want to use in their games or applications - for example Bluetooth, GPS and 3D graphics - and will be chucked out a list of every device capable of supporting those features.

"For many companies, the cost of dealing with the hundreds of devices and thousands of configurations often means that their mobile applications never make it off the drawing board," says CEO Eric Lemaréchal.

"With Alembic, for the first time, companies can base their development decision on accurate, verified information. This is like giving developers a personalized crystal ball to understand their market."

Alembic also ties into Mobile Distillery's existing Celsius porting suite. The company plans to show off the new tool at the CTIA Wireless 2008 conference next month in San Francisco.

It'll be available for developers in the fourth quarter of this year, with the standalone version costing €1,500 a month (around $2,200).

Some elements will be free to existing Celsius customers, although they'll need to pay €500 a month ($740) for a full Alembic licence.