I just got confirmed as a Forum Nokia Champion!
This would be my first year into the program and would like to thank Forum Nokia for inviting me to it. I have been actively involved in Flash Lite technology for the Nokia Platforms (S60 & S40) and hope to contribute more to this and other platform technologies Nokia supports.
Mariam
I’ve written a small tutorial on Flash Lite interacting with a MySQL database using PHP as a middle language. You can read the tutorial here.
Please feel free to leave a comment here if you wish to add feedback or suggestions.
Mariam
While browsing through the Adobe Devnet for Mobiles and Devices today, I came across a new tab which said “Cookbook (Beta)“. Getting excited about this new addition, I clicked on the tab, only to find an error message being displayed. Well, that was not the point I was trying to make. What’s great is we “Mobile Developers” working with Flash Lite will actually have a Cookbook of our own (in development now I guess).
I always looked at the Cookbooks of other platforms (Flex, Air), and wished that the the MaD folks also had one. I feel it’s a great place to have access to all the information one can need about learning a new technology or enhancing present skills, contributed by the community itself.
For those who like to know what a Cookbook is, it is a place where you can share a piece of code with the community (by submitting up a form) and it may also include an option to be considered for O’Reilly book publishing of your post.
So is a Mobiles/Flash Lite/call it everything Flash Mobile Cookbook is what we can look forward to?
Mariam
Via Mark Doherty, the latest Device Central Update for CS3 is now available for download. This seventh (#7) update contains 57 new profiles and updates to 204 existing profiles, taking the total number of device profiles to 525.
This update is supposed to be the largest profile update ever and can be accessed from this link
Cheers to the Device Central team once again!
Mariam
What happened yesterday was another milestone in the books of Adobe releases…yes, the CS4 Release is what I am referring to. A great line of products for developers to push the edge and create more compelling content across platforms.
On the mobile front we saw the announcement of the Adobe Device Central CS4. This tool has seen great transformations over versions and now comes bundled with even better new features. It now allows not just easy testing of content, but also effective management of projects and delivery.
1. Dynamically updated online library of device profiles
This feature allows access to the latest device profiles through a dynamically updated online device library containing more than 450 Flash Lite™ supported devices. It also allow you to browse, search, sort, compare and create custom sets of devices while working on projects.
2. High-quality video for communicating ideas
Allows recording of a high-quality movie clip of your content as you play it from your desktop.
3. Improved video support and integration
It allows improved video integration through support for FLV emulation and recommended mobile export presets for Adobe Media Encoder. Also allows easy setup of Adobe After Effects mobile project with device-specific compositions.
4. Organization of work for mobile projects
Manages and saves all assets, target device profiles, and export options related to a mobile project in one central location.
5. Performance simulation and testing automation
Saves time by automating the testing of mobile content across device profiles and emulates the latency of various wireless networks to simulate the performance of Flash Lite in real life. It also allows recording, saving, editing, and sharing test sequences, including capturing snapshots at certain frames. Allows viewing of log files to visually identify any problems with the content. Also also a rerun of recorded test scripts.
6. Easy upload of content to multiple locations
It simplifies project collaboration and content deployment on mobile phones by giving a choice of one or more wizard-guided export services, such as Upload to FTP Server or Send to Bluetooth device. Lets you create your own export services, or benefit from third-party plug-ins built using the Adobe Device Central Export Service software development kit (SDK).
Mariam
Announced recently was the Sony Ericsson Awards 2008 schedule for content submission. This competition seems to be in it’s second year, with developers being encouraged to submit content for awards in different categories. The categories seem quite unique in allowing a developer to explore different ideas –
With the Themes Creator tool and Project Capuchin announced, the contest is also encouraging Flash Lite for content submission.
“All content for Sony Ericsson Java™ Platform 7 (JP-7), JP-8, UIQ 3 and Window® Mobile phones will be considered – which includes phones such as the W890 Walkman™, C902 Cyber-shot™, G900 UIQ-3-based phone and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA™ X1 – and don’t forget about using technologies such as the Sony Ericsson Themes Creator tool, Adobe® Flash Lite™ and Project Capuchin.”
Read more about the competition details on the competition website, and the Sony Ericsson Developer Site.
Mariam
Sony Ericsson announced their second phone – the G705, supporting the Project Capuchin API in addition to the C905 Cyber-shot announced earlier in June. This new web enabled phone would feature a full HTML browser, Wi-Fi, landscape browsing with autorotation and RSS feed support apart from a host of other features.
The G705 and the C905 Cyber-shot are the only two phone announced by Sony Ericsson supporting Project Capuchin API so far. They are expected to launch in Q4 2008.
Mariam
Forum Nokia recently announced the “Calling All Innovators Competition” for mobile developers worldwide. The competition is aimed at content which is unique and innovative on both the Series60 and the Series40 platforms and will close on 15 December 2008.
The highlight of the contest is that the winners can win $25,000, opportunities to promote and distribute to mobile consumers worldwide, and a showcase for the application at next year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Of the 3 categories for submission, the “Technology Showcase” category specifically mentions that the application can be developed using either Flash Lite, Java, Python or any open source.
“This category offers the opportunity to show off your technical kung fu and introduce the world to your true killer app! Open to all technologies, if it runs on S60 or Series 40, then we want to see it! Regardless if it has just been created or you have been selling it for a while, casual or commercial, we want to showcase the best of the best. Be it on Flash Lite, Java, Python, or open source. If it’s a game, enterprise solution, Web-based widget, or just a cool application that will enhance the mobile user experience, then this is the category to enter.”
This contest comes close to the heels of the IMGAwards Submissions (closing September 22) which too is giving an opportunity to developers to submit games and win a chance to showcase their company and the winning entry at the Mobile World Congress in February next year.
Mariam
Forum Nokia today released a document outlining the procedure to create .NFL format for distribution of Flash Lite content. This format will be supported by Series 40 5th Edition, Feature Pack 1 or newer devices.
The advantages of this packaging format include –
The creation of the .NFL format is really simple (similar to WRT Widget packaging) with the requirement only being the inclusion of a couple of mandatory files (including .swf) in the NFL package.
You can download the pdf here.
Mariam
With Adobe’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen being the keynote speaker at the CTIA conference, there was bound to be some buzz around mobiles and devices. Coinciding with the conference day today, Adobe published the next of the specs of the Open Screen Project, the Mobile Content Delivery Protocol.
The Mobile Content Delivery Protocol defines a mechanism for delivering applications (called channels) and synchronized data sets on which the applications operate (called feeds) to mobile devices. The protocol includes a control-flow mechanism for managing channel subscriptions and application preferences.
This protocol is implemented in the Adobe Mobile Client and the Adobe® Mobile Server products. It can be used to serve applications and content to the Adobe Mobile Client or to develop a mobile client that can interact with the Adobe Mobile Server.
The protocol is bi-directional, with a client-initiated “pull” component operating over HTTP or HTTPS, and a server-initiated “push” component operating over SMS. The protocol is designed for lightweight content updates personalized according to end user preferences.
You can download the specs from here
Mariam