Archive for Mobile Development
September 19, 2007 at 4:00 pm · Filed under AIR (Apollo), Adobe, Mobile Development
JD blogged today about a presentation Intel gave at the Intel Developers Forum where they formally announced that Adobe AIR would run on mobile phones with Intel's new low-power x86 mobile chips.
While this is a very nice addition, I doubt this means the end of Flash Lite as there will still be phones with less processing power for quite awhile. However, it is a very welcomed step in the right direction.
There is more information about the presentation on PC Magazine and ZDnet's websites.
September 11, 2007 at 5:01 pm · Filed under Actionscript 2, Flash, Flash on the Beach, Mobile Development, OSFlash, PHP, Remoting
Today Aral Balkan released SWX 1.0 for PHP, his answer to Flash Remoting. I have been waiting patiently for this release, as I am currently in the midst of building out two larger-scale projects with remoting and feel much better about using a 1.0 (read: non-beta) tool. Overall, SWX has been a joy to use. Aral has certainly accomplished his main task: simplify the whole remoting process from setup to development to deployment. Setup is as easy as copying the directory to your server, and development is much more kind since he re-wrote the AMFPHP service browser and debugger in Flex, while adding a few features to make it generally more usable. Using the services in your AS2 projects also couldn't be more simple. And to top it all off it is completely open source (is anything Aral does not open source?).
I was initially concerned about performance under heavy loads, but Aral was quick to give a test case and show that even with 250 concurrent hits to the gateway, it should still perform. It would take an extremely busy site to get 250 concurrent hits to the gateway (note that the gateway only gets hit when there is a service call).
My only recommendation at this point is to release a ZIP of only the files you need to deploy to the server. While I don't mind having all the graphics for the project and Flex source for the service browser and debugger, I don't want to upload those files to my server and digging through all the folders to figure out what is needed can be a drag.
If you haven't already, I highly suggest you give SWX a go. You can even use the public services that Aral has posted -- so you don't even need your own gateway setup to get started. Oh, I should also note that because the SWF file that SWX produces is Flash Lite 2.0 and 2.1. compatible, it can be viewed on a good number mobile devices.
Want to learn more? See Aral speak at one of several conferences in the next few months.
A huge thanks to Aral for the hard work!
I'll be sure to post links to the projects as soon as they are completed, along with additional thoughts and tips on working with SWX.
June 25, 2007 at 7:34 pm · Filed under Flash, Mobile Development, Tech
Chumby posted launch plans and final product features on their corporate blog yesterday, complete with an announcement that the device will be the first device to run Flash Lite 3.
The device will cost $180 fully-delivered, no fees or extra subscriptions, which I think is brilliant. Similar devices, such as the Nabaztag/tag Rabbit cost about the same, but require a $7/month service fee to do anything custom.
If anyone from Chumby reads this -- I'd love to be on the list mentioned in your blog for those who will get a chance to buy the initial release!
May 8, 2007 at 8:18 am · Filed under Adobe, Apple, Flash, Mobile Development
According to Ryan Stewart and the Wall Street Journal, Flash will be pre-installed on the Apple iPhone.
I'm surprised that I didn't see links to this flying all over MXNA yesterday, as I would think that most Flash developers would be really excited to have the ability to publish to an estimated 2 million new handheld devices within the next year. This will significantly increase the installed handheld user base, and very quickly.
It looks like there are still some questions floating around about who exactly is developing the player/plug-in (Apple or Adobe), but this could be a great platform and might even convince me to pick one up and ditch my Treo 700w.
[Update: Gizmodo has a post suggesting that the Flash player will be there for sure, especially since the NYTimes.com page they use for all the TV advertisements shows the Flash video player as loading just fine. Looks like a good clue to me! (via i2fly)]
[Update 2: Mike Downey from Adobe has a good post on the subject, but as we all know now that the iPhone has actually been released: there is no Flash support. I'd bet the farm that there will be soon, however.]
April 26, 2007 at 3:57 pm · Filed under Mobile Development, Tech
Ever since I got my MacBook Pro I have been trying to find a way to connect my Treo 700w Windows Mobile phone to OS X for a mobile internet connection while on the road. Verizon has amazingly fast EVDO service for my phone, and I wanted to take advantage of tethering it to my laptop. Syncing data (contacts, etc) on Windows Mobile phones in OS X is possible through 3rd party software, but until today I hadn't been able to figure out how to use my 700w as a modem in OS X. I searched Google for over an hour when I first got the MacBook, but was unable to find a workable solution. This past weekend I was finally able to see success and I thought I would share for everyone else out there trying to use their Windows Mobile phone as a modem in OS X.
I actually found the solution more or less by accident. The lease was up on my car, so I turned it in and decided to get a BMW with their iDrive system. Windows Mobile phones with Bluetooth will connect to the system for hands-free calling, but you can't browse the phone book, recent callers list, etc, out of the box. After some Google hunting I was able to find a blog post by Jason Langridge about Bluetooth car support for Windows Mobile devices. In his post he points readers to an add-on from JETware Mobile Software that opens up a lot of additional Bluetooth functionality on Windows Mobile phones, allowing systems like BMW's iDrive to access additional features on your phone. Installation was extremely simple, and it is only $15 to boot, with a free 30-day trial.
My phone now connected perfectly to the iDrive system, allowing me to scroll through and dial from my phone book, view recent callers, view my current reception level, and more. This got me to thinking -- if I now had more open Bluetooth on my phone, maybe my MacBook Pro could now play nice with my Treo 700w (or, more likely, the other way around). I set my phone next to my MacBook and it connected without a hitch.
When you are pairing your phone to your MacBook, OS X will ask you for a username, password, phone number, and modem type. It is crucial that you leave the username and password blank, and enter "#777" for the phone number (without the quotes). For the modem type, select "Verzion compatible" from the list. At this point you should be able to connect and use your phone as a modem.
I should note that in addition to the JETware Bluetooth add-ons and pairing the 700w with my MacBook Pro, I had already installed PDAnet's software which allows you to use your Treo 700w as a modem on Windows computers. This installs and runs on both your Windows computer and your phone, and the software it installs on your phone could be an integral part to the equation for Mac OS X. If the first two steps above do not allow you to connect, I suggest trying to install PDAnet as well.
Hope this helps others to avoid the frustration I have had for the past six months or so. Enjoy!
[Update 07/07/2007: Verizon has released a software update that seems to include lots of extra bluetooth functionality. I would suggest installing the free update and testing the new bluetooth capabilities with your iDrive before installing the JETware add-ons. Can anyone else verify if this works in the comments, please?]
November 12, 2006 at 2:13 pm · Filed under Adobe, Flash, Mobile Development
Adobe has announced that Flash Lite 2.1 is available for free to developers starting now. End-users (consumers) will be able to download the player for free sometime in December. Supported platforms include BREW (generally Verizon phones), Symbian, and Windows Mobile 5.
The final BREW version is available for download today, while the Windows Mobile 5 and Symbian versions will be found on Adobe Labs in December.
The license looks to be similar to that of the full-blown player, where developers cannot distribute the player but can provide a link for users to download on their own. My hope is that they allow phone manufacturers to install it during production -- this would really increase the installed base, so I'm sure Adobe is planning on it.
While back when I first received it I installed Flash Player 7 for Windows Mobile on my Palm Treo 700w. It actually runs really smoothly and is quite fast considering the hardware restrictions. The best part about having the full-blown player on my phone is that I can create apps that use the camera/video camera. Combine this with the EVDO (DSL-speed) internet connection, and you could have one cool app (think flickr, FMS/Red-5). Hope this is still possible with Flash Lite.
Looking forward to seeing what additional features Flash Lite 2.1 brings to the table, but I'm really looking forward to writing some apps and being able to distribute to almost anyone's phone.
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