Welcome to the UIQ Summer 2008 edition of EMCC News

The future of JavaME

In the JavaME community there is one problem that effects all implementations; fragmentation. It has been the focus for a number of years to somehow reduce fragmentation and level the playing field for Java developers.

Moving towards a fully integrated multimedia system

EMCC has recently played a key part in proof-of-concept work that may lead to a new role for the UIQ smartphone in the multimedia-rich modern home.

Widget support in UIQ 3.3

In March 2008 UIQ Technology announced the new UIQ 3.3 release that introduces support for small web applications called widgets.

Interaction design in the mobile realm

The mobile phones we carry today in our pockets are more powerful than the computers on board the spacecraft that took Neil Armstrong to the moon.

EMCC Software – a continuing success story

2008 sees EMCC Software celebrate ten years of outstanding Symbian OS development.

EMCC provide expert developer training for UIQ 3

As a UIQ Training Partner, EMCC have many years of experience delivering UIQ training.

A number of JSRs (Java Specification Request) have attempted to do this in the past, JSR-185 Java Technology for the Wireless Industry (JTWI) and more recently JSR-248 Mobile Service Architecture (MSA). Both were designed to specify the minimum level of functionality required from mobile devices. MSA went further by not only specifying which JSRs should be present but also clarifying existing JSR specifications in areas that were originally ambiguous. This has been embraced by device manufacturers and now most new mobile devices are MSA compliant.

From an application developer’s perspective MSA has provided a much richer development environment and reduced the need to create new versions of their applications for each device. With the introduction of MSA 2 (JSR-249) it is hoped this trend will be continued. MSA 2 sits on top of the new MIDP 3.0 profile and defines a major leap forward in the Java capabilities of compliant smartphone devices.

MSA 2’s full stack includes all of the functionality that MSA defined plus a number of new JSRs that have been added to reflect the current trends in the mobile industry. These include JSR-256 Sensor API, JSR-272 Mobile Broadcast API (mobile TV), JSR-258 UI Customization, and JSR-281 IMS Services. In addition to this there have been upgrades to existing JSRs such as JSR-287 Vector Graphics API 2.0 and JSR-293 Location API 2.0.

All of this new functionality sits on top of the new MIDP 3.0 profile which in itself adds a number of new features to the application developer. These include LIBlets, auto-starting MIDlets, background-launching MIDlets and screensaver MIDlets. Add to this a more comprehensive security and runtime model and MIDP 3.0 is a significant step forward.

MIDP 3.0 also offers the possibility of using either CLDC or CDC as the configuration of choice. This opens up the arena for full stack CDC implementations for perhaps the first time for many handset manufacturers.

EMCC is currently in the process of implementing MIDP 3.0 and MSA 2. Our implementation will be VM, configuration, and platform independent which will allow minimal porting effort between platforms and further reduce fragmentation. This could enable the use of CLDC and CDC on the same device using the same JSR stack or a cross platform solution based on CLDC. Our implementation also utilises the OSGi framework to allow a highly configurable, portable and easily maintainable JSR stack.

For more information about our Java development services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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In collaboration with our customers, we have helped develop new ways for UIQ Smartphone users to view their media wherever they are and not just on their Smartphone’s screen. Imagine transferring a football game from your home television onto your mobile phone, watching it while walking to a friend’s house and then transferring it onto her television when you arrive. This kind of place-shifting and ubiquitous access to media is not far from being a reality.

The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has been working since 2003 to enable consumers to establish a home network of multimedia devices. Typical elements of such a DLNA home network are the Media Server and the Media Player. A classic use of a DLNA home network, which is possible today, is to have a PC acting as a Media Server and a games console, such as the Sony PS3, acting as a Media Player; the PS3 is able to browse all multimedia content that the PC shares and play, show or download any of the video, audio or photo files that it finds on the PC. Other key network elements are the Media Controller and the Media Renderer and these could be used as follows: a Media Controller, which may be a WiFi-enabled laptop, is able to browse the contents of a Media Server and “push” a multimedia file to a Media Renderer. IP- and DLNA-enabled televisions are starting to appear, which can become a part of the DLNA home network, fulfilling the Media Player and/or Media Renderer roles, without the need for a games console to be attached.

Underpinning all of this is the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) standard that allows IP-enabled devices to advertise their capabilities to the IP network and allow other devices to leverage those capabilities without the need for any manual configuration from a user.

EMCC’s recent proof-of-concept work initially concentrated on allowing UIQ Smartphones to become part of this DLNA home network, playing the part of Media Server, Media Player and Media Controller. All of which meant that:

1. As a Media Server, the phone’s photos, music and video files can be easily accessed by other DLNA devices;
2. As a Media Player, the phone can be used to browse the contents of other Media Servers in the network and download or stream media files;
3. As a Media Controller, the phone can be used to browse the contents of other Media Servers in the network and push their media files to a Media Renderer. Once the file is playing on the Media Renderer, the phone can then be used as a remote control to play, pause and stop playback.

The main emphasis of EMCC’s work was on allowing access to the home network, once the phone has been taken outside of the home network and onto a 3G network. This was achieved by leveraging the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standard, along with the Symbian OS SIP Stack, As a result, the proof-of-concept application is a short step away from achieving the kind of place-shifting scenarios outlined above.

For more information on our multimedia development services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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UIQ 3.3, which is based on Symbian OS 9.3, is another incremental release of the popular UIQ platform. In addition to new features like the unified message composer and improved Java support (Java JSR 248 MSA Fullset), this release introduces the new Opera 9.5 web browser and support for Opera widgets.

So what exactly are widgets and why are they useful?

Mobile phones based on the UIQ platform allow users to install 3rd party applications. Writing such applications requires specialised skills and the learning curve for developing them is quite steep, as they are typically implemented in programming languages like C++ or Java. These types of applications have access to a large number of application programming interfaces (APIs) on the mobile device, so they give software engineers the flexibility they need to implement various types of applications.

Widgets, on the other hand, are typically small applications that are implemented using web-based technologies like HTML, XML and JavaScript, which means developing them is a bit like creating a web page. As a result, it is very easy to get started and the learning curve is significantly less steep than for native applications. Widgets can even access web servers without writing any complicated code. For example, a weather report widget could automatically download the latest data for a specified location. However, one drawback widgets have, is that they cannot access the powerful platform APIs that a native application can access.

Widgets are already available on desktops, where products like Microsoft Gadgets in Windows Vista, the Apple Macintosh Dashboard or Opera Widgets made them popular. With the introduction of UIQ 3.3 widgets will soon be available on UIQ mobile phones too.

A dedicated page for Opera widgets is http://widgets.opera.com. Most of the widgets on this page should work on desktop PCs as well as on future UIQ devices.

In contrast to standard UIQ applications, widgets are not directly launched from the application launcher but from dedicated widget applications. On UIQ 3.3 there are two such applications. The first application, called “Widgets”, provides support for downloading widgets from the internet and displaying them. The second application is called “Dashboard”. It acts as a simple widget launcher, where the user can select a number of preferred widgets. These widgets are then displayed in the Dashboard’s main screen, from where the user can launch them.

The Dashboard application could especially be useful if it is accessible with a dedicated hardware key, as it would give users quick access to their favourite widgets.

Opera 9.5 for mobiles is one of the enablers of widgets on the UIQ platform. This release is a major improvement over previous versions. Apart from widget support it also features an improved layout engine for faster page rendering and Flash Lite 3.0 support.

To summarise this brief introduction, widgets are basically a simple and quick way of developing small applications for the UIQ 3.3 platform. In contrast to native UIQ applications they are not as flexible, as they have restricted access to APIs on the mobile phone, but they are easy to develop and often are sufficient for many types of applications.

For more information about UIQ development services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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These devices are now so ordinary that many people will tell you they can’t imagine what they would do without a mobile phone in an emergency. However the power of these devices is rarely fully utilised by the average user. Why are voice and messaging services so successful while other applications have taken a while to pick up? The answer is simple. Voice and messaging services meet a basic human need in a simple way.

The focus of the Interaction Design team at EMCC is people. Its aim is to provide people with applications that are easy to understand and use and yet make a difference to their lives. How does it do that? By understanding what people need out of the everyday applications and products that they will use and how they will interact with them. The products that we envision will assist people to shop, care for their health and pass the time. We draw on the vast areas of psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology and user investigation to give us insight into the products that they need. The design is not just concerned with the aesthetics of the application (despite the look and feel being quite important); it’s about the users.

The T-Model for Interaction Design

The Interaction Design Team: Ideas

One of the most difficult challenges facing the user’s experience of mobile phone applications is its apparent limited interaction capabilities. We don’t see the mobile phone as an impoverished device despite its low-resolution, fiddly keypad and small screen. While technology developments are continuously allowing designers to address the issues of rich content on mobile phones (examples of this would be the success of the multi-touch on the iPhone and earlier successes with T9 technology on Nokia handsets) it is the insight into human nature which has allowed the development of these devices. This same insight has enabled the design team at EMCC to come up with imaginative ways to face the challenge of designing extraordinary interfaces that go beyond normal expectations.

Poor design can be a result of the overwhelming emphasis on technology over purpose. Technology is exciting for developers and can be a great way to get the users to buy the phones. There is a market for the latest gadget and those users would feel second rate if their device didn’t offer the same features and wizardry as those of their friends, peers and colleagues. It’s a perfect way to lure the customers in the retail shops with dazzling lights and colours, but once they come home after the purchase they have to go through the pain of actually using the thing they bought. This is where consensus building with the client becomes very important in creating a clear shared vision for the purpose of the project, required functionality, and the different user groups and how these factors influence the end result. While products can be sold purely on the way they look and the vast amount of technology they contain, unless user needs are addressed the client will miss out on building a loyal customer base.

For more information about our UI Design services, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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From relatively small beginnings in 1998, EMCC has become an important supplier of choice for many of the leading organisations in the Symbian ecosystem. Renowned for technical excellence, EMCC has continued to expand at an impressive rate while reinforcing the highest quality standards in all of its products and services. EMCC is both a UIQ Competence Centre and a UIQ Training Partner and has been offering development, consultancy and training services to all major stakeholders within the UIQ community. We also specialise in innovative design of solutions through our Interactive UI Lab services.

With world class UIQ experience through developing applications involving video streaming, VoIP, SIP services, WiFi, messaging and prototyping new technology solutions, EMCC offers clients access to unrivalled platform knowledge and development capability.

EMCC has expertise in creating consumer and embedded solutions designed for real-world users. We believe in setting challenging levels of quality, reliability, interoperability and value while delivering on requirements and deadlines.

For more information on how EMCC can fulfil your requirements, please email sales@emccsoft.com or call us on +44 (0)161 919 0100.

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Our courses are run for people new to Symbian OS all the way to developing for real word application engines and user interfaces. EMCC regularly updates the training materials and offers developer training specifically targeted at the UIQ 3 platform.

All of our training personnel are project developers or consultants with years of development experience and whose knowledge is continually refreshed by working on leading edge technologies.

Course attendees find that access to these specialists provides an enormous “value-add” through having their detailed and directly relevant questions answered.

If you would like more information on EMCC’s UIQ developer training courses contact training@emccsoft.com or visit www.emccsoft.com/training

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