Microsoft is teaming up with Nokia to develop mobile versions of its hugely popular software titles for Nokia devices. This sounds like a very promising union, and I’ll be excited to see what develops.
You can read the story here.
Adobe’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen, said Tuesday that Adobe has officially started development of a Flash player suitable for use on Apple’s iPhone and hopes to finish development by June.
Narayen made the comments during a conference call with investors, explaining that Apple’s recent release of an iPhone software developers kit (SDK) has afforded his company the necessary tools to finally begin work an iPhone version of Flash Player.
“We believe Flash is synonymous with the Internet experience, and we are committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone,” he said. “We have evaluated (the software developer tools) and we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves.”
Adobe hopes to deliver their missing product via Apple’s new App Store, set to open in June alongside the release of iPhone software version 2.0.
So much for Jobs’ comments about the iPhone not being able to support Flash because of a limitation with the Flash player. It seems ridiculous that Apple’s position is a limitation in the Flash Player given that the Flash Player works perfectly on the Nokia 810, countless other portable devices, the Skyfire browser, Pocket IE, and Opera Mobile 9.5. I am very happy to hear about Adobe’s new position on the issue.
Source: Apple Insider, Wall Street Journal
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
CS3 Device Profile Update #5 Available for Download
Mark reports that Device Profile #5 is now available for download. This update features the first Flash Lite 3.0 devices available in the market.
An important note: before downloading Update #5, you must first download and install the Flash Lite 3 Update for Device Central CS3 and for Flash CS3 Professional (2 separate updates).
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584 Flash Capable Windows Mobile Devices in World’s Largest PDA Database
I stumbled across the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest PDA Database,” and as soon as I did I thought, “I can finally get a tally of how many Windows Mobile 2002, 2003 or 5.0 devices are on the market!” In total I found 584 devices. Unfortunately, however, there is no data on the penetration of these devices.
Why is this important? Adobe offers installers for Flash Lite 2.1 for Windows Mobile 5.0, Flash Player 7 for Pocket PC 2003, and the Flash Player 6 for Windows Mobile 2002. Although this does not have the mass market appeal of Verizon Wireless, it is certainly notable.
Flash is pre-installed on:
- 70 Nokia Phones (includes N96)
- 58 Sony Ericsson Phones
- 13 BREW Phones
- 6 Sony CLIE PDAs
- All NTT Docomo handsets
- All KDDI handsets
Flash can be installed on:
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition (166)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Premium Edition (52)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Professional Edition (10)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone (61)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone Edition (25)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Premium Edition (54)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Professional Edition (6)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone (11)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC Phone Edition (57)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC Premium Edition (41)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC Professional Edition (4)
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Smartphone (35)
- Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition (20)
- Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Premium Edition (33)
- Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Professional Edition (2)
- Microsoft Smartphone 2002 (7)
Note from Adobe.com:
Note: This version of Flash Player is for the individual use of developers of Pocket PC devices. For more information about Adobe’s Flash Player distribution policy read the FAQ.
When you download the free player, it is provided “as-is”—which means that Adobe will support it only for Windows Mobile 5 and Pocket PC 2003 OS devices through available online resources on our website. If you experience any problems for non-certified devices, you should discuss them with other developers in various forums.
The World’s Largest Handheld Database
Nokia N96 Specs Released – Flash Lite 3.0 Pre-installed
Nokia Germany has posted the N96 specs. There are still no official images, but I imagine that it will be similar to the N95. The most notable visual changes will be the size; the N96 is slightly longer and wider, but .7 inches thinner than the N95. No official release date as of yet.
- Quadband EDGE
- Dualband HSDPA 850/2100 MHz
- DVB-H Class C
- 92 cc volume
- 125 gram weight
- 103 x 55 x 18 mm
- 16 GB internal memory AND a microSD slot; 24 GB total if you spend an extra $80
- 950 mAh battery
- 6.1 cm (2.8 inch) 320×240 display with 16 million colors
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- WiFi (802.11b/g)
- AGPS
- 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens that also does VGA video recording at 30 FPS
- Dual LED flash that can also be used when video recording
- S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (Flash Lite 3 enabled web browser included)
- microUSB
Via [IntoMobile] and [Nokia]
Random links for Monday, June 25th
- Is Google going to launch a Google-branded handset?
A short post asks this question citing Google’s announced partnership with LG Electronics. - Creating and Testing Mobile Web Sites with Adobe CS 3
Short article on testing .mobi sites with Dreamweaver CS3 and Device Central. It’s another great read from Scott. - Vodka Authentication by SMS
Apparently, counterfeit Vodka is running rampant in Russia. To combat that effort, the Russian government is creating a Vodka authentication system via SMS. “By sending the serial number of the bottle to a designated short code, they will get a response by SMS certifying (or not) the product.” - Penrillian .sis Packager
Penrillian have recently released a useful .NET application that allows anyone to package up passive content (music, images, ebooks etc) as part of standard UIQ or S60 .sis install. - Nokia Mobile Web Server
- ustwo is hiring interface designers
- iPhone guided tour from Apple
- Top 10 phones for playing games
It is what it is. Every list of links needs a good “top 10″ article. - Appleiphany
“Appleiphany (noun): The feeling experienced when using or viewing an Apple device, questioning why the heck things haven’t worked like this all along. Example: When viewing the recent iPhone Guided Tour, I kept asking myself why mobile phones don’t already do all this stuff… seriously, it’s so dang obvious. See also hindsight.”
I think I might buy the Nokia N75 on Amazon for $-5.01
Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been working on a large mobile project that will bring a steady flow of blogging over the next few weeks. In the meantime, lets chat about my next phone.
Found via Biskero: Amazon is selling the Nokia N75 after rebate for $-5.01. I have been looking for a good 240×320 Flash Lite 1.1 pre-installed phone—and this might be it. The N75 has received favorable reviews from Engadget including this one. I’ll post my own report after I play with it for a few days.
Is Flyer worth the hype?
Felipe Andrade created Flyer for Flash Lite using Python for Nokia S60. The Flyer framework is great—it lets you access never before seen features with Flash Lite such as integrating with a mobile device’s camera, bluetooth, filesystem, (potentially) GPS, and much more. But is Flyer worth all the hype?
Flyer was built to extend Flash Lite 2.1 features with Python for S60. That’s quite a few prerequisites: Flash Lite 2.1 (the latest version of Flash Lite), Python (not preinstalled on phones), and a Nokia S60 device. I love what Flyer is trying to do, but I am reluctant to jump on the band wagon since the likelyhood of consumer adoption is low due to what is required to make this framework function.
When would I adopt Flyer? When it works on the current consumer standard version of Flash Lite. If your on Verizon, that would be version 2.1 However, Python for S60 is not synonymous with Python for BREW. And if your not on Verizon, that would be version 1.1.
My final thought is that I love what Flyer is doing—I just wish that it extended Flash Lite 1.1 and did not require a consumer to install Python and the Flyer framework (and yes, I realize that these are pipe dreams).
What are your thoughts? Vote, or comment on whether or not you think that Flyer is worth the hype.
Device profile update #1 for Adobe Device Central CS3 released
Bill recently announced that Adobe has made the first device profile update for Adobe Device Central CS3 avaiable.
There are 3 ways you can download the update (11.4MB):
- go to the direct URL in your browser from our new site, Adobe Device Central Online
- in the Device Central start window click the “device updates” button
- in the Device Central menu bar select Help > Updates…This update contains 39 new device profiles from all regions of the world, many released between January to April 2007, as well as updates to 7 existing profiles. With this update you will have access to 265 device profiles as part of Device Central with most of them for supporting Flash Lite content in addition to other mobile media types.
New Device Profiles
DoCoMo Fujitsu F903i
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D903i
DoCoMo Motorola M702iG
DoCoMo Motorola M702iS
DoCoMo NEC N601i
DoCoMo NEC N703iD
DoCoMo NEC N903i
DoCoMo Panasonic P903i
DoCoMo Sony-Ericsson SO903i
KDDI Casio Hitachi E03CA
KDDI Casio Hitachi W43HII
KDDI Kyocera W44K
KDDI Sanyo W43SA
KDDI Sony-Ericsson W44S
KDDI Toshiba A5523T
KDDI Toshiba W46T
KDDI Toshiba W47T
Nokia E61i
Nokia E65
Nokia N77
Nokia N91
Nokia N95
Nokia 6290
Reigncom iriver Clix
Reigncom iriver U10
SoftBank Nokia 705NK
SoftBank Samsung 707SC
SoftBank Samsung 709SC
SoftBank Sharp 910SH
SoftBank Sharp 911SH
SoftBank Toshiba 811T
Sony-Ericsson W610i
Sony-Ericsson W880i
Verizon LG VX8100
Verizon LG VX8300
Verizon LG VX8500
Verizon LG VX9900
Verizon Samsung SCH-A930
Verizon Samsung SCH-A990
Expanded/Improved Device Profiles
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D701iWM
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D851iWM
DoCoMo NEC N506iSII
DoCoMo NEC N701iECO
DoCoMo Panasonic P506iCII
DoCoMo Panasonic P851i
DoCoMo Sony-Ericsson SO505iInstructions on how to download and install the new device profiles are available on the device profile page.
‘Flyer’ extends Flash Lite’s features using Python for S60
Felipe has announced the first release of Flyer. Flyer was built to extend Flash Lite features with Python for S60. Flyer is based on the Flash Lite 2.1 integration with Python for S60 and contains the following features:
- Take photos with device camera from Flash Lite
- Take device screenshots from Flash Lite
- Send files over a bluetooth connection from Flash Lite
- Get the contact entries in the default device database
Flyer is open source—if you use it please contribute to Felipe. It will help him to develop and expand the Flyer framework.
Future releases (May, 2007)
- Sound recording and playback
- File upload to a remote server
- GPS module to display latitude, longitude, satellite count, and time
- Record device screen!
Links:
Flyer
Felipe Andrade
Python for S60
