Archive for November, 2009

.NET Micro Framework 4.0 SDK Open Source

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

The .NET Micro Framework is a .NET implemenation for very small, resource constrained devices. With version 4.0, we have added additional features such as Multi-touch, large displays, and more power management. In addition, this is the first release under an Open Source license (Apache2.0). The SDK supports the development in Visual Studio of managed code applicaitons that run on the .NET Micro Framework runtime.

.NET Micro Framework 4.0 features:

  • HTTP and HTTPs: An object model is now provided for handing both HTTP clients and servers, similar to the .NET Framework, with the new types System.Net.HttpWebRequest, System.Net.HttpWebResponse, and System.Net.HttpListener from assembly System.Http.dll
  • Multi-touch: Basic support for multi-touch events, such as moving two fingers on a touch screen, is now provided in the object model and the emulator. Gesture support has been redesigned to be faster and more flexible.
  • Versioning: Versioning has been implemented to strictly identify assemblies by the version number at build time and on the device, and eventually re-deploying missing assemblies. Side-by-side load and bind for types belonging to the same assemblies with a different version number is supported. Support has also been added for assembly naming which includes the version number.
  • Emulator support for SSL and HTTPS: The emulator now explicitly supports SSL and HTTPs emulation.
  • Native XML Parser: The XML parser has been moved to native code for better performance.
  • Native collections: The collection classes have been moved to native code for performance, and have been enriched with Queue and Stack types.
  • Time sync: Devices can use the new Time Sync API to sync the system time with a specified server’s time, automatically or manually.
  • Arbitrary display size: A custom heap and allocation area is now provided to support bitmaps larger than 760KB.
  • Large buffers: A new type, Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.LargeBuffer, is provided for allocating buffers larger than 760KB, which would not fit in the managed heap.  This type is located in assembly Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.
  • Watchdog and Power Level control: The power level and the watchdog behavior can now be controlled from the managed application using types Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.PowerState and Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.Watchdog from assembly Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.dll.
  • Thick pens and gradient fills: A richer graphic model is now provided for designing widgets and controls.

·         TinyCore performance improvements: TinyCore performance has been enhanced in the area of event dispatching and layout.

Posted in .NET, Mobile, Windows Mobile | No Comments »

ApiBridge for Symbian OS

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

ApiBridge enables developers to extend the features of Web Runtime widgets by using various capabilities of Symbian OS. The capabilities available include:

  • Uploading files.
  • Capturing video, image, and audio.
  • Reading files.
  • Resizing images.
  • Creating image thumbnail.
  • Using the logging service.
  • Using the location service.
  • Using the media management Service

Supported platforms
ApiBridge can be used to access Symbian OS capabilities from WRT widgets on the following platforms:

  • S60 5th Edition.
  • S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2.
  • S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1.

More information
For more information, visit the ApiBridge wiki page »

Posted in Mobile, Symbian | No Comments »

BlackBerry Java Application Development v5.0 Beta 5 Release Now Available

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

The latest release of the BlackBerry® Java® Application Development v5.0 beta provides an end-to-end set of tools for easily developing robust wireless applications.

Feature Highlights

  • SQLite® Support
  • Improved BrowserField API
  • Third-party Application Phone Screen Integration
  • JSR 135 Video Capture
  • Multiple ContactList Support
  • Enhanced Media Key Events

Productivity Boosters

  • SQLite Support: New API provides fundamental support for data sharing across different applications on BlackBerry® smartphones. Also supports the Gears JavaScript® API with the database portion layering on top of SQLite
  • Improved BrowserField API: New updated API enables you to quickly and easily embed web content within a Java® application
  • Random File Access: Read data from and write data to any specified location within a file

Compelling Java User Interfaces

  • Support for JSR 239 and OpenGL® ES: Rich 2D and 3D graphics support using JSR 239 and BlackBerry APIs. JSR 239 contains the Java binding for OpenGL ES
  • Date and Time Picker: High level picker, which allows users to choose a day, month, year or time visually
  • File Picker: High level picker, which allows users to navigate to files by embedding a system file picker in third-party applications
  • Location Picker: High level picker, which allows users to choose a location from a list that a third-party application defines
  • Grid Layout Manager: An easy and simple way to manage a table or list layout on the screen
  • Screen Transitions: Animation API, which enables visual effects that appear when your application opens or closes a screen
  • Picture Scrolling: An image field where a row of images is displayed. Users can scroll through the images
  • Eyelid Field: Display fields on a pair of managers that appear on the top and bottom of a screen
  • Image Zooming and Panning: Zoom in and out within any image and pan the image
  • Bitmap Scale and Compare: Manipulate Bitmaps and display them in a specified size and aspect ratio

Application and Data Integration

  • Third-party Application Phone Screen Integration: Enables third-party developers to customize incoming and active call screens by adding static text or images to the lower half of those screens
  • Multi-line Support: Multiple cellular and PBX lines are now available on BlackBerry smartphones. Third-party applications can access the various phone lines, retrieve corresponding phone numbers, invoke the phone app and have it use a specific phone line, etc.
  • JSR 135 Video Capture: New API enables third-party applications to embed the BlackBerry viewfinder to record video clips and display and stream them in the view finder as specified in JSR 135
  • Multiple ContactList Support: New API supports multiple Personal Information Management (PIM) data sources. It allows third-party developers to use existing PIM APIs to access and query each individual address book on a BlackBerry smartphone
  • Enhanced Media Key Events: Third-party media players can access and respond to dedicated media keys on the newer BlackBerry smartphones, plus there’s a new API and media player event handling mechanism
  • Updated Touch Event Injection: The existing EventInjector API has been updated to support touch events such as swipe, tap and click through
  • Custom User Authentication API: Create custom user authentication modules that work with security devices
  • Name Reading Support in Contacts: Enables access to extended Yomi fields in BlackBerry contacts. This extension only applies for the Japanese market
  • Biometric API: Store, manage and access fingerprint data on supported smart cards
  • MEID Retrieve API: Programmatically retrieve the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) string from a CDMA device

Posted in BlackBerry, Mobile | No Comments »