Monday, March 8, 2004
Why You Don't Want to Miss the Mobility DevCon
Posted by Jason Dunn in "DEVELOPER" @ 12:00 PM
This is a message posted by Robert Levy over on Smartphone Thoughts, but it's something I thought every Windows Mobile developer should read.
"By now I'm sure you've all seen the pictures and videos of the upcoming Motorola MPx device. And most of you are still trying to get over that initial feeling of "Oh my God! This is the coolest thing I've ever seen! The innovative new form factor is going to change the way I use technology!"
And that's OK. This a big thing to swallow and it's going to take a while to all sink in. Fortunately, most people have plenty of time to take some deep breaths, wipe the drool from their keyboards, and relax. But not everybody.
Developers have a big challenge coming up and they may not even be aware of it yet. As you probably noticed in the photos, this device can switch its display from portrait (240x320) to landscape (320x240). Most Windows Mobile software was not designed to be run in landscape mode. Likewise, other upcoming devices will have higher resolution screens (480x640 for Pocket PC, 240x320 for Smartphone) and few Windows Mobile applications have been designed to take advantage this either.
After seeing the MPx photos, sharp developers are now asking themselves questions like: How will my application look on a landscape or hi-res display? Do I need to make changes to ensure that my application works well on all future devices? How can I write code that determines a device's resolution/orientation and renders a UI accordingly? What are Microsoft's guidelines for making sure my UI looks good in various orientations and resolutions? Where can I get tools and emulators that I need to develop and test for these future devices?
Eventually these will all be answered in the form of white papers and samples available online. But for those who want to be in the know first, for those who want to meet face to face with Microsoft's experts on this topic and ask them the tough questions, for those who want to learn how to write orientation- and resolution-aware applications in a hands on lab environment, here's the answer: the Mobilty DevCon 2004.
In my opinion, this particular topic is going to be one of the most important things discussed at MDC... and it's going to be discussed quite extensively. Below are the abstracts from some of the relevant sessions. A quick look at this should make one thing very clear: developers that miss this conference are giving their competitors a big advantage.
CLI334-Developing Screen Orientation-Aware Applications for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs
We'll give you some prescriptive guidance on how to take your existing application and prepare it to be orientation aware for portrait, landscape and square devices. If you're writing a new application we'll teach you how to lay out your user interface with orientation awareness in mind. Additionally, we'll talk about what the Pocket PC Shell and OS do to support orientation changes and backward compatibility for existing applications.
CLI338-Developing Web Applications for Pocket Internet Explorer
This session will explain how to take full advantage of the extensive features of Pocket Internet Explorer; touching on the similarities and differences between desktop Internet Explorer and Pocket Internet Explorer; and how you can leverage Pocket Internet Explorer features through programmability and extensibility. In addition a portion of the discussion will focus on authoring content to support devices with different DPI depths.
CLI340-Windows Mobile Development Platform Futures
Want to know what's after high resolution and landscape devices? Come and find out about new features in future Windows Mobile development platforms from the people who are developing it. We'll cover all the brand new technologies available to application developers.
CLI353-Gaming on Windows Mobile : Today and tomorrow
This session will help you understand how devices with high resolution screens and landscape orientation will affect your game development in GAPI. We'll also take a glimpse into the future which will be shaped by technologies like Direct3D Mobile.
HOL02-Hands-on Lab: Developing Screen Orientation-aware and Resolution-aware Applications For The .NET Compact Framework
This lab will guide you through the steps to take an existing .NET Compact Framework application and make it Orientation and Resolution aware. A must for any existing and prospective .NET Compact Framework developer."
"By now I'm sure you've all seen the pictures and videos of the upcoming Motorola MPx device. And most of you are still trying to get over that initial feeling of "Oh my God! This is the coolest thing I've ever seen! The innovative new form factor is going to change the way I use technology!"
And that's OK. This a big thing to swallow and it's going to take a while to all sink in. Fortunately, most people have plenty of time to take some deep breaths, wipe the drool from their keyboards, and relax. But not everybody.
Developers have a big challenge coming up and they may not even be aware of it yet. As you probably noticed in the photos, this device can switch its display from portrait (240x320) to landscape (320x240). Most Windows Mobile software was not designed to be run in landscape mode. Likewise, other upcoming devices will have higher resolution screens (480x640 for Pocket PC, 240x320 for Smartphone) and few Windows Mobile applications have been designed to take advantage this either.
After seeing the MPx photos, sharp developers are now asking themselves questions like: How will my application look on a landscape or hi-res display? Do I need to make changes to ensure that my application works well on all future devices? How can I write code that determines a device's resolution/orientation and renders a UI accordingly? What are Microsoft's guidelines for making sure my UI looks good in various orientations and resolutions? Where can I get tools and emulators that I need to develop and test for these future devices?
Eventually these will all be answered in the form of white papers and samples available online. But for those who want to be in the know first, for those who want to meet face to face with Microsoft's experts on this topic and ask them the tough questions, for those who want to learn how to write orientation- and resolution-aware applications in a hands on lab environment, here's the answer: the Mobilty DevCon 2004.
In my opinion, this particular topic is going to be one of the most important things discussed at MDC... and it's going to be discussed quite extensively. Below are the abstracts from some of the relevant sessions. A quick look at this should make one thing very clear: developers that miss this conference are giving their competitors a big advantage.
CLI334-Developing Screen Orientation-Aware Applications for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs
We'll give you some prescriptive guidance on how to take your existing application and prepare it to be orientation aware for portrait, landscape and square devices. If you're writing a new application we'll teach you how to lay out your user interface with orientation awareness in mind. Additionally, we'll talk about what the Pocket PC Shell and OS do to support orientation changes and backward compatibility for existing applications.
CLI338-Developing Web Applications for Pocket Internet Explorer
This session will explain how to take full advantage of the extensive features of Pocket Internet Explorer; touching on the similarities and differences between desktop Internet Explorer and Pocket Internet Explorer; and how you can leverage Pocket Internet Explorer features through programmability and extensibility. In addition a portion of the discussion will focus on authoring content to support devices with different DPI depths.
CLI340-Windows Mobile Development Platform Futures
Want to know what's after high resolution and landscape devices? Come and find out about new features in future Windows Mobile development platforms from the people who are developing it. We'll cover all the brand new technologies available to application developers.
CLI353-Gaming on Windows Mobile : Today and tomorrow
This session will help you understand how devices with high resolution screens and landscape orientation will affect your game development in GAPI. We'll also take a glimpse into the future which will be shaped by technologies like Direct3D Mobile.
HOL02-Hands-on Lab: Developing Screen Orientation-aware and Resolution-aware Applications For The .NET Compact Framework
This lab will guide you through the steps to take an existing .NET Compact Framework application and make it Orientation and Resolution aware. A must for any existing and prospective .NET Compact Framework developer."
