TamsS60 – the Symbian Blog

The NY Times was right after all – its prognosis that Microsoft would limit the number of Windows Mobile devices became true when Windows Phone 7 hit the market. Of course, Acer is so large a manufacturer that it can press Microsoft into service – let’s look at the Allegro in some detail.

This review is based on a preliminary version of the device I got into my hands at DroidCon.nl. However, the rep told me that the device is largely ready – so the results can IMHO be taken at face value.

First of all: the Allegro will be available in two different colors: black and white:

It will also have a size-similar Android sibling which could be useful if you want to take a look at the size yourself:

Next up, two shots showing it next to the Samsung Galaxy SII:

Outdoors, the white model can show its full beauty. On the front, the three sensor keys are visible. One can also see that the screen sadly gets washed out in the sun:

Next up, the usual four-side views:

Sadly, the back cover is of a similarily soft and flimsy type to the one we saw on the Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note, This, however, it but a minor niggle:

Cutting a long story short: the Acer Allegro is a small, well-built WP7 with no major weaknesses except for a relatively bad LCD screen. Tune in soon – next, we’ll look at a few system specs.

In today’s mobile market, little is as important as a good user interface design. Unfortunately, most books on the topic tend to take one “way” and then ride it home – can Lukas Mathis’s book provide a broader overview of the GUI design field?

Designed for Use is split up into three parts, which each are made up of chapters explaining techniques and ideas used to accomplish user interface design.

Part 1 starts out with the design of applications – topics covered here are not directly related to the layout of forms, but rather to things like deciding which features are needed and how they should be grouped.

Part 2 looks at the layout of the individual forms, and also covers “new-age” things like animation and the design of mobile user interfaces.

Finally, Part 3 looks at things to do after the first version of the app has been released. In this part of the book, expect coverage of concepts like dealing with customer requests, adding and removing features, and so on.

As with almost all O’Reilly-published books, a number of images are included to make the text easier to read and understand. Paper quality was high as always; a huge amount of web references makes “further reading” easy:

In the end, it is hard not to like Designed for Use. The book presents a plethora of design methods which are sure to inspire everybody – the price of 30$ is more than justified.

Traditionally, creating a 3D game for a mobile device required the developer to write a full engine of his own. Microsoft’s XNA originally was intended for the XBOX, but was mobilized with Windows Phone 7. Can the PackT book stack up?

As usual for PackT, the book is organized in a “workshop-style” fashion. This means that the book should be read from A to Z, following the steps of the developer on your workstation.

The first chapter starts out with a look at the process of 3D rendering in XNA. Do not expect any mathematical explanations of the rendering process anywhere in the book – but do expect your spaceship model flying across the screen after Chapter 1.

After that, the author dedicates multiple chapters to shaders. He starts out with an introduction to HLSL, and goes on to show various shader applications ranging from coloring to shadows and terrain effects.

The chapters six and seven look at techniques like billboards and terrain generation. Reading these chapters will allow you to understand how a 3D game is implemented if you see it in action – definitely a worthwhile read. The final chapters of the book look at various effects like post processors, and at animation of models using the XNA framework.

Unfortunately, Windows Phone 7 is not mentioned in the book. As it supports but a subset of the full XNA standard, developers should expect some “porting effort” when trying to mobilize the algorithms shown here.

PackT produces its books in a JIT fashion. Thus, the picture quality is a bit less than what one can expect from offset printing – but the difference is in no way significant.

In the end, Rahul Sood’s book is ideally suited for developers who want to create a 3D game, and are not interested in the mathematical processes of 3D rendering. For them, this book and about 30 hours of time is all it takes for a decent-looking XNA game. The price of 40$ is ok…

Our friends at Proporta’s have kept us well supplied with all kinds of accessories over the years. Their aluminum-leather cases have become a standard in the industry. The Nokia N8 is an easy-to-case device – let’s see how their product stacks up!

As usual, Proporta products ship in large white envelopes from the UK:

The included blister keeps the case safe during the transport. Belt-clip haters like yours truly will be glad to see that the belt clip is now officially gone:

The traditional bag of tea is still around, but the ads are gone for good:

Getting the Nokia N8 into its case was easy. The device is slid in from above:

Once inside, the case stays out of the way:

A cutout at the back keeps the camera operational:

Controls at the top and the side of the device are given cut-outs too:

Finally, two shots of the device in the case. The locking mechanism works excellent here, so no complaints:

Given Proporta’s long experience in making cases, their 42$ aluminum-leather case for the Nokia N8 makes an excellent case for all who seek to protect their Nokia N8. It doesn’t get in the way, looks decently professional – if you don’t like belt clips, there is nothing you will miss.

Even though our Nokia E7 was provided by developer services, it is said to be a stock machine – which is why an unboxing could be fun.

Nokia used the now-standard blue box. However, the box of the E7 is significantly larger:

Unusually, the back contains rich-color illustrations:

Opening the box immediately reveals the E7:

Below, an instruction card is found which explains the opening mechanism. Don’t ask me why, but Sony Ericsson didn’t need that with the XPERIA X1:

The accessory bundle is better than normal: USB host cable, HDMI cable, headset, wallwart and data cable:

So far, so good – stay tuned for physical size comparisions…

Nokia’s C7 is intended to battle the Samsung Wave – a mid-end priced handset offering a few high-end features. For its clientele, a small and comfortable size is important…can it stack up?

First up, its bada-powered enemy. The Wave is slimmer, smaller and has a better-made case:

Compared to the Omnia 7, the C7 looks, um, starved:

The Galaxy S is a bit slimmer:

Palm’s Treo 680 is wider:

Being a non-touch device, the Nokia N96 obviously is smaller:

Nokia’s N97 mini is smaller, but thicker:

Nokia’s N8 can best be described as the better sibling of the C7. It thus is a bit fatter:

When the N900 was released, it was considered huge. The Nokia C7 as tall, but a lot slimmer:

For comparison reasons, two traditional Windows Mobile devices:

Finally, a shot next to a first-gen iPod touch:

In the end, the Nokia C7 is one of the sleeker touchscreen models to come out of Nokia recently. The size won’t break the deal – tune in soon to find out about its physical properties…

Tons of books have been written on the topic of selling desktop apps – when it comes to mobile, the bookshelves remain mostly empty. O’Reilly’s latest work is focused on mobile apps in general and the App Store in specific – does it make sense?

Ken Yarmosh starts out by looking at the process for creating an app. For him, this starts out at processing the idea – and finding out whether pursuing it actually makes sense.

When the idea is workable, the next step involves design and UI. Even though the tools shown are focused on the iPhone, the lessons learned here are valid on all platforms.

The next chapter looks at managing the development process. If you do the development yourself, the value of that is limited – but one never knows when scaling up is due. The chapter after that looks at the publishing process in iTunes.

chapters eight and nine are very interesting. Chapter 8 looks at the marketing process, while Chapter 9 analyzes various ways to keep a product line alive after its initial launch.

Finally, one or two interviews with prominent iPhone developers are at the end of each chapter.

As usual for O’Reilly, the book is well written and is made up of decent quality paper. The only issue I had was the permanent cross-referencing to the marketing chapter at the end – it seriously disturbed reading flow for me.

In the end, a seasoned and experienced developer who is interested in PR will probably find little new in this book. Rookies, on the other hand, must buy this book irregardless of which platform they end up targeting. If you are inexperienced in handling the iTunes store, the book also is worth its price…