Developing Content

Deciding What to Create

This is the most fun part of using Macromedia Flash—being able to explore your creative ideas and experimenting with various ways to make those ideas actually work. For instance, you may want to create a simple one-person game, or, if you're looking for a challenge, build a real-time multiplayer game using some type of wireless connectivity option.

If games aren't your forté, perhaps you could create a utility or application that benefits users. Some examples are customized vendor lists, conference guides, event maps, currency converters, and stock and weather information applications. As with all types of Flash content, the information can either be perishable or nonperishable. "Nonperishable" content never changes. On the other hand, users can update "perishable" information, changing it frequently.

Flash is a great tool for creating content for websites and desktop computers, however, when deciding on what types of content to create for mobile devices, especially Pocket PCs, it's important to understand the platform limitations. Minimum requirements for screen resolution, screen size, processor speed, input methods, and file storage differ from desktop/laptop computers. Here's a comparison:

Comparison Chart

	Desktop/Laptop Computers	Pocket PCs
Screen resolution	640 x 480 to 1920 x 1200 pixels	240 x 320 pixels (Some devices are capable of 480 x 640.)
Screen size	10.4" to 23"	3.5" to 4"
Processor speed	500 MHz to 3.2 GHz	206 MHz to 400 MHz
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse, touch screen, voice	Native: stylus, touch screen (Some have built-in keyboards.)
File storage	10 GB to 200 GB	16 to 128 MB RAM (External storage cards such as Compact Flash and Secure Digital range from 16 MB to 1 GB)

As you can see, there's a big difference between the two platforms, however, this shouldn't deter you from creating content.

Gathering Content

Once you've decided on the type of application you want to create, the next step is to gather content. Content can include:

• Photos
• Text
• Sounds, narration
• Video clips
• Physical items such as brochures, products, and so forth…

Optimize the various media elements to minimize the file size so they play back well on Pocket PCs. After you import your content into the Flash authoring environment and test it, you may have to go back and optimize the various media elements again.

Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004

Flash MX Professional 2004 introduces significant improvements and enhancements to the development environment. Developers can now easily create Flash content for a wide range of platforms, including mobile phones and PDAs.

For more information, see my previous article, New Features for Mobile and Devices Developers in Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004. Also, visit the Flash MX Professional 2004 software site for general product information.

Using Templates

With Flash MX Professional 2004, there are six templates for Pocket PCs. Three are for the HP iPAQ 1910, and the other three are for the HP iPAQ 5440. When working with the stand-alone player, you will use two of the templates—the "full screen" templates. The iPAQ 1910 Full Screen and the iPAQ 5440 Full Screen templates are exactly the same except that they display different device skin graphics.

Figure 1. HP iPAQ 5440 Full Screen template

You can use either one of these full screen templates for creating content for any Pocket PC 2002, 2003 or Phone Edition devices. As with all templates, these templates are guides that help you lay out your content and give you an idea of what your finished work will look like on a Pocket PC. However, be aware that there's no substitute for viewing your work on an actual device.

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