The Nokia 9200 Communicator Series of wireless handsets are one
of the first PDA/cell-phone hybrids to support Macromedia Flash
Player 5. (Although the Nokia 9200 Communicator Series includes
the 9210i, 9210, and 9290, for convenience I'll generally refer
to all these hand-held devices as the Nokia 9200 Communicator.)
For developers, the ability to deliver Macromedia Flash content
on wireless devices opens up a whole new range of applications.
Although much of application development for the Nokia 9200 Communicator
is the same as that for desktop computers, some development aspects
differ—and differ quite a bit. To help you make the design
transition from desktops to wireless devices easier, I've created
seven steps to move you toward wireless Macromedia Flash enlightenment.
Step 1: Take a walk
Walk around town and observe what people are doing. Seriously,
this is the most important step for you to make the leap into
developing wireless content. Play spy. Are people shopping? Eating
out? Going to a museum? Take notes. You can use them later to
generate ideas for practice projects that will build your skills.
Only after you have really taken the time to see what people are
doing can you begin to think about which applications on wireless
devices would make those experiences better.
Besides, you spend way too much time at your computer anyway.
Step 2: Understand your new role
Building a Macromedia Flash application for wireless devices is
a bit of a conceptual leap for developers used to the desktop-delivery
method. Making this transition requires acknowledging that you're
no longer the center of the user's universe.
For instance, if people are out and about using their wireless
device, the intrinsic assumption is that they are actually doing
something—experiencing something. If they are using your
application, there's a good chance they are using it to enhance
the experience they are already having. With this idea in mind,
as well as the thoughts you gathered from your walk, synthesize
your ideas about usability and how you would want your application
to work in an on-the-go environment.
Step 3: Get the Nokia 9200 Communicator Series
Content Development Kit (CDK)
Meanwhile, back at your computer, get started with the technical
details of building applications for the Nokia 9200 Communicator
by visiting the Nokia
9200 Communicator Series Resource Center. Here you can
download the terrific CDK (for both the 9210 and 9290 Communicator).
Not only does the CDK contain extensive information about developing
for the Nokia 9200 Communicator, but you'll find several sample
applications that cover a wide range of development issues—including
how to create the all-important key-based navigation.
Step 4: Learn that keys are key
When creating applications for the Nokia 9200 Communicator, become
thoroughly familiar with the navigational key. It's the primary
way to navigate through any Macromedia Flash application on the
device. For quick development, you can use Softkeys
(created by Doug Loftus), a Smart Clip that allows you to map
functions quickly and easily to navigation key events. It works
with both the Nokia 9200 Communicator and the Pocket PC so you
can save time when porting between these devices.
Step 5: Download the 12-bit color palette
Because the display on the Nokia is 12-bit, you'll only be working
with 4,096 colors. Save yourself the time involved in hunting
down the correct RGB codes by downloading the 12-bit
palette I created specifically for Nokia developers. This
palette has all the non-dithering colors that work on the Nokia
9200 Communicator. (The download also contains an in-depth discussion
about 12-bit color on wireless devices.)
Step 6: Use pixel fonts
Your display space is limited to 640 x 200 pixels on the Nokia
9200 Communicator, as you can see in this display
window. Furthermore, the screen itself is very small. What
you are left with is an incredibly crisp but small piece of real
estate. Because most fonts become anti-aliased in Macromedia Flash,
smaller text can be next to impossible to read on the Nokia 9200
Communicator. I recommend you use pixel fonts for this type of
work. The fonts offered by miniml
are second to none and give you the results you need. With these
small fonts you can both maximize the available real estate and
create readable (and very attractive) text content.
Step 7: Remember what you already know
The beauty of using Macromedia Flash for application development
can be summed up in one word: ubiquity. Sure, there are other
things to learn about wireless development. In particular, I recommend
these two books: Flash:
The Future (by Jon Warren Lentz, et al., No Starch Press,
forthcoming in 2002) and Flash
Enabled (by Phillip Torrone et al., New Riders Publishing,
2002).
Some things are a pain to remember, though, like screen resolution.
Macromedia Flash MX can help you here: It actually ships with
two templates that are preconfigured with the screen resolutions
and export settings specific to the Nokia 9200 Communicator. If
you aren't running Macromedia Flash MX yet, you can still develop
content for the Nokia 9200 Communicator; you just have to remember
all of the settings yourself and you won't be able to take advantage
of some of the other helpful features (such as advanced debugging
facilities).
Still, all of your existing Flash knowledge is directly applicable
and after implementing these seven steps you should be ready to
start developing Macromedia Flash applications for the Nokia 9200
Communicator.
Additional resources
You'll find more information about developing for the Nokia 9200
Communicator by visiting these websites:
- Forum.nokia.com
Visit Forum Nokia to learn more about the support and services
that Nokia offers to developers for their wireless handsets.
- Nokia
9210i Communicator Demo
Get acquainted with the Nokia 9210i Communicator in this interactive
Macromedia Flash-driven product tour.
- Nokia
USA Communicator World
Visit communicator world to learn about the Nokia 9290 Communicator.
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