Showing posts with label mobile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile. Show all posts

Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps Review

Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps
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Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps ReviewHere's why: it's not only a great guide to what makes iPhone apps successful, but what will increasingly be the way to make successful software for any platform. Josh does a fantastic job of getting the reader into the right mindset for creating successful apps.
This is an interface, big-idea, that's why that design works book, not a coding book. Nor is it a "how to market your iPhone app book". That said, the interviews alone with designers of big important iPhone apps about how they really designed those apps is worth the price many times over.
Warning: you will probably spend more on buying apps Josh uses as examples of what he is talking about than you will on the book itself - I guess the skills he developed writing his last book, "Best Iphone Apps: The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders", gave him five star ability for picking great to awesome apps.
Also, while I almost never buy anymore actual paper books, this one is worth it - the color, gloss stock, painstaking layout and content structure would not be done justice as a .pdf.
I could write a longer review, but I'd rather go back to reading, re-reading, mulling and thinking about the what Josh covered in this book. Can't wait for the iPad book!Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps Overview
So you've got an idea for an iPhone app -- along with everyone else on the planet. Set your app apart with elegant design, efficient usability, and a healthy dose of personality. This accessible, well-written guide shows you how to design exceptional user experiences for the iPhone and iPod Touch through practical principles and a rich collection of visual examples.

Whether you're a designer, programmer, manager, or marketer, Tapworthy teaches you to "think iPhone" and helps you ask the right questions -- and get the right answers -- throughout the design process. You'll explore how considerations of design, psychology, culture, ergonomics, and usability combine to create a tapworthy app. Along the way, you'll get behind-the-scenes insights from the designers of apps like Facebook, USA Today, Twitterrific, and many others.

Develop your ideas from initial concept to finished design
Build an effortless user experience that rewards every tap
Explore the secrets of designing for touch
Discover how and why people really use iPhone apps
Learn to use iPhone controls the Apple way
Create your own personality-packed visuals
Ten Tips for Crafting Your App's Visual Identity
Choose a personality. Don't let your app's personality emerge by accident. Before you start designing, choose a personality for your app. The right personality for the right audience and features makes an app irresistible and creates a bonafide emotional connection. Tapworthy designs have the power to charm and beguile.
Voices (left) has a Vaudeville personality appropriate to a funny-voices novelty app. iShots Irish Edition (right) creates a gritty dive-bar ambience for its collection of drink recipes.

Favor standard controls. Because they're commonplace, the standard set of controls is sometimes dismissed as visually dull. Not so fast: commonplace means familiarity and ease for your audience. Conventions are critical to instant and effortless communication. Before creating a brand new interface metaphor or inventing your own custom controls, ask whether it might be done better with the built-in gadgetry.
A coat of paint. Standard controls don't have to be dreary. Use custom colors and graphics to give them a fresh identity. This technique requires a light touch, however; don't distract from the content itself or drain the meaning from otherwise familiar controls.
Wine Steward uses standard lists (known as table views in iOS) but creates a vintage ambience by draping a backdrop image across the screen. The app adds a parchment graphic to the background of each table cell, making each entry appear to be written on an aged wine label. The burgundy-tinted navigation bar maintains the app's wine flavor.

' You stay classy. Luxurious textures applied with taste increase your app's perceived value.
' Keep it real. Realistic lighting effects and colors create elements that invite touch and create an emotional attachment. They also provide subtle guidance about what your audience can interact with.
' Borrow interface metaphors from the physical world. Lean on users' real-world experience to create intuitive experiences. People will try anything on a touchscreen, for example, that they'd logically try on a physical object or with a mouse-driven cursor. Besides these practical benefits, using an everyday object as an interface metaphor imbues an app with the same associations that folks might have with the real McCoy--a shelf of books, a retro alarm clock, a much-used chessboard, a toy robot.
' Don't be afraid to take risks. Make sure your interfaces are intuitive, sure, but don't be afraid to try something completely new and different. Designers and developers are hatching fresh iPhone magic every day, and there's still much to explore and invent. While you should look hard at whether you might accomplish what you need to do with standard controls, it's also worth asking, Am I going far enough?
The app icon is your business card. The icon carries disproportionate weight in the marketing of your app, and it's important to give it disproportionate design attention, too. Be descriptive more than artistic. Make your app icon a literal description of your app's function, interface, name, or brand.
Use a dull launch image. Disguise your app's launch image as the app background for a faster perceived launch. Always cultivate the illusion of suspended animation when switching in and out of your app.
Be kind to new users. Provide simple welcome-mat pointers for first-timers. Beware of more complex help screens; they're warning signs of an overcomplicated interface.

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Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)
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Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) ReviewAndroid 2 is pretty new (as of March 2010) so having an Android 2 book on the market that is good quality was unexpected. I have not read all chapters, but here are my impressions so far:
Pro's
=====
- Author's style is neither dull or exciting, just to the point. Most explanations are clear and thorough.
- I definitely feel I have a good resource to complement the online Android docs. There have been a variety of topics I've tried to answer using Android docs (and Google searches) without much luck that this book covered clearly.
- There are a lot of good topics covered. Space is not wasted on reprinting information readily available online. Instead, author regularly refers reader to web links.
- And, finally, I appreciate the well-edited index.
Con's
=====
- The book is very weak in the illustration department. For example, instead of showing an image of a NinePatch bitmap, the author explains how a NinePatch should be constructed. This is chintzy and unforgivable for a book about a heavily visual technology.
- Occassionally, concepts are introduced without providing context. 'Kinda like when you walk into a meeting and the speakers clearly know their material but forget that 90% of the others in the room need to be brought up to speed before instructing.
- Some conspicuous omissions. For instance, no information on fonts.
Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) OverviewUpdate to the bestseller now features the latest release of the Android platform
Android is a powerful, flexible, open source platform for mobile devices and its popularity is growing at an unprecedented pace. This update to the bestselling first edition dives in to cover the exciting new features of the latest release of the Android mobile platform.
Providing in-depth coverage of how to build mobile applications using the next major release of the Android SDK, this invaluable resource takes a hands-on approach to discussing Android with a series of projects, each of which introduces a new feature and highlights techniques and best practices to get the most out of Android.
The Android SDK is a powerful, flexible, open source platform for mobile devices
Shares helpful techniques and best practices to maximize the capabilities of Android
Explains the possibilities of Android through the use of a series of detailed projects
Demonstrates how to create real-world mobile applications for Android phones
Includes coverage of the latest version of Android

Providing concise and compelling examples, Professional Android Application Development is an updated guide aimed at helping you create mobile applications for mobile devices running the latest version of Android.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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Mobile Commerce : Opportunities, Applications, and Technologies of Wireless Business Review

Mobile Commerce : Opportunities, Applications, and Technologies of Wireless Business
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Mobile Commerce : Opportunities, Applications, and Technologies of Wireless Business ReviewThis is a broad treatment of M-commerce and is aimed at a broad audience of business and technical readers. Usually books of this nature are mediocre because of the trade-offs compromises in scope and content that need to be made to accommodate a wide audience. In the case of the book, though, it isn't the case.
First, the book is organized by (1) Business opportunity, (2) Applications, (3) Technology, (4) Issues and (5) Directory of M-Commerce Applications. The first four sections are both insightful and invaluable. The directory of M-commerce applications, in my opinion, does not add any value to the book because information of this nature changes so rapidly that it's inaccurate before a book is even published.
What I like about the book is the even treatment of opportunities that are inherent in M-commerce, including some insights into why Europe does not have the advantages that normally come from being early adopters (in spite of the pessimists who cite a "two year head start" while ignoring the U.S. leadership in technology implementation when we do get around to it), and the interesting view of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), which many believe to be just an interim - the author advises to put resources and effort into WAP and make it part of a business strategy if you want to be an M-commerce player.
The survey of technologies and standards are also useful, even if given somewhat superficial treatment. The value is you are exposed to all of the factors and considerations with which to make informed decisions or gain an understanding of the M-commerce landscape. In this respect the applications and technology sections of the book can be viewed as a primer.
Overall, this is an excellent book for learning about M-commerce from business and technical points of view because it provides a context and keen insights in both domains.Mobile Commerce : Opportunities, Applications, and Technologies of Wireless Business Overview

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Professional Android Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

Professional Android Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)
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Professional Android Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) ReviewThe author clearly and concisely explains the fundamental aspects of Android programming. The coverage of Android topics is pretty comprehensive and the depth of coverage was just right for my needs. Mr. Meier provides some background information about mobile programming platforms in general, so the only real prerequisite for this book is familiarity with Java programming. The examples are also very informative and build new features incrementally, which keeps the focus on the most recently covered material, and reflects modern incremental development practices. This book, in conjunction with the excellent materials available online from Google, anddev.org and elsewhere, provide an effective staring point for developers looking to get started quickly on the Android platform.Professional Android Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) OverviewA hands-on guide to building mobile applications, Professional Android Application Development features concise and compelling examples that show you how to quickly construct real-world mobile applications for Android phones. Fully up-to-date for version 1.0 of the Android software development kit, it covers all the essential features, and explores the advanced capabilities of Android (including GPS, accelerometers, and background Services) to help you construct increasingly complex, useful, and innovative mobile applications for Android phones.
What this book includes
An introduction to mobile development, Android, and how to get started.
An in-depth look at Android applications and their life cycle, the application manifest, Intents, and using external resources.
Details for creating complex and compelling user interfaces by using, extending, and creating your own layouts and Views and using Menus.
A detailed look at data storage, retrieval, and sharing using preferences, files, databases, and Content Providers.
Instructions for making the most of mobile portability by creating rich map-based applications as well as using location-based services and the geocoder.
A look at the power of background Services, using threads, and a detailed look at Notifications.
Coverage of Android's communication abilities including SMS, the telephony APIs, network management, and a guide to using Internet resources
Details for using Android hardware, including media recording and playback, using the camera, accelerometers, and compass sensors.
Advanced development topics including security, IPC, advanced 2D / 3D graphics techniques, and user–hardware interaction.

Who this book is forThis book is for anyone interested in creating applications for the Android mobile phone platform. It includes information that will be valuable whether you're an experienced mobile developer or making your first foray, via Android, into writing mobile applications. It will give the grounding and knowledge you need to write applications using the current SDK, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to future enhancements.

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Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Review

Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
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Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript ReviewI had bought an iPad when they were first announced. I had the expressed intention of creating some very specific apps; I did not need Wired Magazine to tell me that mobile apps are the future.
My plans were delayed by Apple's delay in releasing a new iPad OS. I didn't want to waste a lot of time struggling with things in the original OS that might become easier in the next.
I'd rather not struggle at all. As I have gotten older, the thrill of twisting C and C++ to my will is far less alluring than it used to be. Honestly, there is no allure left at all: I saw learning the Apple API as an onerous but necessary task. I was not looking forward to it.
Then this book arrived and opened my eyes. Yes, there is that "Android" in the title, but this is really about building device agnostic apps and I saw that long before the author off handedly mentioned iPhones in Chapter 7. Yeah, baby - if you think I was reluctant to learn Apple API's, well, that's nothing compared to how I feel about futzing around with Java to drive Android stuff. No thank you. But CSS and Javascript? That's different.
Not that I still don't have a learning curve. I have done very little with CSS or Javascript because of browser quirks. I realized that Jquery could smooth a lot of that out for me, but I just did not have enough of a need to invest any time learning that either. Mobile apps provides that incentive.
This book opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities I was just not aware of. For example, I did not know about the Web SQL Database abilities in HTML5. The author said that rocked his world; well, it rocked mine also.
I am looking forward to sitting down and playing with the ideas this book has exposed me to. This really changes my plans, and this is one case where I am very happy to veer off course. Jquery, here I come!Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Overview
If you know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you already have the tools you need to develop Android applications. This hands-on book shows you how to use these open source web standards to design and build apps that can be adapted for any Android device -- without having to use Java.

You'll learn how to create an Android-friendly web app on the platform of your choice, and then convert it to a native Android app with the free PhoneGap framework. Discover why device-agnostic mobile apps are the wave of the future, and start building apps that offer greater flexibility and a broader reach.

Learn the basics for making a web page look great on the Android web browser
Convert a website into a web application, complete with progress indicators and more
Add animation with jQTouch to make your web app look and feel like a native Android app
Take advantage of client-side data storage with apps that run even when the Android device is offline
Use PhoneGap to hook into advanced Android features -- including the accelerometer, geolocation, and alerts
Test and debug your app on the Web under load with real users, and then submit the finished product to the Android Market
This book received valuable community input through O'Reilly's Open Feedback Publishing System (OFPS). Learn more at http://labs.oreilly.com/ofps.html.

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Beginning Smartphone Web Development Review

Beginning Smartphone Web Development
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Beginning Smartphone Web Development ReviewMobile web development is very current nowadays and the books out there now is very slim in explaining all the technologies that are neccessary. This book is a godsend for web developers who really need a reference book on understanding what issues and concerns must be taken on trying to get your mobile web page viewable on the thousands of different web platforms there are.
Web browsers in mobile devices aim to comply with web and mobile industry standards. The author teaches you the standards, best practices and development techniques for building interactive mobile web pages for browsers in smartphones and other mobile devices.
The standards-based mobile web browser is the most promising cross-platform mobile technology. The author based this book on his courses he teaches based upon his many years of experiennce in deploying mobile web applications around the world.
The examples are easy to follow and help get you up and running in a short time.
Its a great book and should be in your computer book library.Beginning Smartphone Web Development OverviewWritten by learnthemobileweb.com's Gail Frederick, Beginning Web Development is one of the first, if not the first, books by a major publisher on Smartphone specific application development and mobile Web standards.The book contains 90% cross-platform development techniques for all smartphone browsers and 10% optimizations for WebKit, Chrome, Palm Pre, Pocket IE and popular third-party smartphone browsers like Opera Mobile and Skyfire.The success of the iPhone and BlackBerry and the emergence of Palm Pre webOS, Nokia S60 and many more devices currently necessitates the need for this book for the marketplace - the Mobile Web 2.0.

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Mobile Application Development with SMS and the SIM Toolkit Review

Mobile Application Development with SMS and the SIM Toolkit
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Mobile Application Development with SMS and the SIM Toolkit ReviewBecause 3G is on the verge of being rolled out in the US by major carriers I purchased this book to explore how to best integrate the next generation cell phone with system management information for our data center. Although this book will work with GSM phones as well, our company is standardized on a carrier that will be making 3G available, so if you're using GSM my comments will also apply.
This book will get you started in mobile development quickly if you're using or going to use the SmartTrust toolset, which I highly recommend. This book is about those tools, so if you are not going to use them don't get this book.
The authors do not mess around. They introduce the basics, then very quickly jump into design, development and testing. If you're a developer you'll appreciate the lack of fluff and the fast pace. The book lives up to its title in all respects and is outstanding for anyone who needs realistic information about developing mobile applications using proven tools and techniques.Mobile Application Development with SMS and the SIM Toolkit OverviewGet mobile messaging going on virtually any platform, in any language
Mobile Application Development Using SMS and the SIM Toolkit is just the guide you've been looking for if you're building applications for GSM or 3G networks, wish you had sample code for reality-based applications, or want to add mobile extensions to your software products and corporate network. In this straight-talking tutorial, smart card expert Scott Guthery teams with information management specialist Mary Cronin to provide you with authoritative guidance on SIM application design, integration, and management for any platform. Seasoned developers will quickly learn how to:

Create code that harnesses the power of the SIM
Use the micro-browsers and micro-Web servers in 3G phones
Construct leading-edge mobile commerce applications on today's network
Send and receive SMS messages from your server or your laptop
Enable interfaces and other needed components
Create secure wireless applications for corporate networks and VPNs


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Android Application Development For Dummies Review

Android Application Development For Dummies
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Android Application Development For Dummies ReviewI'm going to preface this review by saying that I have been programming for about 15 years, and have been working professionally as a developer for almost 3 years. My background is in VB, C#, Javascript, HTML, and even a little dabbling in C/C++. With that in mind, my Java knowledge was essentially everything I had learned from C# (which is very similar), and the tutorials on Google's Android development website. You could argue Javascript may help, but they're so different that I don't think it counts as experience.
I finished all of the tutorials on Google's site and still felt like I wasn't really grasping the concept of Android development. For those of you who have developed in C#/VB for Windows or Windows Mobile, you may understand what I mean when I say that going from something so straight-forward as using Visual Studio and .NET languages to something a little more complex and code-heavy like C++ or Java while using an unfamiliar IDE like Eclipse can be a little daunting at first. Google's tutorials, while full of great examples, don't really take the time to explain the "why" and then "what" of Android development, and instead have a more confusing approach of "Step 1: Type all this code in; Step 2: That code you just type does [this]; Step 3: Run your application".
The first half of this book is incredibly informative, and after reading only a couple short paragraphs on things I've already tried to learn and failed, I really understood it this time. The author's tone and descriptions make even the most complicated topics very easy to understand. The author also likes to commonly encourage the reader, writing that we are "experts", and making assumptions that we understand what we just read, even after it was some insanely complicated thing that was described in detail across four pages. It seems like this approach might be little odd, but I liked it. It kept my confidence up as I was reading.
The second half of the book, while also great, starts a little on the fast track. There are other reviews that mention this, and although I partially agree, it's also worth mentioning that a lot of the things that are flown through quickly come together a little later in the book. However, the pace does seem to go from a "one line at a time" methodology into a "type these 60 lines of code in and I'll explain it later" sort of teaching. While I don't prefer this, and I think it's a bit messy, the information IS there; it's just harder to soak it all in than it was in the first half of the book. The application you are building at the end is quite large, and I have tried to think of an easier way the author could have filled me with the knowledge instead of the approach taken, but I really couldn't think of a better way, mainly due to the way the code has to be written for the particular task at hand.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think it was a great introduction to Android development, and is leaps and bounds above Google's documentation, at least for a beginner. I wish the book was a little longer, and I wish the author didn't frequently say things like "I could write an entire book on [subject], so I won't go into detail about this. If you want to learn more, read the documentation at [Google link]." For these reasons, I gave it four stars instead of five. The fundamentals do exist in this book, but I would have liked to have seen more.
I would recommend this book for anyone with any sort of programming background looking to get into Android development. I would probably not recommend it to someone who has no programming background whatsoever.
Android Application Development For Dummies OverviewThe fun and friendly guide to creating applications on the Android platform
The popularity of the Android market is soaring with no sign of slowing down. The open nature of the Android OS offers programmers the freedom to access the platform's capabilities and this straightforward guide walks you through the steps for creating amazing Android applications. Android programming expert Donn Felker explains how to download the SDK, get Eclipse up and running, code Android applications, and submit your finished products to the Android Market. Featuring two sample programs, this introductory book explores everything from the simple basics to more advanced aspects of the Android platform.
Takes you soup through nuts of developing applications for the Android platform
Begins with downloading the SDK, then explains how to code Android applications and submit projects to the Android Market
Written by Android guru Donn Felker, who breaks every aspect of developing applications for the Android platform into easily digestible pieces

No matter your level of programming experience, Android Application Development For Dummies is an ideal guide for getting started with developing applications for the Android platform.

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Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA: Creating Great Mobile Applications Review

Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA: Creating Great Mobile Applications
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Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA: Creating Great Mobile Applications ReviewI really hate Netbeans, but in spite of that fact, and the fact that this book makes heavy use of the technology, I dug into the book. I have a real interest in learning about the development of Java programs on cell phones past the writing of small local applications and games, and this book seemed to fit the bill. I'm the happy owner of many of the author's past books, and this one didn't disappoint me either. At first glance parts of the book look rather sparse. That is because, for one, Knudsen doesn't see the point in just regurgitating the standard. The second reason is that much of the source code is on the book's accompanying website. If you are interested in writing mobile applications with Java, I highly recommend this book. I discuss the book's contents chapter by chapter as follows:
Section: I Getting Started
Chapter 1. Overview - explains why MIDP is such a good fit for mobile devices and describes how MIDP and the rest of the band fit together to form a powerful platform for mobile applications.
Chapter 2. Tools - Building MIDP applications is surprisingly easy. This chapter describes several development alternatives and explains some of the magic that these tools provide. Also justifies Netbeans, which I dislike, but it's a fair trade-off to play with such cool stuff.
Chapter 3. Quick Start -Describes a few simple parts of MIDP so that you can get something running right away. You'll also have a basic scaffolding upon which to build your later knowledge.
Chapter 4. Core APIs - Don't assume that you know all this stuff, even if you're experienced with Java technology on the desktop or in a server environment. The constraints of small devices dictate that these APIs are more compact and less rich than their desktop counterparts.
Section: II The Lives of MIDlets
Chapter 5. The MIDlet Habitat - learn the details of how MIDlets live and die and how devices prevent bad MIDlets from performing bad deeds.
Chapter 6. Starting MIDlets Automatically - Incoming network connections can start a MIDlet. For example, a Short Message Service (SMS) message arriving on a certain port or an incoming socket connection could launch a MIDlet. MIDlets can request to be started at a specific time. MIDlets can respond to specific types of content. For example, an audio player MIDlet can be set to handle one or more audio file types. Other applications can ask the device to launch a MIDlet to handle a certain type of content.
Section: III User Interface
Chapter 7. Basic User Interface - This chapter and Chapter 8 discuss the screens that LCDUI, the user interface, supplies and their supporting baggage.
Chapter 8. More User Interface
Section: IV Graphics
Chapter 9. Creating Custom Screens - If the plain old LCDUI screens are not sufficiently jazzy or flexible for your application, you can create your own screen using a canvas. It's more work, but it's more fun. You can control almost all of the drawing on the display and you get fine-grained event information as well.
Chapter 10. Custom Items - A middle ground lies between the easy path of canned LCDUI screens and the raw bravado of using Canvas. Custom items are your own items that can be placed into standard forms. A custom item is very similar to a canvas, but it has some additional equipment to allow it to be part of a form.
Chapter 11. Using the Game API - One popular category of Java ME applications is games. Even when faster data networks make other types of applications more popular, games will always be an important part of the Java ME ecosystem. MIDP has a Game API designed to help you create 2D action or board games. It has a souped-up canvas and supports building a screen using multiple layers. The entire API consists of five classes that are discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 12. Scalable Vector Graphics - The shortcomings of images on small devices are addressed by JSR 226, the Scalable 2D Vector Graphics API for J2ME. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a kind of XML for describing pictures. Because it is essentially a programming language, SVG can also describe animations and user interactions. JSR 226 is a standard API for displaying and manipulating SVG documents.
Chapter 13. 3D Graphics - The Mobile 3D Graphics (M3G) API, gives MIDlets the ability to show 3D content. It is a scaled-down version of the desktop Java platform 3D API. The M3G API is a scene graph API, which means it knows how to render scenes that are described as a hierarchy of groups and objects. How to use the API is discussed here.
Section: V Storage and Resources
Chapter 14. Record Stores - MSA devices provide three ways to work with persistent storage. The first way is with record stores, which are tiny databases that contain records. The official name for this API is the Record Management System (RMS), which is covered in this chapter.
Chapter 15. Reading and Writing Files - MIDP devices often have some kind of hierarchical file system. The PDA Optional Packages define a FileConnection API that provides access to a device's file system. It is a mandatory part of MSA and MSA subset. The FileConnection API is the subject of this chapter.
Chapter 16. Contacts and Calendars - The Personal Information Management (PIM) API provides access to contact lists, calendars, and to-do lists on mobile devices. The API is the subject of this chapter.
Chapter 17. Mobile Internationalization - A fancy phrase that means making your application run in different languages. Internationalization is handled by Mobile Internationalization API, the subject of this chapter.
Section: VI Networking
Chapter 18. The Generic Connection Framework - All network access in MIDP devices works through the Generic Connection Framework (GCF). The fundamental idea of GCF is very simple. Your application supplies a connection string, and GCF hands back the corresponding input and output streams.
Chapter 19. Text and Multimedia Messaging - This chapter covers the Wireless Messaging API (WMA) which extends this capability of transmitting and receiving text messages to MIDlets.
Chapter 20. Bluetooth and OBEX - teaches you the fundamentals of Bluetooth communication but does not attempt to cover the Bluetooth and OBEX (Object Exchange) APIs in meticulous detail.
Chapter 21. XML and Web Services - describes how to use the XML parsing API, how to call Web services using the JAX-RPC API, and how to work with RESTful Web services. Examples will show how to parse a Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed and how to write a RESTful client for the Flickr photo-sharing service.
Chapter 22. Session Initiation Protocol - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a standard way to set up a call, videoconference, or other session between two network endpoints. This chapter is a broad overview.
Section: VII Multimedia
Chapter 23. Playing and Recording Sound and Video - Discusses the Mobile Media API (MMAPI) for working with images, audio, and video. There are some good detailed examples here.
Chapter 24. Advanced Multimedia - expands on the promise of MMAPI with 3D audio, image processing and encoding, camera and radio control. The basics are in the book, the online software has more detailed examples.
Section: VIII Security and Transactions
Chapter 25. Smart Cards and Cryptography - an introduction to the Security and Trust Services APIs (SATSA). SATSA actually contains four separate APIs. Two of these are for communicating with smart cards, while the other two relate to cryptography. Only the basics are covered.
Chapter 26. Mobile Payments - discusses The Payment API, which provides MIDlets with a simple API for making payments.
Chapter 27. Know Where You Are - discusses the Location API for using GPS to determine where you are or where you want to go.
Chapter 28. Application Architecture - a good capstone chapter presents ideas to help you with your application design. This chapter gets you in the right frame of mind to design your own application effectively and imaginatively.Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA: Creating Great Mobile Applications Overview
The release of MIDP 2.0 and the introduction of the new Mobile Service Architecture (MSA) are generating momentum for the Java ME platform. As more and more Java-enabled mobile devices become available and more service providers become open to third-party development, the demand for customized applications will grow dramatically. Now, there's a practical, realistic guide to building MIDP 2.0/MSA applications that are robust, responsive, maintainable, and fun.

Long-time Java ME author Jonathan Knudsen offers real solutions for the complex challenges of coding efficiency, application design, and usability in constrained mobile environments. Experienced Java developers will master MIDP 2.0 and MSA programming through clear, carefully designed examples. Downloadable code is available for both NetBeans Mobility Pack and the Sun Java Wireless Toolkit. Kicking Butt with MIDP and MSA's wide-ranging content covers:

Pushing MIDP's limits, and exploiting MSA's full power
Using MIDlets, Forms, commands, core classes, and invocation
Building effective mobile user interfaces
Designing graphics with the Canvas, the Game API, SVG, and 3D
Providing storage and resources: record stores, FileConnection, and PDA PIM
Internationalizing mobile applications
Networking via WMA, Bluetooth, Web services, and SIP
Parsing XML documents
Implementing audio and advanced multimedia
Securing mobile applications with SATSA and the Payment API
Building advanced location-based applications
Designing applications for multiple devices
Creating end-to-end mobile application architectures


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App Inventor for Android: Build Your Own Apps - No Experience Required Review

App Inventor for Android: Build Your Own Apps - No Experience Required
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App Inventor for Android: Build Your Own Apps - No Experience Required ReviewFor many people wrestling an idea for an app into an actual wokring app is daunting. There are issues of setting up a development environment, learning the way the device you are making an app for wants you to code for it, deciphering the vectors and hooks into the device's layers and then crafting your idea thru all those processes into something you can see and touch on the screen of your device. With this book as my guide I was able to get through these processes in a near painless manner.
Each process was laid out before me in easy to understand steps and many of the stumbles I made were addressed before I was about to make them. What problems I did come across where not as problematic thanks to the way the author organized his book. The pacing of the examples were perfect, I felt like I was getting a solid payoff after working thru each chapter. With the completion of each chapter I also felt a little more confident that I would be able to take my ideas for apps and make them actual working apps. After the twitter chapter I was near giddy with accomplishment; I played the proud parent as I showed off the app to those folks I was able to pin down. The bonus online chapter was the perfect reward for finishing up the book. What was even better was finding all the video tutorials on the authors web site, truly an amazing set of learning that just keeps on getting better over time.
The only downside to going thru the book, bonus chapters and web site is I now have more, and more complex, app project ideas that I want to find time to work on. This book was truly empowering as well as educational.
The other unforeseen outcome of going thru the author's works is that my 8 year old son now wants to work on some apps with me. He watched as I worked thru examples with the block editor and was quickly able to tell me what was going on as far as logic and flow was concerned. There is a long road to go before he puts his stamp on a first app but he is well and truly hooked as far as deving for the the Android is concerned.
Much thanks and congrats on a fantastic work.App Inventor for Android: Build Your Own Apps - No Experience Required OverviewCreate Android mobile apps, no programming required!
Even with limited programming experience, you can easily learn to create apps for the Android platform with this complete guide to App Inventor for Android. App Inventor for Android is a visual language that relies on simple programming blocks that users can drag and drop to create apps. This handy book gives you a series of fully worked-out apps, complete with their programming blocks, which you can customize for your own use or use as a starting point for creating the next killer app. And it's all without writing a single line of code. Don't miss the book's special section on Apps Inventor Design Patterns, which explains computer terms in simple terms and is an invaluable basic reference.
Teaches programmers and non-programmers alike how to use App Inventor for Android to create Android apps
Provides a series of fully worked-out apps that you can customize, download, and use on your Android phone or use as a starting point for building the next great app
Includes a valuable reference section on App Inventor Design Patterns and general computer science concepts
Shows you how to create apps that take advantage of the Android smartphone?s handy features, such as GPS, messaging, contacts, and more

With App Inventor for Android and this complete guide, you'll soon be creating apps that incorporate all of the Android smartphone's fun features, such as the accelerometer, GPS, messaging, and more. From the Author: Getting Data In and Out of App Inventor Apps In today's mobile world, applications are expected to not only provide functionality locally but also have up to date content and external awareness."How do I get all this data into App Inventor?" is one of the most frequently asked questions by new developers.Initially getting rows and columns of data into App Inventor was a kind of linear equation. You used the TinyWebDB or you turned to some of the third party hacks that are available. The TinyWebDB component is still a possibility for volatile data that needs to be pulled from the internet and placed into App Inventor. It has the added benefit of being quick and allowing write to the web database. For getting rows and columns of data into App Inventor the algorithm would follow these steps: 1. Pull data from WebService and place in temporary variable. 2. Parse data into psuedo-array3. Write data to a local TinyDBThis is still an option for getting tabular data into App Inventor.It has the advantage of being fast and stable. It has the disadvantage of needing the TinyWebDB service installed and running on a web server. Setting up and installing the TinyWebDB service can be complex and frustrating.There is the added complexity of needing a separate application to actually pre-populate TinyWebDB with data. The App Inventor team recently released an update to App Inventor that includes functionality to allow access to the Google Fusion Tables. Google Fusion Tables is an online database solution that allows simple SQL like commands to be sent via HTTP to stored data. There is a nice back-end management solution that allows a user to pre-build and pre-populate data into created tables.All of the data lives in Google's "cloud" service. The back-end management system will be very familiar to users of Google Docs or other Google cloud products. The algorithm for getting tabular data into an App Inventor app using Fusion Tables will follow these steps: 1. Create the desired Fusion Table and populate the table with data using the Web backend. 2. The app will be "initialized" by pulling the data from a Fusion Table.3. The app will store the returned Lists in a local TinyDBThe advantage of Fusion Tables is the ability to easily pre-populate the online data by hand entering or importing a spreadsheet of values. This will allow the developer to maintain the data that all the deployed apps consume. Thereby, fresh content and data could be added to applications by changing the data in the Fusion Table. The disadvantage of Fusion Tables is the data retrieval method. When the data is pulled from the Fusion Table the application stops while displaying a notification that it is pulling data from a Fusion Table. Which appears a little bit hokey on a professional level application. It is also linear and fairly slow. In otherwords you will not likely be repeatedly and frequently pulling data from a Fusion table in the same App session. Instead, an application would likely pull data once when the application starts and then only when specifically refreshed. The options and power that are given to developers with the new Fusion Table has yet to be fully explored and I look forward to some exciting uses of Fusion Tables. (Hint: Someone should use this for a text based MMORPG ... the possibilities are endless. ) The newest version of App Inventor released by the incredible rock stars on the Google App Inventor developer team includes the long awaited Holy Grail. I am, of course, talking about the "WebComponent". Now the web component as it currently exists is a little bit limited and not easy to implement. However, it is REALLY powerful even in its current iteration. It has the power to send HTTP formatted requests to existing web services and web sites and then store and manipulate the returned data.It combines the speed of the TinyWebDB service requests and the flexibility of using existing data like with the Fusion Tables.The web component brings the ability to use HTTP POST and GET commands which are the foundation of most simple web services.The algorithm for using the WebComponent would (or at least could) follow these steps: 1. Establish (or use existing) web service that will respond to GET/POST. 2. Use the WebComponent to send a GET request to the service. 3. Use the Text parsing blocks to parse out the tabular data sent by the web service. The advantage of using GET/POST commands is the speed with which they can be used inline with programmatic functions in an application. Another advantage is the flexibility of using existing data and or maintaining external data in a database behind your webservice.The WebComponent opens up App Inventor to REAL web service and interactive internet services development. I am excited about the direction the App Inventor team is taking this awesome product and look forward to an even more mature Rapid Application Development framework.

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Uno Mobile Italian Prepaid SIM Card Review

Uno Mobile Italian Prepaid SIM Card
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Uno Mobile Italian Prepaid SIM Card ReviewA) Make sure you set up your account, prior to heading to Italy, including setting up billing with your credit card. You will be hard pressed to find anywhere to purchase pre-paid cards to refill your account, while in Italy. We could not find any. Anywhere. And remember, although this network uses Vodaphone, you cannot refill minutes on this SIM card from Vodaphone, who happens to be almost anywhere in Italy.
B) The card worked as described, and we had signal from Venice to Florence to Cinque Terre to Sienna to Sorrento to Amalfi to Rome.
C) Write down the options to change your voice menu's to English, the default language is obviously Italian.
It it a great way to go, if you set up your account with your credit card, prior to departure. When you get to Italy, you just have to turn it on, and set the voice menu to English.Uno Mobile Italian Prepaid SIM Card OverviewAn ideal alternative to expensive roaming options, this Uno Mobile Italian SIM Card includes €10 of call credit, voicemail and text messaging (approximately $14) and is compatible for use in any unlocked GSM tri- or quad-band mobile phone. It provides you with a local Italian cell phone number and rate plan. The SIM card allows you to make and receive calls both internationally and domestically within Italy.
It features unlimited free incoming calls from anywhere and competitive outgoing call rates--$0.22 USD per minute within Italy, and just $0.44 USD per minute internationally. There are no connection fees or hidden charges, and since this is a pay as you go service there are no bills or contracts ever.
Service Features
Italian cell phone number with service through Uno Mobile; you will receive your number with your SIM card.
€10 of initial credit comes on the SIM card (approximately 1 hour of local calling within Italy or 30 minutes international dialing)
Unlimited free incoming calls and SMS messages
Calls in Italy $0.22 per minute
Calls back to the U.S. and Canada only $0.44 per minute
Text messaging: free incoming; outgoing charged at $0.16 (domestic) / $0.44 (international)
Voicemail: Free unlimited calls to check your messages
Your Uno Mobile SIM card has been pre registered and is active and ready to go. No passport registration required.
Easily add talk time sold locally at many points of sale in Italy, including gas stations, newspaper stands and cafes.

Service Info
Activation Snap out the SIM chip from the SIM card and insert the chip into your GSM Phone with the metal portion facing down as to make contact with the contact prongs. Once in Italy your phone will automatically select a network and you may make or receive calls.
How to Add Credit to your Prepaid Account You may add talk time, while in Italy, simply by entering the 10-digit code on to your handset as per our instructions. As a convenience to our customers, all menus are in English.
Dial *5002#rechargecode# then send. Example *5002#1234567890# (send).
Alternatively, you can try this:
Dial 401002.
Following prompts enter your 10-digit recharge code.\


Purchasing More Talk TimeWhile in Italy, you can find vouchers in Carrefour, GB stores, Lottomatica (bars and cafes) and in the Sisal shops. For specific locations, please visit: http://www.lottomatica.it/servizi/ricariche/telefonia_mobile.html.
Calling Rates The rates are expressed in US dollars and are based on per-minute charges. Remember, all incoming calls are free regardless of origin.
Calls to any cell phone or Italian landline €0.18 per minute (approximately $0.22)
International calls (US, Canada, Europe, etc.) €0.35 per minute (approximately $0.44)
Cellular Coverage in Italy Cellular service in Italy is exceptional. Here's a list of only a few of the major cities and regions that our service covers: Rome, Bologna, Catania, Florence, Genova, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Pisa, Trieste, Turin, Venice, Verona and Sicily.
Service Life Your Italian SIM card is good for one year. Each recharge extends the life of your SIM card for one year from the date of the recharge. If one year lapses then your SIM card and phone number will expire.

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