Symbian Programming tips: Nokia Calling All Innovators competition

Join the Calling All Innovators Competition

Do you have a game-changing application that redefines the way we think about mobile devices? If so, be sure to enter the Forum Nokia Calling All Innovators competition. You could win $25,000, opportunities to promote and distribute to mobile consumers worldwide, and a showcase for your application at next year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The Forum Nokia Calling All Innovators competition is open to all mobile developers worldwide; the deadline for submissions is 15 December 2008. To enter, submit your application in one of three categories:

ECO-Challenge: Make a difference with applications that reduce environmental impacts and offer sustainable choices. Eligible applications include charger reminders, mobile learning applications, navigation information, recycling tips, and more.
Emerging Markets Challenge: Imagine the possibilities for the next billion mobile users. These applications open new opportunities for developers to pioneer and monetize services in developing nations. These applications include health data access, rural agricultural solutions, and education.
Technology Showcase: Here is the place to introduce your killer app to the world. If it runs on either S60 or Series 40 devices, then you should submit it, whether it is a game, enterprise solution, Web-based widget, or just a really cool application that enhances the user experience.

Also, for local and regional Web services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the Calling All Innovators competition will offer a special track. Developers should submit applications that use regional and local Web sites and either turn them into mobile optimized Web services (.mobi) or make even more compelling interfaces for these services with Web Runtime (WRT) widgets or Flash. The creators of the most compelling services will win a chance to participate in a big Nokia event in December and the newest Nokia devices. Also, EMEA developers who submit applications before the deadline will also be eligible for the first prize in the global Calling All Innovators contest. This track, open to all EMEA developers, has an earlier deadline of 21 November 2008.

Are you a mobile innovator? Submit your application today.

New Devices Offer Multimedia, High-Tech Case

Nokia recently introduced two multimedia computers, plus a phone with sleek, high-tech packaging.

The Nokia N85 multimedia computer is the definitive entertainment package. Based on S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2, it sets new standards for entertainment, gaming, and sharing with a 2.6-inch OLED screen that permits wide-angle viewing with no motion blur, and that rotates with a flip of the wrist. Other features of the Nokia N85 device include a slide case, N-Gage™ gaming, FM radio, 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and geo-tagging capability, turn-by-turn voice navigation via integrated A-GPS and Nokia Maps, up to 8 gigabytes (GB) of user memory, e-mail, and high-speed connectivity. The Nokia N85 device will ship in October and retail for 450 euros.

The Nokia N79 multimedia computer combines a stylish, customizable design with a full set of technical features. Based on S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2, the device is housed in a sleek case with a choice of five colours; consumers can customize several features, including ring tones, branded entertainment content, and personalization applications. On the features front, the Nokia N79 device includes a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, integrated navigation with Nokia Maps and built-in A-GPS, music with FM transmitter, high-speed connectivity, an advanced Web browser, and several pre-loaded N-Gage games. Consumers can also download a Nokia N79 Friendster widget from the WidSets service. The Nokia N79 device will ship in October and retail for 350 euros.

The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte is a premium mobile device based on Series 40 5th Edition, Feature Pack 1. Building on the earlier Nokia 8800 Arte, the new device adds a case engineered from carbon fibre, titanium, polished glass, and stainless steel. Thanks to the use of these advanced materials, the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte weighs just 150 grammes. Other features include an OLED display, up to 4 GB of user memory, 3.2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, Flash Lite 2.1, and Bluetooth stereo audio. The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte will ship in the third quarter and retail for 1,100 euros.

Explore technical specs for the new Nokia devices.

Check out press releases for the new Nokia devices.

Launchpad Webinar Helps Take Your Business to the Next Level

Looking to take your mobile business to the next level? Then join either of two Webinars on 30 September and learn about the benefits of the Forum Nokia Launchpad Developer Program. Launchpad members receive a wide range of exclusive benefits — including alpha and beta SDKs, platform roadmaps, and business opportunities — that are designed to accelerate their mobile application development and elevate their visibility in the mobile community. Forum Nokia Launchpad is the ideal program for companies that develop applications and services for Nokia platforms and devices. The new Webinar will provide all the information developers need to take advantage of this valuable program.

Take your mobile business to the next level with Forum Nokia Launchpad.

Featured Tool: Near Field Communication for Series 40

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology lets mobile devices communicate with NFC tags embedded in everyday objects or act as smart cards. Forum Nokia recently introduced the Series 40 Nokia 6212 NFC SDK to help developers create, test, and debug Java™ applications with NFC features. The new SDK is based on Series 40 5th Edition, Feature Pack 1. It contains a Nokia 6212 classic phone emulator, Java APIs, NFC tags creation and inspection tools, example MIDlets, and SDK help. Used in conjunction with NetBeans Mobility 6.0 or Eclipse 3.3.1 with EclipseME 1.7.6, the SDK includes all the software that developers will need to create and test NFC applications and simulate different scenarios involving smart cards and tags (real or virtual) on a PC.

Forum Nokia offers a wide range of professional and community support for NFC development, including discussion forums, wiki articles, and pay-per-incident technical support. Forum Nokia also offers developers go-to-market opportunities for their NFC content and applications with MOSH, relationships with operators and aggregators, and Nokia sales channels. With Series 40 now the leading platform for the mass market, developers can be assured of a huge potential market for their NFC content and applications.

This SDK helps with the full development cycle for NFC applications, using the NFC manager and tag editor features, which can use actual tags, cards, connect to real card-tags, phones, etc., for final deployment testing.

Find out more about the Series 40 Nokia 6212 NFC SDK and download a copy.

Discover how Nokia supports NFC technology.

Developer Spotlight: Pelago's Whrrl for 'Social Discovery'

Wouldn't it be great to have a mobile application that provides highly personalised, Amazon-like recommendations about places to go and things to do anywhere across the United States, no matter how you connect to the Web? Pelago Inc., a mobile developer in Seattle, Washington, thought so. So it created Whrrl, a social-discovery tool for S60 devices. Whrrl combines in-depth data and personal recommendations from the user's own social circles with location-based services (LBS) that provide a large database of points-of-interest in the United States. The result is 'moments of serendipitous discovery where everyone finds just the right thing to do', says Pelago's VP of business development, Scott Hannan. Whrrl, currently in beta, is being tested by tens of thousands of registered U.S. users. Pelago is talking with major carriers, including T-Mobile, to bring the software to U.S. consumers. And, with help from Forum Nokia, Pelago hopes to bring Whrrl to select European countries in 2009. Whrrl was also demonstrated at the Nokia booth during the recent Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

Check out how Pelago Inc. brought mobile content and applications to the business market.

Champion of the Month: Alessandro Pace

Forum Nokia's Champion of the Month is Alessandro Pace, a mobile architect and leader of mobile developer communities. Alessandro is currently a Flash mobile software engineer at m-Qube, a VeriSign company in Boston. He is also a co-founder of Mobile Monday Boston, a blogger on Forum Nokia, and an active participant (screen name biskero) on the Forum Nokia Discussion Boards.

Alessandro is an active member of the Flash Lite community. He manages the Boston Adobe Mobile and Devices User Group. He is an Adobe-certified instructor and developer of Flash Lite 1.1. He contributes to both the WURFL (Wireless Universal Resource File) open-source project for Flash Lite and an open-source Java packaging for Flash Lite developers called Jarpa. And he's working on a personal Flash Lite project, Kero Mobile. Alessandro is also a wine enthusiast; if you find yourself at a conference with him, set aside some time for a tasting!

Browse Alessandro Pace's Forum Nokia Champion page.

Visit Alessandro's Forum Nokia blog or start a conversation with biskero on the Forum Nokia Discussion Boards.

Keep up with Alessandro's personal Flash Lite project, Kero Mobile, and read his personal blog at http://www.biskero.org/.

Discover the benefits of the Forum Nokia Champion program.

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