BlackBerry Adventures

by Johan on February 2, 2010

I have worked with almost every mobile device and mobile operating system on the market with one notable exception: the RIM BlackBerry. Thanks to a recent project however I got the opportunity to purchase a BlackBerry Bold phone to evaluate a BlackBerry application, and this is how it went.

Read on for the full story.

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TouchScreen Stress Test

by Johan on January 10, 2010

MOTO Development Labs just presented an interesting hands-on comparison of the touch screen performance of the iPhone, the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Eris and the Google Nexus One.

If you are an Android developer you should definitely check this up, because if you have previously developed iPhone applications you are in for a bit of surprise on just how bad the touch screen performance is on most Android devices, especially when using light pressure. What this means in practice is that the hardware puts some serious limitations on what types of applications you can develop for the Android (think advanced paint programs) and how you should develop your game interaction techniques.

“People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
Alan Kay, Creative Think seminar, 20 July 1982

I think Google is going in the right direction with the Nexus One where they are getting involved in the actual hardware manufacturing process. When it comes to touch screen precision things can only improve.

diytouchscreenanalysis3(via MOTO Development)

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Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Demonstrated by Microsoft

by Johan on January 9, 2010

Finally, Microsoft has taken the wraps off Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

Some new things that can be seen in the screenshots:

  • Smaller title bar at the top (with a pop-up notification area)
  • Soft key area at bottom increased in size and soft keys now replaced with buttons
  • Tabs are removed and replaced with a new title bar
  • Drop down menus are skinned and increased in size
  • Radio buttons and check boxes are skinned and increased in size
  • Input fields are increased in size
  • On-screen keyboard has been improved

microsoft-wm653-hands-on-ces-02

For developers, this means that quite many changes have to be done to current applications to make them look good in Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Developers also need to add support for the new soft key area at the bottom.

microsoft-wm653-hands-on-ces-10

Personally I am now more confused than ever by Microsoft’s mobile strategy. Sneaking out a preview of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 like this without even a mention in the CES keynote a few days ago, and no formal press release to go with the information they have just shown makes it look messy. It will be interesting to see what they will show off at Mobile World Congress next month – it will hopefully not be just 6.5.3 since it has now already been shown in public.

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Mac Apps

by Johan on January 2, 2010

Here are some Mac applications I recently discovered that has made my daily computing life just slightly better.

  • DashNote
    Gives you an Apple Dashboard widget for accessing your iPhone Simplenote text notes. If you don’t already have Simplenote on your iPhone you might as well give it a good look too.
  • Glims
    What I need in Safari is an “Always Open New Windows as Tabs” feature, and Glims does this and tons more. I previously used Saft to customize Safari but I really like all the options given by Glims. If you use Safari then give it a try, and I am almost sure you will enjoy it.
  • Jungle Disk
    After being disappointed by both Time Capsule and DropBox as Mac backup solutions I have started searching for alternatives. Time Capsule does not backup individual files within FileVault accounts, and if you don’t use FileVault (e.g. if you use PGP Whole Disk Encryption) then all backups on the Time Capsule are stored unencrypted – meaning if someone steals the Time Capsule they will get all your files. DropBox cannot be used at all within FileVault accounts or encrypted volumes, and DropBox also uses server-side encryption to save storage space which I don’t like very much. Now I have finally found Jungle Disk which does 256-bit client-side encryption of all files before sending them to the server, and also does hourly backups of all content (even content within FileVault accounts). I have tried it for a few days now and it works great – highly recommended if you need a reliable and encrypted off-site backup solution.

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Pixelmetrist – Stuck Pixel Be Gone

by Johan on December 29, 2009

Last week I got a red, stuck pixel in the bottom left corner on the screen on my iPhone 3GS. My first thought was that I have to send it in for repairs, but then I remembered that stuck pixels can be fixed by rapidly switching on and off the RGB components of the LCD screen.

I searched around on the iPhone App Store and discovered the application Pixelmetrist for $1. Using the program was very straightforward:

  1. Using pre-defined solid color screens, you can detect both stuck and black pixels on the screen. You change between the solid color combinations by sliding left and right.
  2. Once you have found where the error is located on the screen, you tap the area on the screen and the figure below is shown (the fingermark shows where you tapped).
  3. You then choose for how long the screen should be “massaged” after which the application will rapidly display different color combinations in the selected area.

IMG_0324

I selected the area where my red stuck pixel existed and set it to work for six hours. When I woke up in the morning the red stuck pixel was gone, and the screen was as good as new!

Highly recommended!

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