gPodder 3.1.2 for MeeGo Harmattan

Posted on May 28, 2012 by thp4

It’s another month, and (given the monthly release schedule of the app) it’s not really a surprise that a new version of gPodder has been released. This is mostly a bugfix release, but brings one very useful feature to gPodder: The ability to hide downloaded podcasts from the Music app. While this is nothing new to command-line fans who edit tracker-miner-fs.cfg by hand, there has not been an end-user friendly way to do it. Now there is: You can just flip a switch in the gPodder Settings and hide the podcasts from the Music app (which does nothing more than adding or removing the gPodder directory to tracker-miner-fs.cfg’s IgnoredDirectories list), which is especially useful in a situation where your downloaded podcast accumulate (this happens to me right now – less time to listen to podcasts) and you play your music in “Shuffle all” mode.

Other improvements include a small fix for the episode list filter button for locales where the text sometimes became longer than the button:

As you can see, in the left screenshot (gPodder 3.1.1) the “Hide deleted” text (in German: “Gelöschte verstecken”) goes over the toolbar button. To “fix” this, the toolbar button has been made wider (right screenshot, gPodder 3.1.2), which (in my opinion) also looks a bit nicer.

The rest of the improvements include some fixes to the CLI, updated and added translations, and some minor build system fixes – read the full changelog if you want the gory details

The MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan package for gPodder 3.1.2 has been uploaded to Apps For MeeGo and Nokia Store already, it should hit Apps For MeeGo Staging in a few hours (please do the QA procedure for it then, so it can land in Apps For MeeGo proper) and it should hit Nokia Store in a few days when QA has finished.

Billboard now available in Nokia Store

Posted on May 26, 2012 by thp4

At the last Hack-A-N9 meetup, I’ve been working on a test app to show the currently-playing song. This has then been extended to a fully-fledged app that is easily configurable for the user, so that non-developers could use it (after all, hacks and scripts existed before that did the same thing).

The app is called “Billboard”, and its goal is to provide useful information on the low-power-mode screen of the N9 in a way that “normal” users can use it. It also tries to be very lightweight on resources, and smart about updates so that updates are only made when needed, which saves battery power.

Billboard website: http://thp.io/2012/billboard/
Nokia Store link: http://store.ovi.com/content/279408

The currently-released version on Nokia Store is version 1.0.0, and an update (version 1.0.1) with some fixes to allow co-operation with MeeCast, fLPMC and other applications has been uploaded today and is currently waiting in the Ovi QA queue.

There’s also a support thread on TMO in case you need help or have suggestions.

Nokia Developer Champion helps South African quadriplegics with phones, training

Posted on May 23, 2012 by pkrass

Nokia Developer Champions are rightly celebrated for their developer skills. But they are also extraordinary people.

Take Simon Botes, a Nokia Developer Champion based in South Africa. Simon recently undertook an epic road trip of more than 5,000 km. He travelled to a farm outside Lyndenburg, in the South African province of Mpumalanga. There, Simon provided seven days of training on mobile phones to nearly a dozen quadriplegics living in a home run by Ama Wheelies, a non-profit organisation that helps people with spinal-cord injuries. The 32 Nokia C5-03 devices he trained them on were donated by Nokia Connects. ‘Helping these disabled people really is a life-changing feeling’, Simon says. ‘I’m glad to be able to help.’

Such was Simon’s commitment and pride at being a Nokia Developer Champion that he had his Nokia Developer Champion t-shirt couriered to the next stop on his driving route when he realised he hadn’t packed it. The next day, T-shirt in hand, Simon set off for the Ama Wheelies farm. When he finally arrived in Lyndenburg, he trained several of the residents and their caretakers to use their new Nokia C5-03 device.

Moses Mlombo is one of the Ama Wheelies residents now using a Nokia phone. Paralyzed from the neck down after being shot in the chest six years ago, Moses uses a specially adapted Nokia C5-03 phone, both to communicate with others and run a small business that recycles printer cartridges. He uses a prosthetic on his wrist to hold the phone and taps on the phone’s keys with a mouthstick. In this way, Moses says, ‘I can still have a meaningful life.’

As for Simon, after his seven-day training session at Ama Wheelies, he visited nearby Kruger National Park to document wildlife species for a new mobile app he’s working on – and to take some vacation time. ‘This was one of the most awesome outreach programs I have helped on’, Simon says. ‘A HUGE thank-you to Nokia Connects…you guys rock!’ We think Simon rocks, too.

Ama Wheelies photo of Simon Botes

Simon Botes, standing in black t-shirt, training Ama Wheelies residents Amos Nkosi (on left) and Bethuel Manyika.

Tracking Baby’s Steps: ParentAssist, a Windows Phone developer success story

Posted on May 10, 2012 by OviPublisherSuccesses

While learning the ropes of parenthood, Anthony Ramirez and his wife figured there had to be an easier way to keep track of their baby’s important activities. In an attempt to monitor and organize all of their little one’s interactions, they developed their first Windows Phone app under Coquisoft LLC.

Though there are various parenting apps on the market, ParentAssist is differentiated by its fully customizable settings. Parents can track feedings, diaper changes, sleeping patterns, reactions to different solid foods and all things baby. It allows them to keep tabs on multiple children at once, keep a daily journal and produce activity summaries and detail reports.

ParentAssist was built by a small team with very limited resources and experience with mobile apps, but they found that developing on the Windows Phone platform was intuitive. “I very much enjoy developing on the Windows Phone platform. The emulator is superfast and deploying to a device is just as easy. The API is easy to use and in general it’s a lot of fun,” said Anthony Ramirez, Owner, Coquisoft LLC.

Over the course of one year, the two-person (part-time) team spent time learning new technologies, architecting the system, designing the UX/Icons, coding, testing and preparing for deployment. Their goal was to provide users with the information they need in as few clicks as possible. Anthony’s wife, Donatella, who is not a developer by trade, took on the UX aspect as she has a natural eye for design. To create the icons and panorama image, she used Expression Design, which she found easy to learn. Anthony worked on the back-end, using the following:

•   Windows Azure for the ability to scale as needed
•   SQL Azure for robust, cloud data storage
•   Windows Access Control Service to allow users to authenticate using social media and e-mail platforms
•   Telerik Windows Phone controls to provide a professional look and feel
•   Nokia’s networking, notification and isolated storage systems

The app is available in English in nearly all countries that Windows Marketplace serves for $3.99 with an offer for a free 7-day, full feature trial. ParentAssist users are a hyper-engaged group of consumers, typically logging into the app seven to eight times per day to log activities. Customer reviews are extremely positive to-date:

The ParentAssist team is extremely optimistic about the app’s possibilities and intends to develop more Windows Phone apps, particularly for Nokia phones. “Nokia to us means cutting edge design and high quality. Associating our app and brand with Nokia is fantastic. I also love that Metro is a completely different design language/UX and allows you to provide a solution that looks and feel fresh compared to what is currently available,” said Ramirez.

To learn more about Coquisoft LLC’s ParentAssist app, checkout the video below:

Ready.Set () {Code} Challenge hits US and Canada

Posted on May 9, 2012 by davidjstone

Headphones on. Tilt the seat back. Get ready, because Nokia Developer is about to turn your town into Dev City with its Ready.Set () {Code} Challenge.

We are hitting the road to 13-cities looking for developers who want to build an experience not just another app. To kick off the Ready.Set () {Code}Challenge, Nokia Developer will hold hackathons across the US and Canada beginning in May. You can sign up individually or form your own team to build the coolest, baddest apps for the Windows Phone platform and Nokia Lumia devices.

Prizes will be awarded on site at each event for the top 3 created apps, top student created app, and most Nokia-branded developer (use your imagination). App winners will be judged on creativity, usability, technical difficulty and app presentation.

1^st place: $500 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

2^nd place: $250 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

3^rd place: $100 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

Student Winner: $150 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

Most Nokia-Branded Dev : $100 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

At Nokia, we don’t have ordinary developers, so these won’t be ordinary hacks. We have some amazing experiences in store – like our Re-Charge Room – for developers to chill out between pounding out code. So come showoff your skills and earn rewards. Space will be limited so register early.

The Challenge is on. . . .Ready.Set () {Code}

Ready.Set () {Code} Challenge Schedule:

08:30 a.m. Light breakfast and registration

09:00 a.m. Welcome and competition overview

09:30 a.m. Let the hacking begin!

12:30 p.m. Lunch

07:00 p.m. Show us your app/Dinner

08:00 p.m. Winners announced

Survey – Satisfaction with Windows Phone

Posted on May 8, 2012 by williamm

How satisfied are you with the Windows Phone Platform? Please give your input so that Microsoft can better understand your experiences with the Windows Phone developer platform and related dev programs. Your feedback will inform and prioritize the efforts to improve dev satisfaction with the platform.

Do the survey (This brief survey consists of 13 questions, and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of your time)

Significant new app partnerships underline continued momentum for Nokia Lumia

Posted on May 8, 2012 by davidjstone

Today at CTIA Wireless 2012 in New Orleans we announced multiple significant new app partnerships.

Developers and brands including Rovio, ESPN, PGA Tour, Paypal and Groupon are the latest partners in the growing Nokia Lumia ecosystem, and their arrival is another step forward in our ongoing work to bring differentiated and original app experiences to Nokia Lumia.

As part of these new partnerships, iconic games like Angry Birds Space will join core news and entertainment apps from the likes of AOL, News Week and Time Magazine on Nokia Lumia. In addition, PayPal, Groupon, Box, EA Interactive and Tripdot are committed to delivering great new experiences to the growing base of Nokia Lumia users. Many of the apps launch as Nokia Lumia exclusives.

Our SVP of Nokia Developer, Marco Argenti, said the following in the announcement.
"We are focused on delivering great, locally relevant apps, and importantly, those which offer unique, exclusive and original experiences. With Nokia Lumia smartphones now available in 48 markets, developers are rapidly recognizing the business opportunities and creating their best work for our consumers.”

There are now more than 80,000 apps now available in Windows Phone Marketplace, and a range of Lumia-only app experiences that differentiate the device from other Windows Phones. Here is what Nokia Lumia users can expect following today’s announcements.

Rovio – Angry Birds Space and other titles joining the original Angry Birds on Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone

Rovio is building a dedicated design and development team to create games for Nokia Lumia smartphones and the wider Windows Phone ecosystem, with the goal of developing and publishing all future Rovio titles as soon as possible.

Electronic Arts (EA) Interactive - bringing leading game titles to Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone

Electronic Arts (EA) Interactive will continue to deliver leading game titles to Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone consumers, including FIFA, Madden NFL, NBA Jam, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 2012, Mirror’s Edge and Yahtzee. These games join titles such as Needs for Speed™ Undercover, Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit, The Sims™ 3, Spider Jack, and MONOPOLY which are already available in Windows Phone Marketplace

Groupon – Exclusive to Nokia Lumia for six months from launch

Groupon is currently working on an extensive upgrade of its Windows Phone app for launch in September 2012. The app will include a newly developed augmented reality deal discovery function to combine map and Points-of-Interest (POI) data with what is seen via the camera’s viewfinder, enabling users to see virtual Groupon deals, in real-time, nearby. The app will be exclusive to Nokia Lumia customers for six months.

ESPN – Extended exclusivity on Nokia Lumia until May 2013

The exclusive ESPN Hub will deliver a number of key updates in coming months, including scores on Live Tiles, team-level panoramas, personalization of scores, leagues and teams, and additional sports coverage such as Tennis, NASCAR and the 2012 Olympics. Additionally, a Windows Phone version of the ESPN Fantasy Football app will launch exclusively on Nokia Lumia smartphones this coming fall.

PayPal for Windows Phone

PayPal and Nokia will work together to bring PayPal’s secure, fast and easy payments capabilities to the Windows Phone platform and Nokia Lumia smartphones, globally. PayPal will leverage the power of Windows Phone Live Tiles to create a compelling user experience that provides users with the flexibility to pay on-the-go.

AOL Entertainment Hub – exclusive to Nokia Lumia for six months

Available exclusively to Nokia Lumia users at launch, AOL is set to introduce the AOL Entertainment Hub, bringing together the best of AOL’s content to deliver an immersive and inter-connected experience on Windows Phone. Users can listen to one of 55,000 radio stations via SHOUTcast, stream free music albums with AOL’s Listening Party or view Trailers and Movie listings.

Time Magazine for Windows Phone

TIME.com announced the forthcoming availability of TIME for Windows Phone. Utilising the stunning Windows Phone UI, the app will allow users to view TIME.com content, receive breaking news alerts, watch rich media content including video and share stories via the Windows Phone People Hub, while delivering the latest news and stories to users first via Live Tiles.

News Week – The Daily Beast app for Windows Phone

Newsweek’s digital partner The Daily Beast is coming to Windows Phone. With a smart, speedy take on the news from around the world, and the depth and investigative power of Newsweek magazine, the Daily Beast app delivers the latest content through Live Tiles and combines the unique style of The Daily Beast with the Windows Phone UI. For users who only have minutes to digest the latest news, the app also delivers The Cheat Sheet – your one stop must have reads from across the world – uniquely designed for Windows Phone.

Box for Windows Phone

The new Windows Phone app from Box – the company focused on providing workers with simple, secure sharing from anywhere – will be available to Nokia Lumia consumers this summer. With support for nine languages, Box for Windows Phone will allow users across the globe to browse, search and share files from their account.

Tripdots – Exclusive to Windows Phone for three months from launch

Tripdots helps drivers optimise their driving behaviors while connecting with other vehicle owners and sharing driving efficiency achievements via social networks. The app lets users monitor the operation of their vehicles to enable cost savings through better understanding fuel economy. Everyone can participate in the MPG Leader Board game, and information is only sent to drivers after their trip is complete.

PGA Tour – Exclusive for Nokia Lumia for 12 months from launch

The PGA Tour is launching a new mobile app to provide fans with live, enhanced coverage of PGA Tour golf events on the Windows Phone platform. Developed with Nokia, the app will be available exclusively on Nokia Lumia smartphones beginning in late June 2012. The new app provides fans with live tournament scoring, highlights and player information and interactive, augmented coverage of select events and holes, showing each player’s exact position and scoring information.

Get started developing for Nokia Lumia

Nokia Lumia device specis

Windows Phone developer wiki

Windows Phone Bonanza in Malmö

Posted on May 7, 2012 by williamm

Jayway, Nokia and Microsoft hosts a great code camp in Malmö, Sweden, May 23. Whether you want to be inspired by great developers from Jayway or want to show us your great app, don’t miss this code camp! You also have the chance to win a brand new Nokia Lumia 800!

We start with a free coding session. After that we move on to a show&tell – where you can show either your app, or present an idea for an app. Best app/presentation is awarded with a Nokia Lumia 800! Nokia and Microsoft are sponsors and will also attend as a jury.

Hosts:

Dag König, Windows Phone Camp, Microsoft

Mattias Nord, Developer, Nokia

Mario Boikov, Mobile, Jayway

Håkan Reis, UX/WP7, Jayway

Andreas Hammar, .NET/WP7, Jayway

When?

Wednesday, May 23, 16.00 – 21.00

Where?

Jayway,  Hans Michelsensgatan 9,  211 20 Malmö

Do I need to bring anything?

Bring your computer, and also great if you download the WP SDK before the event.

Pico Brothers – new members of the 100-million club!

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Mikael Stendahl - Head of Partner and Developer Relations, North Europe

Last week we told you about UTV Indiagames and their great achievement of reaching 100 million downloads from Nokia Store. Now they are accompanied by our Nordic friends Pico Brothers, who just recently also joined the exclusive 100-million club.

With great apps like Youtube Downloader and Milk the Cow, the Pico Brothers surely lives up to their motto of making mobile phones more fun.

The guys behind Pico Brothers are Niklas Karlström and Kristian Engsjö (and also their dog Viggo). Pico Brothers have been developing great apps for Nokia Store for several years now, and have recently also started developing for Windows Phone, so be sure to check out their apps on Marketplace as well.

We congratulate Pico Brothers for reaching this milestone and look forward to more amazing apps that will make our devices more fun to use!

Champion of the Month: Vishal Dharankar instills Windows Phone passion in his students

Posted on May 4, 2012 by kevinSharp

Nokia Developer Champion Vishal Dharankar is an independent consultant at Xenon Softwares and developer of the free FuelPad and MyFinance apps in Nokia Store. Based in Nashik, Maharashtra, India, he teaches post-graduate computer science when he’s not busy coding apps of his own.

Last month he organized a full-day workshop to introduce students to Windows Phone development using Visual Studio and Expression Blend. While most students entering the workshop had no experience with Windows Phone work, by the end of the day 30 students competed in a 3-hour sprint to come up with the best app concepts. In an informal survey of the participants, the attendees were most impressed with the development tools and how “hassle free” it was to begin development for Windows Phone.

Nokia Developer News

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Monthly Archives: May 2012