Flash & Flash Lite Developer
Forum Nokia published a series of Flash Lite tutorials with source codes: Music, LBS, RSS, Social Networking, Photostream, Event and Video.
"These tutorials provide working code for key aspects of Flash Lite integration with the latest S60 devices from Nokia. Each tutorial includes the Flash project, skinned swf files that can be run on an S60 5th Edition device and a tutorial guide document. Several of the tutorials illustrate the packaging of Flash Lite content into a WRT widget."
I improved my eariler example which loads contact informations from users device - displays informations to scrollable list and shows contacts location in Google Maps (static image). In this new version a new Device Object is used to keep Flash Lite application in portrait mode all the time. Another great feature is to detect users device location with APIBridge. In this version of Contacts Demo both user location and contact's address location is shown at static Google Maps Image (user can adjust zoom level).
This Flash Lite example code article is published in Forum Nokia Wiki. You can found more informations and source codes there:
- Display contact informations and locations in google Maps with Flash Lite 3.1
Edit: This tutorial got Featured Article of the Week status in Forum Nokia Wiki at Week 14 - April 4th, 2010.
In this my second Forum Nokia Wiki code example article I explain how to create a image gallery with Flash Lite and APIBridge. Technically first all the images data are loaded from device using the Media Management Service, then user can browse images just pressing next or prev buttons on the screen. Device object is used to keep Flash Lite application in landscape mode all the time.
APIBridge and Platform Services API provides great plug-ins for Flash Lite Developers, if you are not familiar with those, you should give some time to them.
Finally I got time to write my first article in to forum nokia wiki. APIBridge has been there for a while for Flash Lite and JavaScript developers. In my first article I will demonstrate how to capture image, video or audio in Flash Lite 3.0 based devices and how to send those files to server side. This can be done with Flash Lite and ActionScript 2.0 in a few lines of code. You can find FLA and PHP source codes at the bottom of article page in forum nokia wiki.
Here is a direct link to wiki page.
Edit: This tutorial got Featured Article of the Week status in Forum Nokia Wiki at Week 11- March 14th, 2010.
TeamTool is a concept application for promoting collaboration and handling communication between team members. Apart from bringing an unique all-in-one tool for team communication, TeamTool bridges the team members' social location with their physical location using mobile GPS capabilities.
TeamTool - Loading
Registered users can send messages to team members and add landmarks to TeamTool server. Landmarks are one of the biggest features in TeamTool. User can write text, take picture, record audio and take video (or select earlier taken materials from phone - TeamTool materials), and set all of these media to landmark with GPS information. Created landmark can be send to TeamTool server and it is available to all TeamTool members. Members and landmarks are sorted with distance data, so user can easily see which team members or stored landmarks are the nearest to users current location.
TeamTool - Menu
TeamTool is designed to run in mobile phones which has 640x360 display and Flash Lite 3.1 Player or newer installed. TeamTool is tested with Nokia 5800 xpressmusic with the latest firmware and updated Flash Lite 3.1 Player. TeamTool is my entry (with Mobiletools' and JAMK University of Applied Sciences) to Forum Nokia Calling All Innovators Competition 2009 and Adobe MAX 2009 Awards Mobile category.
See more: TeamTool.
Forum Nokia released new Flash Lite Components set a few days ago. The resource file contains four UI components (Button, List, Popup and ScrollBar), two data components (Contacts and Media), source files and lots of documentation. Installation of components is very easy, just download set from Forum Nokia, unzip it and browse "All Components.mxp" file in your computer and double click it. Adobe Extension Manager starts and installs all components to your Flash IDE. In Flash you can find components in Forum Nokia section of Components Panel and just drag and drop to your application.
I modified Nokia Forum's MyContacts demo to load Image names from my device to List Component. Image is show with MovieClip object when user clicks image name from List Component. I think these components are working really nicely and this is one good way to get organized components to the Flash Lite world!
Sources:
- PTMImagesDemo.zip (tested in 5800)
Links:
- Nokia Forum: Flash Lite Components
- Nokia Forum: Flash Lite Components Documentation
- Ready Made Components to Speed up Mobile Flash Development (win a Nokia N97)
You can now easily update your Nokia 5800 Flash Lite 3.0 player to Flash Lite 3.1 Player (Note: there are a few bugs found with the new 3.1 update) and start using new Flash Lite Device Object . The Device object is supported since Flash Lite Player 3.1 on S60 5th Edition and selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices. This Device Object is in addition to the earlier published Service object, which opens access for example to Contacts, Location and Messaging.
The new Device object has two methods:
- DisableAutoRotation - Disables automatic screen rotation on the device
- ExpediteConnection - Starts the network connection setup process for the Flash Lite application
DisableAutoRotation is just what many Flash Lite Developers wanted. Of course we can use AS code to "disable Flash Lite auto screen orientation/rotation on Nokia 5800: Kuneri" and so on but finally a good solution is available and it is really easy to use (only a few lines of code):
// use Device Object import com.nokia.lib.Device; // create a new Device Object var deviceObject:Object = new Device(); // disable auto rotation deviceObject.DisableAutoRotation(true);
Remember install the corresponding AS 2.0 class files to your Flash IDE before you create Flash Lite applications that use the Device Object.
Links:
Forum Nokia Flash Lite Developer’s Library
Forum Nokia Flash Lite Developers Library's Using Platform Services.
The Flash Lite Developer Challenge is launched with US$ 100.000 in cash prizes in five different categories: game, lifestyle, infotainment, sports and social networking.
The competition challenges three groups of developers:
If you belong to one of these groups and you are a company or an individual, a professional or a researcher, you can enter the competition in one of the five categories, get access to great tools from Adobe and stand a chance of winning one of the great cash prizes and promotional packages from our sponsors.
Deadline for entries is 31 st May, 2009.
Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 Distributable Player Solution is now public and available on Adobe labs. The distributable player solution enables developers to create rich applications for the latest version of Adobe® Flash Lite™ and directly distribute their content to millions of open OS smartphones, providing a better on-device user experience. With this solution you can be confident that your users’ devices will always have the latest Flash Lite runtime. Unfortunately this solutions works only now over the air in selected coutries: India, Italy, Spain, UK, and the U.S. (why not in Finland too) and small set of supported S60 and Windows Mobile Devices. There are also number of content providers offering paths to market your applications.
Installing Adobe Mobile Packager
Adobe Mobile Packager is Windows desktop applications tool, which can package your SWF and other materials into a SIS and CAB file. When user installs your SIS or CAB file to mobile, the Flash Lite 3.1 Distributable Player will be automatically installed if required. Now (for unsupported countries like here in Finland) we have to install FL3.1 Distributable Player manually to local phone to test own made packages.
1. Download Adobe Mobile Packager from Adobe Labs
2. Run Adobe Mobile Packager
2.1 You can use Download SDK links (in the right side of window) to get needed SDK installer files to your computer
3. Installing CAB SDK
3.1 Download the Windows Cab SDK
3.2 Unpack it into C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Mobile Packager\cabsdk
3.3 Add C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Mobile Packager\cabsdk\bin to the user PATH
4. Installing Active Perl
4.1 Download Active Perl and install it to your computer (for example c:\Perl)
4.2 Add C:\Perl\bin to the user PATH
5. Installing Symbian SDK
5.1 Download Symbian SDK 3rd Edition(262MB) and install it
Now all should be done and you can restart your Adobe Mobile Packager.
Creating a new Package:
1. Create a simple Flash Lite Application with Flash
1.1 I created a small test application which displays version number of Flash Lite Player to textfield
1.2 You can download sources and other files here: vChecker.zip
2. Fill the Adobe Mobile Packager Form with your own data
3. Create Package
Here is screenshot what I have done here:
First I tested vChecker.swf in Nokia E51 (which has Flash Lite 2.0 Player preinstalled) and it showed that the Flash Lite Player version is FL7,1,90,9 (FL 2.0 player). Then I installed manually Adobe Distributable Player from Adobe Labs to E51 and installed just created SIS-file to phone. After running my little application it showed that it uses Flash Lite Player version AFL 9,1,120,0 (Flash Lite 3.1 Distributable Player).
So it seems to work as expected, hope Finland is listed in supported coutries soon. If you are in supported countries, can you write some comment here how it works for you!
More info: Flash Lite Distributable Player tutorials on Adobe TV
Dale has released an AIR application that allows you to create NFL files for Nokia Series 40 devices. SWF2NFL application is really easy to install directly from Moket's site. Application is also really easy to use, just drop your SWF content folder and icon to application and press Build - and that is all, your NFL file is ready.
I tested it to my old Flash Lite project - qTile.
You can download qTile.nfl for Nokia Series 40 here.
