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The next meeting of the Boston/New England Windows Phone User and Developer Groups will occur on Wednesday, April 21st starting at 6:30pmat the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor).

There are lots of exciting things going on around Microsoft and phones, and this month’s agenda reflects it! -

Introducing Your Next of KIN: Microsoft’s New Feature Phone Platform
If you haven’t already heard, Microsoft has announced a new feature phone platform in KIN. In this presentation, we will discuss what KIN is (and isn’t) and talk about the first two KIN devices announced – the KIN 1 and KIN 2.

Introduction to Windows Phone 7 Development
The Windows Phone 7 platform introduces an exciting new platform for smartphones – not only for users, but developers as well. In this presentation/demonstration, you will learn about the basics of Windows Phone 7 application development using Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight and Expression Blend.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

I thought I would pass along a “good news/bad news” experience I recently had with regards to Windows Mobile 6.5, the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 and ActiveSync. Hopefully, it might serve to help someone in avoiding some coding and testing frustration.

I have been working on a project that requires responding to new incoming messages on Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. Fortunately, the State and Notification Broker API (“SNAPI”) made this simple enough. Now, my C# code needed to play a sound if certain conditions were met. Simple enough – the System.Media.SoundPlayer class in the .NET CF 3.5 would do the trick. Once the code was written, it was time to test.

The first test went according to plan. Use an emulator, deploy in debugging mode, set a breakpoint to ensure that I was hitting the correct branches in application logic and run with it. Sure enough, everything performed as expected. The next test was essentially the same, with the exception being connecting an actual Windows Mobile 6.5 device for testing. Again, there were no problems.

For the next test, I decided to remove the breakpoint in Visual Studio. I run the code and… no sound. My intellectual response - “WTF?!?!?” ;-)

I’ll keep the story brief here, omitting all the second-guessing and testing that went on up until my finally figuring out the root cause of the problem. The issue, as it turns out, is that -

• SNAPI and the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 work very well. By “well”, I mean “fast”, especially when running on the latest hardware with Windows Mobile 6.5.
• ActiveSync runs… well… about as fast as it always has on Windows Mobile, despite OS and hardware improvements.

Keeping in mind that ActiveSync and my application run on different threads, here is what I was able to determine:

• ActiveSync begins a synchronization operation. As part of this sync, a new email arrives. Based upon device settings, ActiveSync prepares to play a sound and grabs resources.
• At around the same time, my application receives the notification from the broker about a change in the unread email count changing. My logic has to do quite a bit of processing, but still managed to get to the point of playing a sound while ActiveSync still had a hold on resources. Result – my sound wouldn’t play.

“Fine”, I thought, “This is strictly a timing issue.” When I was in debugging mode, the stepping through the code and the latency associated with running in debug mode gave enough time for ActiveSync to complete. As a result, I decided to add code to pause my code to give time for ActiveSync to release resources. Here is where the real surprise came into play.

I spent quite a bit of time tinkering with the amount of time my application had to sleep in order to be able to play my sound. It took upwards of ten seconds for ActiveSync to release the resource I needed. When you consider the fact that ActiveSync had a “head start” on my code (AS was the cause of the SNAPI event firing, mind you), the amount of time from start to finish for AS was, well, A LOT. Ten seconds?!? Needless to say, I was very surprised and disappointed. This wouldn’t have surprised me a few years back, when slower hardware and slower network speeds could be the culprits. But today? With faster hardware and networks?

I guess the moral of this story is… If you are coding for Windows Mobile with a dependency on ActiveSync, NEVER assume performance. Code for the worst case and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

It’s time once again for our monthly Boston/New England Windows Mobile User/Developer Group meeting! This month, our meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 18th starting at 6:30PM at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th floor).

This month’s topic -

It’s Off To The Market (place)
Coinciding with the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft has also launched the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. This “one-stop shop” for Windows Phones allows you to browse, purchase and download applications for your device – right from your device!

In this presentation, we will look at the Windows Marketplace for Mobile from both the end-user and developer perspective. We will talk about how to get started, what to consider and what the Windows Marketplace brings to the table.

In case you haven’t heard, the first of the WinMoDevCamps is occurring tomorrow (8/19/2009) in Seattle. Just what is WinMoDevCamp, you ask?. Well, here is the answer, direct from the WinMoDevCamp web site -

“WinMoDevCamp is a series of upcoming not-for-profit gatherings to develop applications for the upcoming release of the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 O/S. The event is currently being planned in 7 cities around the world. Our first Windows Mobile Developer Camp event has been scheduled for August 19 in Redmond, Washington at the Microsoft Campus. You can register now on the form below. Dates will soon be announced for the following additional cities: Austin, London, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Toronto. We will also encourage other mobile developers to host their own events on the same dates. This website will have facilities for local events to organize as well.”

The last sentence in this paragraph is the reason for this post. While a New York City event is planned, there is nothing set for Boston. This begs to ask the question -

If a WinMoDevCamp event was planned for the Boston area, would you attend?

If there is the interest in this event, we here at BostonPocketPC.com are willing to try and make it happen. However, no one likes having a party where no one shows up ;-) The best way to express your interest – send an email to winmodevcamp at bostonpocketpc dot com. Please don’t delay – the sooner we can gauge interest, the faster we can get the ball rolling!

It’s that time again! The next meeting of the Boston/New England Windows Mobile User and Developer Group will be held on Wednesday, August 19th starting at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor).

Our next meeting will be of interest to anyone who currently is or is looking to develop applications for mobile devices…

“State of the Union: Mobile Application Development”

If you are a mobile device application developer, there has never been a more opportunistic time to leverage your skills. With several established device platforms out there and more gaining traction daily, the decisions as to where to place your development efforts have never been more challenging. 

In this presentation, you will receive an overview of all of the current opportunities for mobile device development. You will learn about the market opportunities (both consumer and enterprise), the technologies needed for success and strategies for leveraging your knowledge to maximize your productivity and skillset.

As always, we will have lots of giveaways for our drawings at the end of the meeting. All you need to do is… be there!

Sorry for the late notice, all. Sumer is supposed to be the traditional “slow time”, but a number of scheduling conflicts have led to need to cancel this month’s Boston/New England Windows Mobile User and Developer Group meeting. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will be picking up with next month’s meeting on August 19th. Stay tuned for more information…

I really enjoyed delivering my presentation on “Windows Mobile Widgets 101” this past Wednesday at the Boston/New England Windows Mobile User/Developer Group. The goal was to show just how simple it was to get started with widget development. With the Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Toolkit now available for download, now is as good a time as ever to get ahead of the game.

I have put my presentation deck (as PDF) and samples together into a single ZIP file for download over at BostonPocketPC.com. Enjoy!

Sorry for the late notice, all. I honestly thought that we were not meeting until NEXT week. Way too hectic a month thus far… ;-)

Our next Windows Mobile User/Developer Group meeting will be TOMORROW (June 17th) starting at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor).

Among our topics this month -

“Windows Mobile 6.5 Overview” – With the release of the Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Toolkit, developers and users are getting their first good looks at the latest Windows Mobile OS offering. In this presentation, you will see some of the highlights for both Professional and Standard Edition devices.

“Introduction To Widgets” – With the upcoming release of Windows Mobile 6.5 comes the unveiling of a new application type for Windows Mobile – the widget. In this presentation, you will receive an “Anatomy of a Widget”, how you can create them, what they can do and how you can deploy them to the masses.

As always, there will be lots of items for giveaway!

This is a little “off-topic” for me since it involves an iPhone application, but the moral of the story is relevant to us all…

An old friend of mine recently has proven to me once again that anyone can have a great idea *and* bring it to fruition with the right effort and desire. My friend, Brent Pope, had an idea for a mobile phone application. He’s not a software developer, but believed the idea was worth trying to bring to market. You can read all about this in an article at the Orlando Sentinel web site. The result of his efforts – Wait Times, an application now available at the iPhones App Store.

Outside of huge kudos to Brent for the accomplishment, his story reminds me of something I have talked about for years when it comes to technology in general, and mobile technology in particular.

There are still a world of possibilities when it comes to new ideas for technology. Anyone can be the originator of these ideas as well; it doesn’t have to a hardware or software engineer. The ideas don’t have to come from people who live and breathe the technology world. Often times, the best ideas come from those who have no connection to the target of their idea. Everyday people can come up with the best innovations.

I often hear people with ideas for mobile technology say things like “well, I’m not a programmer”, “I can’t make this hardware” or “I don’t know where to begin”. Brent’s story is example of what I normally reply in response to these statements - He took the step to find out more. What can you do? Well,…

• Ask friends, family and associates for opinions. Bounce the idea off of them to gauge the value in your idea. Just remember to focus on the value of the idea and NOT personal opinions on whether you should be doing this. In other words – don’t let them bring you down.
• Ask friends, family and associates for possible contacts. If what you are thinking of is software-related, it is hard nowadays not to find someone within the ‘Six Degrees of Separation” who could be of assistance.
• Let the Internet be your “research friend”. It is too easy today to use the Internet to find out whether your idea can have value. Whether it is researching the uniqueness of your idea, checking online forums to gauge desire/interest, or to look for the resources that could help to bring your idea to reality, the Internet is always the best way to start the journey.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that Brent could have been like many other people who have an idea. He could have simply said “Nah – I’m sure somebody else is doing that”, or “I’m not a developer – why bother?” He didn’t, though. The result is a great application to meet a unique need. As a developer, the ultimate compliment I could pass along is “Dang – I wish I had thought of it first.” ;-)

Line of Business (“LoB”) developers for mobile devices typically face challenges in understanding the trade-offs and best practices for developing robust applications for resource-constrained devices. In an attempt to address these issues, Resco has announced Resco Business Prototypes, a new product line focused around common Line of Business solutions.

Bratislava, Slovakia — March 17, 2009 — Resco, a supplier of advanced developer components and tools for mobile devices, announces today new product line, which is optimized for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 3.5.

The most important features of current situation in the mobile software market are basically the overall grow of mobility, its utilization in business solutions and lack of experience in development of mobile solutions.

The most significant grow of demand in particular is in the field of business solutions with mobile upgrade. Mobility is very flexible tool that expands in a wide spectrum of business industries. Despite the fact that current mobile devices dispose of high performance hardware thus are able to run hardware demanding applications, the environment of mobile devices is much different from desktops. Desktop developers switching to mobile environment encounter many problems mostly due to the mobile limitations. Moreover, business solutions providers usually have neither the experience, nor the know-how of mobile environment.

Based on these reasons Resco decides to present new product line of business prototype solutions. The goal of these solutions is to help developers cope with the difficulties of mobile environment.

In the upcoming 6 months time perspective Resco will launch three business prototypes with source codes.

“Resco is very excited to have such opportunity to present brand new product line assigned for business solutions,” said Ivan Stano, Marketing and Sales, Resco Developer Tools. "I believe that the prototypes will serve as valuable help for all developers who care about perfect functionality and attractive graphics.”

The first prototype is focused on SFA solutions. It is especially assigned for sales people working in the field. Second prototype is targeted to retail — shopping sector and the third one to assets inventory management. The release of the first prototype is scheduled for April 2009.

More details are sure to come, but I do like the idea of providing solutions with source code, allowing for organizations to “jump-start” application development with guidance from a proven developer of Windows Mobile applications and tools. Resco has a long history of developing highly successful applications for Windows Mobile devices, and their developer tools are equally successful.