Articles by Jim Liddle

Develop an iPhone App and Beat the Credit Crunch!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EDT

From the press some of the initial iPhone apps have been getting, it seems that there are going to be quite a few Apple iPhone App Store millionaires this year! So why not write your own and join the crowd? Don't know Objective C or XCode - then get learning! A nice resource is theiphonedevplace, which has many tutorial links now that Apple rescinded their NDA. So what you waiting for? Get going - beat the credit crunch!

Is the IPhone 3G All It Is Cranked Up to Be?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

So I finally got my hands on an iPhone 3G but am currently still favoring my iPhone 2.5G – why? The signal seems better; 3G signal is patchy at best and forget receiving calls when you have 3G on – horrible…; the battery life is **much** better on the original iPhone than on the 3G iPhone; all my accessories such as Power Monkey fit the original iPhone but not the new 3G iPhone as Apple in their wisdom changed the connector.

How to Record Calls on Your Windows Smartphone

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:45:00 EDT

One of the last things that I keep my Palm 650 for is it's ability to record calls, which is very handy when you are having a conference call and need to review your call later or take notes -of course always ensure you ask the people you are speaking to whether they are OK with this! To date I've never found a product that could do this easily and efficiently on Windows Mobile.

Thinlet and J2ME

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:30:00 EDT

A quick refresh on Thinlet. Thinlet is a XUL styled UI development tool in which the UI can be designed using XML and the business logic is kept cleanly separate. From a Java class perspective, the version of Thinlet I used was MIDP 1.0 compliant and was pretty easy to work with, with most of the effort going into the business logic translation and some effort around the XML logic hooks.

EuroTariff Warning for Wireless Web Users

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 17:45:00 EDT

Last month an EU ruling limited how much providers can charge for 'roaming calls' i.e. those call made whilst abroad. At the moment users are charged between 50p to £1.50 to make calls and are also charged to receive them. The new legislation cuts the maximum charge for European calls to 33p a minute and to just 16p per minute to receive calls.

Mobile Web Finally Catches Up in Europe

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EDT

Flat-data rate tariffs introduced by Orange, Vodafone and 3 networks in the UK are the first sign that the Mobile Web is set to become as ubiquitous as normal web use with the these flat tariffs bringing affordable mobile web access to nearly everyone who has a mobile web enabled phone. These tariffs critically remove the single impasse that has prevented even wider spread adoption - 'fair us' browsing within a single payment. Astonomical costs have previously put off users from going online from their mobile device - no wonder given the, often, several pounds per megabyte charge that most providers locked you into if you wanted to surf or access email from your phone.

Changing Nature of Web 2.0

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:30:00 EDT

In the past if you cannot access the Internet then you cannot use your Web 2.0 applications. This model is rapidly changing. New pogramming models are emerging that alllow Web 2.0 to be offline /online dependent on what is needed. The first of these is Adobe Apollo, which is a cross-platfrom technology that combined Flash, HTML, PDF and JavaScript into one universal application programming model / paradigm. What is unique is that id doesn't care if if it runs on its own or embedded in a webpage, the API calls remains the same.

Yahoo! Hack Day Here in London

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:45:00 EDT

This coming Saturday (16th June) will be Yahoo! Hack Day here in London, and a few members of my buddy's company (the Nestoria team) will be on hand. But rather than just attending, they though it might be a bit of fun if they tried to subvert the event and turn it into their own hack contest. As such, they are delighted to present 'The quasi-official Nestoria Hack contest' to be held at Yahoo! Hack Day.

The PC Web Still Rules...But the Mobile Web Is Catching Up

Tue, 15 May 2007 17:15:00 EDT

Search Brands Still Offer Stronger Reach on PCs According to inaugural results from the MobileWeb Metrix service, The Weather Channel, Yahoo! Weather and AccuWeather achieved mobile reach that outpaced their PC reach. All three sites had mobile-to-PC reach index scores above 120, pointing to significantly stronger reach among mobile Web users than among PC Web users (see Table 1). With an index of 190, ESPN also has stronger reach among mobile Web users.

How to Stream Wireless Audio From Your Palm / Treo?

Sun, 13 May 2007 20:15:00 EDT

Once you have done this, run the Audio Gateway software from the Application Menu - when prompted to setup the wireless headphones, hit continue and it should list your headphones that you paired over bluetooth. The Output Bitrate setting improves the quality of sound you receive on your wireless headphones and you should experiment until you are happy.

Move Over Skype, Hello Jajah!

Sun, 13 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT

Now everyone knows about VOIP, and everyone knows about Skype. Skype is pretty useful if you are doing Skype to Skype calls or even Skype to phone calls from your desk. Currently however mobile Skype just does not cut it... It doesn't work over GPRS, barely over 3G (if you can get a consistent decent signal) and Wi Fi hot spots are not always easy to find and still tend to be not free and quite expensive.

Google Maps on the Good Old Palm OS

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:15:00 EST

You know, despite all the modern Smartphones, and my new Treo 750v, I still always have a hankering to go back to my Palm Treo 650. The ease of use is still just fantastic compared to just about anything I've ever used...the apps are great, really functional. Yes, it has its problems, its not WiFi, the camera is..well its dodgy as we know

Taking The Mobile Web on Vacation

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:00:00 EST

Really excellent article here by Gary Price about services that can be of use when you are travelling with a mobile - I've reproduced a tiny portion of this below, but this is a class article and I would urge you to check it out. Many airlines also offer tracking information on the mobile web. Some even offer notification services to alert you, family, friends, whomever, to delays, cancellations and other information.

Now That the Mobile Internet Is Widely Available, Do Users Want It?

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 10:45:00 EST

The survey, commissioned by web service provider Hostway, found that if these problems were remedied then 90% users would be far more inclined to use the Internet on the move. Other interesting information were that 71% said they would access email on the move, if it was fast and cheap. Also, almost half said they would use the mobile to catch up on news and sports.

AJAX Property Site Update

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:00:00 EST

You may remember that I covered the start-up Nestoria earlier in this blog, even thought it is a little off-topic. I've been in touch with my friend Ed Freyfogle who co-founded this today and he has updated me as to the status.

Tried Google's SMS?

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:45:00 EDT

Your probably aware of all of the million of services that Google now offer, but have you tried, or are you even are of Google SMS? To use this free service create a new text message from your mobile phone and key in 46645 in the 'To' field with your question in the message field - such as 'Richmond Cinema' and you will recieve list of Cinema's in Richmond, or 'The Break Up Richmond' and you'll get as a reply all the cinemas playing 'The Break-Up' in Richmond - the world is your Oyster i.e. 'Pizza San Francisco', 'Wi Fi Oakland'. You can also convert you currency and even get directions to a destination from your current cell position - all clever stuff.

Beta AJAX UK Property Site

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 09:00:00 EDT

A lttle of topic, but a friend of mine has put out this AJAX-enabled property site for the UK. It's a really nice take on a property search site and really shows the power of aggregation using AJAX - very nice. Check it out yourself and view the blog for further information.

Will Palm Release Treo 700p In UK?

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 09:15:00 EDT

For a while now I've been alternating between two phones - the excellent K750i, and the Treo 650. From a Smartphone viewpoint the TREO 650 is the 'almost device' - its 'almost' the best smartphone I have ever used. The palm software is great, and innovative. The flat form factor of the phone makes it easy to use and carry, and it goes inside a business breast pocket easy enough.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: Is the "Mobile Web" Already With Us ?

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 11:45:00 EDT

It could be argued the mobile web is right here right now due to the powerful smart mobile devices that we are now using. These re-render existing sites, and the power of 3G makes mobile browsing not only fun, but practical.

Google Talk and Google Local Available to BlackBerry Users

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:00:00 EST

BlackBerry Owners can now use both 'Google Talk' and 'Google Local' for their BlackBerry device. Google Talk for the BlackBerry is a version of the Instant Messaging application for the BlackBerry and it enables users to send / receive instant text messages with other Google Talk community members. The use of Google Talk requires a Gmail account.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: Are These Black Days for BlackBerry?

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 09:30:00 EST

Canadian firm Research in Motion, maker of the popular handheld phone device that is BlackBerry, has been rocked by a 4 year old lawsuit that has resurfaced. It is potentially so grave that industry watchers are openly questioning the firms survival propsects. Gartner, for example, has warned its customers to avoid deploying or investing in BlackBerry until the case is settled.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: "Windows Messenger Targets Skype"

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 14:15:00 EST

Windows Live Messenger, the successor to MSN Messenger, allows ussers to make a phone call from virtualy any PC to virtually any phone in the world, targetting SKype's position as in the Internet's big bear in VOIP services. The phone function (result of a partnership between Microsoft and communications firm MCI) will be known as MCI web Calling for Windows Live Call and will allows subscribe to make pc to telephone calls at competitive rates.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: "GMAIL Mobile"

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 14:00:00 EST

Access your GMail messages from your mobile at http://m.gmail.com. The Series 60 application lets you use most of your existing Yahoo account features, such as email (which supports push), instant messaging, and uploading photos. This really is amazing software and I would recommend you download it if you have a series 60 phone. Get it here.

Ebay Launches Mobile Site

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:15:00 EST

Ebay has become on of the largest brands to launch a direct consumer mobile strategy in launching its mobile site. Simply text 'EBAY MOBILE' to 87222. The SMS text message we send you will cost £0.10 (Vodafone users are charged £0.12). When you receive the SMS, just select the URL in the message and it will open in your phone's browser.

AJAX For Mobile Devices

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:15:00 EST

Great overview of Ajax for mobile devices from Ajit Jaoka here - would urge you to read it!

Google Local For Mobile Using Ajax For Midlet!

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:15:00 EST

It is amazing what is in 38K of Midlet, and it is good to see Google pushing the envelope on mobile like this. As per my comments previously on this page, there already exists MGMaps which provides a J2ME interface to Google Maps but it is not as slick as this. Check this out from Google here.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: MIDP on Dangers Hiptop Phone

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 10:00:00 EST

According to Danger, MIDP support for the hiptop is supposed to be out 'Real Soon Now' but a specific date has not been published yet. MIDP support will get sent out to all current subscribers as an Over the air update.

London Streetmap Midlet and Flashlite Supported Phones

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 17:30:00 EST

Nice to see some of the more useful application content being made available for J2ME - one of the things I missed on the K750i was a Streetmap for when I managed to get lost (again) in London !! You can get the Jar from here and the Jad from here. Interesting take on which phones are supported for Flashlite - check out this Flickr page which has a picture of Flashlite running on the supported phones - currently 83 in total! Users are encouraged to post pictures of phones that support flashlite that are not currently listed.

Jim Liddle's Symbian Blog: Opera Releases New Wireless Development Platform

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 13:30:00 EST

Opera purports to enable true web applications to be developed that have access to the phone's functionality through the Opera Platform DOM interface (provided by the Application Player) and can communicate with servers using XMLHttpRequest. The Opera Platform SDK is currently available for Symbian OS phones with S60, and is free. See here for more details.

Yet Another Java/J2ME Google Maps Midlet!

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 16:45:00 EST

These seem to be coming out quicker that I can blog them! This one is called J2MEMap and you can get the JAR from here, and the jar from here.

Personal Java Development with WebSphere Studio Application Developer

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 00:00:00 EDT

This article is intended to help you understand what support the Sony-Ericsson P800/P900 has for Java and to show you how to install the necessary Symbian software required for developing Java solutions for these platforms. It will discuss how WebSphere Studio Application Developer can be used to develop the Java code, how this code can then be packaged using the Symbian development kit utilities, and how to deploy it to the Symbian P800/P900 emulator.

Understanding Straight-Through Processing - A technical overview

Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:00:00 EST

Straight-Through Processing (STP) is a term associated with workflow and business process management technologies. STP is the automation of a process flow, from invocation to execution.

Process-Driven Architectures for WebSphere Application Server

Wed, 08 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

As the industry moves toward a new, process-based application model, it is important to understand the terms and standards involved. There have been many definitions of business process management (BPM) bandied about, but the one that is the easiest to understand and that most accurately reflects BPM is the following: Business Process Management is the representation and enactment of business interactions that involve multiple steps, possibly over time, that can occur in parallel across multiple systems or people.