Trolltech’s Qt for Windows CE

Trolltech’s Qt® cross-platform development framework is adding support for Microsoft®’s Windows® CE operating system. This means that applications developed using Qt on Windows, MacOS X®, and Linux® desktop and embedded platforms can now be easily deployed to a range of mobile devices running on the Windows CE and Windows Mobile operating systems.“Qt for Windows CE is another milestone in Trolltech’s vision of ‘Qt everywhere’. It will allow application providers to reach out to even more devices by enabling their applications to run across yet another operating system without rewriting the code,” said Haavard Nord, CEO and co-founder of Trolltech.

Qt for Windows CE enables developers to write rich, easy-to-use, platform-independent applications, using the intuitive API that Qt is known for. Rather than spending time rewriting their application for new platforms, developers are free to focus on value-adding innovations that can differentiate the user experience of their product.

The Windows CE version of Qt includes all the functions needed for end-to-end application development, and provides integrated developer tools, such as a powerful graphical user interface (GUI) and forms builder and robust features for translation of applications into new languages.

Cross-Platform Embedded: Companies that build similar devices running both embedded Linux and Windows CE can use Qt to create one application for deployment across both device types.

Desktop to Devices: Applications built with Qt on the desktop can now be extended to run on a variety of Windows CE-based devices such as tablets, mobile phones, and other mobile devices.

Unique approach to Windows development: Qt is unique in its ability to provide developers with a single, consistent API that works on a wide number of Microsoft Windows platforms, ranging from Windows 98 to Vista® to Windows CE and Windows Mobile®.

Enhanced speed and user experience

Qt for Windows CE helps developers to use the full capabilities of the hardware they are working with. It integrates Scalable Vector Graphics drawings with full support for multiple displays and supports OpenGL® ES. It comes with Qt GraphicsView, a powerful 2D graphics canvas that enables the creation of interactive applications that can handle thousands of 2D graphics objects. Qt Style Sheets customizes the look and feel of applications without changing the code enabling easy differentiation of the user interface with minimal efforts.

Qt includes a wide range of components needed to build rich and complex user interfaces, including data-aware item views, offering a high degree of customization. Qt for Windows CE is also integrated with Visual Studio® 2005, and Visual Studio 2008 support is planned for the upcoming Qt version 4.4 release.

Availability

Qt for Windows CE will be available as part of the upcoming Qt 4.4 release, which is scheduled to be released in May. Currently technical previews are available in the Qt release snapshots and the latest Qt 4.4 beta release, available on Trolltech.com. Qt for Windows CE will be available under Trolltech’s dual-licensing model, which includes both commercial licenses for commercial development and a GPL-licensed version for open source development

Samsung planning a ‘OVI’

mobile device makers are not happy with just one time interaction with the customer. They want more pocket share of customer post hardware purchase. So after ‘OVI’ from NOKIA, now Samsung has intentions to pursue internet based services model.

The new strategy would unite all of Samsung’s premium web-services under one roof and put more of that consumer-cash back into Samsung’s accounts. And, with handset manufacturers scrambling to keep the end-user “in-house” even after the customer has paid for the phone and is long-gone from the retail store, Samsung’s new web-services strategy makes sense.

Over the next couple years we’re going to see most big-name manufacturers start to offer Ovi-like web-services integrated into their revenue model

I am not too surprised by this announcement personally because I was expecting handset guys to come out with something like this or something else which would give then regular income from end customers. With the increased commoditization of handsets, dollars are drifting away from handset guys and I am sure they are a worried lot.

Strech it…bend it…Future Mobile phones from NOKIA

Nokia and the University of Cambridge are showing off a new stretchable and flexible mobile device of the future called Morph.

The new concept phone is part of an online display presented in conjunction with the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition underway through May 12 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The device, which is made using nanotechnology, is intended to demonstrate how cell phones in the future could be stretched and bent into different shapes, allowing users to “morph” their devices into whatever shape they want. Think Stretch Armstrong for cell phones. Want to wear your cell phone as a bracelet? No problem, just bend it around your wrist.

Nokia says the concept device demonstrates handset features that nanotechnology might be capable of delivering, including flexible materials, transparent electronics, and self-cleaning surfaces.

“Nokia Research Center is looking at ways to reinvent the form and function of mobile devices,” Bob Iannucci, chief technology officer for Nokia, said in a statement. “The Morph concept shows what might be possible.”

Even though Morph is still in early development, Nokia believes that certain elements of the device could be used in high-end Nokia devices within the next seven years. And as the technology matures, nanotechnology could eventually be incorporated into Nokia’s entire line of products to help lower manufacturing costs.

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