Nokia Developer Newsletter

S60 5th Edition, recently introduced by Nokia, brings new benefits to developers, including a touch-screen UI. The new platform is based on Symbian OS v9.4, which includes enhancements to offer faster boot-up and application starts and reduce the likelihood of out-of-memory situations. S60 5th Edition also adds support for 640 x 360 nHD displays to deliver a touch-screen capability with tactile feedback using the device's vibrate function. The touch capability uses a select-activate paradigm and offers gesture support (including tap, touch, drag, and stroke) for such tasks as panning within an image. To support touch interaction, S60 5th Edition supports both on-screen keyboards and handwriting recognition.

For Symbian C++ developers, S60 5th Edition adds more than a dozen APIs, including Accessory Monitoring, Choice List, and Stylus Pop-up Menu. Other features of the platform bring new benefits to developers of Java™, Open C/C++, Web and widgets, Flash Lite, Python, and media and content.

Get started with S60 5th Edition.

Introduce yourself to development with the S60 touch-screen UI.

Explore more of what's new in S60 5th Edition for developers.

Developers eager to begin creating touch-enabled applications and content for the new S60 5th Edition now have a library of C++ example applications on Forum Nokia. These examples demonstrate the new features of S60 5th Edition, including the touch UI, tactile feedback, and orientation-awareness. The example applications include Solitaire, a fully optimised game for the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic device; Image Converter, which showcases the flexibility of the S60 UI by also supporting S60 3rd Edition devices with a keypad; and Memory Game, which demonstrates the use of S60 5th Edition's built-in Open C++ runtime.

Browse all the new and ported S60 5th Edition example applications.

Download the following S60 5th Edition example applications:

• Solitaire game example.

• S60 Platform Image Converter example.

• Open C++ Memory Game example.

Nokia recently introduced version 3.3 of Carbide.ui Theme Edition, a tool that helps both professional developers and hobbyists create and edit themes for S60 and Series 40 devices. Carbide.ui provides access to more than 1,000 customisable theme elements in the S60 UI, making the S60 UI the most customisable UI available. New features in version 3.3 include: support for S60 5th Edition components and their identification in the Properties view; support for three-piece components; support for 11-piece components, with features to switch between 11- and single-piece components; and enhanced support for third-party icons with features for creating file and folder icons.

Download your free copy of Carbide.ui Theme Edition 3.3.

Discover what's new in Carbide.ui Theme Edition 3.3.

Check out the Carbide.ui Theme Edition 3.3 release notes.

Looking to do your part to protect the environment? The Eco Challenge category in Forum Nokia's Calling All Innovators contest seeks mobile devices, software, and services that reduce our impact on the environment. As part of that effort, developer Futurice Ltd. of Helsinki, has worked with Nokia to create the we:offset application for S60 devices, the first emission offsetting tool for mobile devices. Also, Futurice developer Antti Rauhala is sharing application code and insights. His code snippet shows how to include a 'share with a friend' feature in your mobile app. And Antti is hosting a Talk to the Guru session now on the Forum Nokia Discussion Boards.

Forum Nokia has also added a 'Judge's Choice' award to the Calling All Innovators contest. This award will be given to the top 10 submissions in all four regions — the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region — and also in China, for a total of 40 awards. Each Judge's Choice winner will receive a one-year membership to Forum Nokia Launchpad, valued at 300 euros.

Train for the Calling All Innovators Eco Challenge.

Submit your application to Calling All Innovators.

Download the we:offset application.

Check out the code sample for the 'share with a friend' feature.

Discuss eco-apps coding with guru Antti Rauhala on the Discussion Boards.

Discover the benefits of the Forum Nokia Launchpad program.

Xiaotian Chen, a C++ programmer in Beijing, is the new Forum Nokia Champion of the Month. Forum Nokia Champions earn recognition for achieving outstanding expertise, participating in community activities, and sharing their knowledge with other Forum Nokia members. Honourees are from all regions of the world, have a variety of backgrounds, and are experts in a range of areas. Xiaotian Chen is an active participant on the Forum Nokia C++ or Open C Discussion Boards, where, under the screen name Cxt_programmer, he has submitted more than 1,400 posts. He is currently taking undergraduate courses and working for a mobile software company in Beijing, but still finds time to devote to many developer communities, including the Forum Nokia Discussion Boards, Chinese Application Development, the Forum Nokia Wiki, and Symbian Developer Forum.

Browse Xiaotian Chen's introduction page.

Check out Xiaotian Chen's posts on the Forum Nokia Discussion Boards.

TV fans can watch their favourite programmes on the go, thanks to SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS. The software, from Forum Nokia PRO developer Sling Media Inc. of Foster City, California, lets users watch TV shows on S60 3rd Edition devices. At the heart of the system is the Slingbox, a hardware device that attaches at one end to a digital cable set-top box, satellite receiver, or over-the-air analogue tuner, and at the other end, to the Internet. Users can watch television programmes — including those recorded on a DVR — on their choice of a desktop computer, laptop, or Nokia S60 device. 'It's a mobile set-top-box experience', says Vicky Shum, Sling's senior product marketing manager. 'You can watch real-time TV, no matter where you are'. Forum Nokia helped by giving Sling Media exposure at international events (including the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference), providing beta testing support and technical feedback, and sharing a marketing program during SlingPlayer's launch.

Explore Forum Nokia PRO, the premium partner program.

Check out developer Sling Media.

Developers with great location-based services (LBS) applications could share a prize pool of cash, maps, tool licenses, and phones valued at $5.25 million USD by entering the 2009 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge. Launched in 2003, the Global LBS Challenge has become the premier event in the LBS industry and a global symbol of LBS innovation and opportunity. Winners are chosen by a panel of judges in three regions: The Americas, EMEA, and APAC and China. Approximately 25 percent of the semifinalist companies have gone on to receive venture capital funding or launch commercially distributed applications, many with major wireless operators. To be considered, developers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa need to register by 24 October. Developers in the Americas need to register by 28 November. And registration for developers in the APAC region and China begins on 31 October.

Register today for the 2009 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge.

Starting 27 October, watch your e-mail for a special invitation to participate in a developer services survey that will shape the future direction of Forum Nokia's technical developer services. This survey, intended for developers and other professional users of Forum Nokia, should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. And because developers' opinions are important to Forum Nokia, everyone that completes the survey will be automatically entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of two Nokia E90 Communicators. The survey will remain open until 12 November.

Explore the survey-prize device: the Nokia E90 Communicator.

What's Cooking, a mobile social networking application that brings together lovers of cooking and eating well, is the winner of the 2008 Adobe Design Achievement Awards, Mobile Design category. The Mobile Design award, sponsored this year by Nokia, recognizes student achievement in the convergence of technology and the creative arts; entries included mobile games, animated ads, widgets, and more. The winners are three students from the University of Venice (Italy): Valentina Venza, Valeria Donati, and Maria Tasca. Their What's Cooking application lets users find others who enjoy the same cuisines and have dinner with them, dividing tasks (such as shopping, cooking, and cleaning) and sharing skills.

For more information about the award, e-mail Jorge Santiago of Forum Nokia.