Nokia Developer Newsletter

The Nokia 7705 Twist, a square device that swivels open to reveal a full messaging keyboard, is the latest new device from Nokia. The device's shortcut buttons offer quick access to messaging, 3.0-megapixel camera with auto focus, Web browsing, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, voice commands, and speakerphone options. A Contact Light Ring, located in the lower right corner, can be customised to identify a message or a call from people listed in the user's contact directory. Habitat Mode, another innovation, activates a unique interface that lets consumers visualise their social circles and organise their calls and message histories easily.

The Nokia 7705 Twist is exclusively being sold in the U.S. through Verizon Wireless online and retail stores. Sales have begun at a retail price of $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new, two-year contract. Also, consumers who purchase the phone before 29 October will receive a free lanyard to raise awareness of HopeLine and help bring an end to domestic violence.

Explore the Nokia 7705 Twist.

Download the Nokia 7705 Twist data sheet.

View high-resolution photos of the Nokia 7705 Twist.


Watch the Nokia 7705 Twist video.

Mobile developers working on content and applications for Maemo-based devices have five new documents from Forum Nokia. Maemo, a computer architecture platform built from open source components, is the developer platform for four Nokia devices: the Nokia N800, Nokia N810, Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition, and Nokia N900 device. The new documents are:

Maemo 5 Desktop Widget UI Guidelines: Explains how to build consistent and user-friendly desktop widgets following the design philosophy, interaction model, and visual look-and-feel of Maemo 5.

Redesigning from Maemo 4 to Maemo 5: Describes how to redesign a Maemo 4 application for Maemo 5, that is, the Hildon 2.2 UI Style. The Modest e-mail client is used as an example application.

Hildon 2.2 Widget UI Specification: Specifies the Hildon 2.2 widgets, following the Hildon 2.2 UI Style.

Hildon 2.2 UI Style Guide: Explains the Hildon user interface principles and provides guidelines and recommendations to ensure that all UIs designed for the platform offer a consistent user experience.

Fremantle Master Layout Guide: Introduces the layout and graphics of Fremantle and discusses layout-related topics, including margins, dialogues, text editors, and colours.

Download the Maemo 5 Desktop Widget UI Guidelines.

Download Redesigning from Maemo 4 to Maemo 5.

Download the Hildon 2.2 Widget UI Specification.

Download the Hildon 2.2 UI Style Guide.

Download the Fremantle Master Layout Guide.

Explore Forum Nokia's other Maemo resources.

Nokia is moving to an increasingly cross-platform approach to software development, and the company will place greater emphasis on Qt for application development and Web Runtime (WRT) for service development across all its devices and platforms. So says Purnima Kochikar, the recently appointed Vice President of Forum Nokia, in an interview with the Dr. Dobbs site. 'Of course, Forum Nokia will continue to support the very active developer communities in Symbian C++, Java™, and other environments', Kochikar told Dr. Dobbs. 'But a larger amount of our focus will be on these cross-platform environments, which should bring great benefits to developers in terms of productivity and access to devices and markets.' In the interview, Kochikar also answered questions about the Nokia Booklet 3G, Ovi™ Developer Beta, Calling All Innovators competition, and WRT.

Read the full interview with Purnima Kochikar.

Forum Nokia has released the WRT Plug-in 2.2 for Aptana Studio. This new version enables the plug-in to be installed on computers running either the Linux-based Ubuntu 8.04 or Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating systems.

Using the Nokia WRT Plug-in 2.2 for Aptana Studio, developers gain a set of tools that leverage the power of Aptana Studio and make WRT widget development simple and straightforward. The plug-in supports the latest WRT widget features, including home-screen views and integration with S60 platform services. Also, the plug-in's powerful previewer means that all functional testing can be undertaken in Aptana Studio, maximising developer productivity. With the addition of Ubuntu and Snow Leopard support, the plug-in now offers a complete and free solution for the broadest range of widget developers.

Explore and download the Nokia WRT Plug-in 2.2 for Aptana Studio.

Adobe MAX is coming to Los Angeles on 4 – 7 October, and Forum Nokia will be there. If you're attending the conference, be sure to catch up with these sessions on key Nokia topics:

• Building world-class multimedia applications on Nokia devices
• Open Screen Project: Fueling the future of Flash experiences
• Mobile application development with Nokia Web Runtime

More than 5,000 mobile designers, developers, and business decision makers are expected to gather at Adobe MAX. Together they will discover the tools and technologies that enable the most compelling applications, content, and video — on screens of every size, across operating systems, and accessible anywhere, anytime.

In addition, Adobe MAX attendees will have a chance to view winning apps from the Open Screen Project Fund. They will also learn first-hand about an important announcement regarding Nokia tools for developers.

Get ready to MAX: Los Angeles, 4 – 7 October.

The Symbian Exchange & Exposition is coming to London on 27 – 28 October, and all developers are invited to attend to share, create, network, and have fun! Keynote speakers will include Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and other best-selling business books. And there will be several Birds of a Feather sessions, informal meetings without a pre-planned agenda, on topics including wiki documentation, Symbian Signed, and social networks.

Nokia is a Platinum Sponsor of the Symbian event and will be well represented. Nokia's Chief Technologist, Benoit Schillings, will participate in a panel discussion entitled 'Fostering the Ecosystem in Open Mobile Software Platform Development.' Forum Nokia will host or participate in sessions on several topics, including Qt for Symbian developers, next-generation hybrid applications, extending Carbide.C++, and S60 Web Runtime widgets. In addition, developers will be able to meet one-on-one with Nokia representatives on the show floor; there, they can see Ovi Store in action, learn more about getting published on Ovi, and see the latest product demos.

Register for the Symbian Exchange & Exposition.

A regional version of Forum Nokia's Calling All Innovators competition has been launched for developers in the U.K. Developers can submit content and apps in any of these five categories:

• Social Location
• Business and Productivity
• Communications and Social Networking
• Games
• Just for Fun

One grand-prize winner will receive £20,000, paid travel and a ticket to a Nokia developer event in the spring 2010, Nokia's practical assistance to become an Ovi Store publisher to get the winning application to Ovi Store, and a one-year membership in Forum Nokia Launchpad (value of 300 euros). The best entries in the remaining four categories will receive other valuable prizes of cash and benefits. All U.K. entries are due by 30 November, and the winners will be announced in December.

Enter Calling All Innovators U.K. today!

Check out Forum Nokia's recently announced Calling All Innovators contests in three other regions:

• Middle East/Arabic
• Africa
• France

Enter Forum Nokia's contest for Mobile Web Templates Wiki articles this month and you could win one of at least three Nokia devices that will be given away as prizes. This competition offers Web developers the opportunity to show off their creativity and technical skills using Nokia's Mobile Web Templates. Entries should demonstrate ways of developing better projects using these templates, and the authors should document how they used and modified the templates.

To enter, create a Wiki article showing how developers can use and improve the use of Nokia Mobile Web Templates. Then submit your article in the Forum Nokia Wiki's Mobile Web Templates category by no later than 23:59 GMT on 31 October. Good luck!

Enter the Mobile Web Template contest.

Introduce yourself to Nokia Mobile Web Templates.

Download the Nokia Mobile Web Templates.

Developers of Qt and Maemo applications and content will want to attend these two Forum Nokia events being held in the U.S. and Europe:

Qt Developer Days: 12 – 14 October in Munich, and 2 – 4 November in San Francisco

Attendees will acquire Qt development skills, get answers to their Qt questions, and have the opportunity to form relationships with others who have selected Qt as their preferred development framework. Nearly a dozen sessions on mobility will be featured, including a hands-on lab showing Qt on Symbian and Maemo devices.

Maemo Summit: 9 – 11 October, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Take in three days of all things Maemo. One day is being organised by Nokia, and two days by the community. Among the topics of discussion will be Nokia's newest Maemo device, the Nokia N900 mobile computer. Representatives from both Forum Nokia and Qt will participate. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

Register for Qt Developer Days 2009: Munich, 12 – 14 October. San Francisco, 2 – 4 November.

Explore the Maemo Summit 2009 and register to attend: Amsterdam, The Netherlands 9 – 11 October.

A Solitaire game example posted by Forum Nokia was recently reviewed favourably by Tietokone, a Finnish IT magazine. The Nokia game example, written in C++, is a 'simply brilliant' diversion for bus rides and other activities, the magazine's reviewer writes.

This Forum Nokia example demonstrates a fully touch-optimised application using various touch UI features of S60 5th Edition with direct manipulation. The user can tap the cards or drag and drop the cards using a finger or stylus. The application also demonstrates custom UI controls, the Touch Feedback API, and double buffering.

Read the Tietokone review (in Finnish).

Download Forum Nokia's S60 5th Edition Solitaire Game Example v1.1.

Later this month a random sampling of mobile developers will be invited by Forum Nokia to complete our annual survey. If you are among those invited, please complete the survey; by doing so, you will contribute to the future of Forum Nokia's developer services.

The online survey, intended for mobile developers and other professional users of Forum Nokia, should take only 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Also, all survey-takers will be entered automatically in a drawing for a chance to win a new Nokia N97 device or Nokia N900 multimedia device.

Watch your e-mail later this month for a Forum Nokia survey invitation. And thank you in advance for your participation and support.

Check out the Nokia N97 device.

Find out more about the Nokia N900 multimedia device.

In this episode, Forum Nokia's Bill Volpe speaks with Udo Szabo and Martin Ramsin, as they discuss the Ovi Developer Offering and how developers can get started today.