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Views sought on cross platform development

Hi
I work for a small research firm/IT consultancy. I'm attending a meeting in a few weeks time, the meeting is being held by the University of the West of England (a UK Uni) and various local business groups. The aim is to discuss the development of a GPS-based program to help encourage children to exercise. As I have a bit of knowledge about various GPS-based software programs and platforms, I have been asked by a contact of mine to attend.
I've been thinking that by far the most obvious platform to target is the mobile phone - every kid has one and most these days have either GPS built-in or can access a bluetooth GPS device. Now, there are five mobile phone platforms, Java, Nokia's Symbian, Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows Mobile. If an app could be developed across all five platforms, it would be pretty much available to all kids.
As I have very limited experience of these platforms, I was wondering if anyone cared to give any views on the difficulties involved in developing for all five platforms (is it even possible to cross-develop across all these five platforms, or would each one be a separate project?) and any other views pertinent to GPS-based programs for mobile.
Also, if you know of any Android developers (companies) in the South West of England, preferably Bristol, that would also be great.
Rupert Plumridge
Senior Research and Commercial Manager
OTR-Group
www.otr-group.com

All depends of the language that you choose, but remember that mobile devices have some limitations.
Here are some lists of the Windows Mobile limitations: DevBuzz - Windows Mobile Limitations

Cheers for the reply, yeah, I guess language is most important - Java seems the most cross platform - not sure if the iPhone can handle that though.

For iPhone the better choice is Objective-C(CocoaTouch Framework), but you will need to have a Mac if you want to develop for it. This was because I didn't buy a iPhone to start developing for it, I don't have a Mac
For Windows Mobile I suggest you to use C#(.Net 3.5) with Visual Studio 2008 Professional. It's the most featured environment for WM development, or you can try CeGCC.
For Android the best choice will be Java with a very good knowledge of XML. A good link to start is How-To Develop Android Applications
And for Symbian, the best choice will be C++, also take a look at Getting started with Symbian development
Now you choose

You can use C++ on iPhone, WinMobile, Android and Symbian using Airplay SDK - the same compiled app will run on all of them too.
This is a magic bullet for cross platform dev, enjoy!

"For Android the best choice will be Java"
think you get more kernal power in their c++ tdk then java

bad news about WM 7

Hi People,
Here is an extract from smartphone mag that has some bad news in it, It seems M$ is starting a fresh and non of your programs will run on WM7. Plus there will be no updates for any current phones, so I dont see much prospects for cooking WM7 that will be of any use for us. Anyway I shall let you read it yourself
Jay
Jim Karpen,
your Web Guide
Read New Windows Mobile Content Every Week day at Smartphonemag.com
Web Guide: Windows Phone 7 Won’t Run Old Apps, Won’t Work on Current Phones
Shocking news this past week about the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series. Not only will it not run current apps, but also current phones such as the forthcoming HTC HD2 from T-Mobile may not be upgradeable. This week, I'll point you to more information about this, as well as additional detail about Windows Phone 7 and videos of this software in action.
Current Phones Won't Run Windows Phone 7
windows Phone 7 Series Won't Run Current Apps
The other bit of news was somewhat expected, but still something of a shock: none of your current software will work on a Windows Phone 7 device. According to a post by a Microsoft executive, making a clean break from the past will allow the new phones to be as powerful and user-friendly as possible.
What does that mean? That the developers will need to rewrite their software to work on the new phones. The exec did say that Microsoft will continue to work with partners who plan to deliver Windows Mobile 6.5 devices, and that it will continue to support these products.
The big question is, Will developers bother to rewrite their software? Given that so much of the smartphone action is in the Android and iPhone arenas, they may simply choose to focus on those platforms rather than rewrite their software for Windows Phone 7. An indication of the declining interest in Microsoft's platform may be the recent announcement by Skype that they were pulling their Windows Mobile version of Skype and have ceased development of it.

It is known for quite some time, just say goodbye to our clients to finally kato no one wants their products, they are great clowns of silent men like this Seventh, very ugly and totally sure that will become famous shows blue screen, as gathered from XP

Release of SPB Mobile Shell 5.0?

So when are they going to release it? They've shown it off already but when are they releasing it for WinMo?

No news at all about this..Try having a look at their forums..

Re-bump. I didnt find anything useful on their release. Has anyone any idea of their release?

i want this really bad .. heard its gonna be released next month

IR IE IN IE said:
i want this really bad .. heard its gonna be released next month
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hopefully. where did u hear that?

According to the SPB on Facebook, they are looking to launch Mobile Shell 5 in Q2/Q3. http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=77703564770&topic=20808
So sometime in the next 5 months!! Hopefully sooner than later

Can we please have a screen shot to wet the appetite?

No screen shots, but a demo video (from MWC) is available at PocketNow.com.
Enjoy! And hopefully the wait won't be too much longer.

[email protected] said:
No screen shots, but a demo video (from MWC) is available at PocketNow.com.
Enjoy! And hopefully the wait won't be too much longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the impression that they are going in the wrong direction when they launched the 4.0 ver of the app.
Now after watching the video, they seem to have gone further down that road - too much visual candy, too little usability and practicality, sigh...
How I miss the good old days of SPB Plus 3.0...

Looks crap to me. They somehow managed to make it worse with each new release.

the tone of the guys voice at the end of the first video speaks volumes

What's the sense of it?
It looks good but what's it like to use on a daily basis?
I was not impressed by previous versions of SPB MS.
Too gimmiky.

Its obviously for hi end phones that can support the graphics without compromising usability. Whats the point of it if it doesn't look fancy? Everything is about visual stimulation today, if you want usability and no fancy stuff stick to the older releases i suppose but the new stuff has gotta be eye catching. Its all about the money boys!

use cookies home tab - does near enough the same thing - probably even better on the eye too...

i thought it's gonna be like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FipjFT_kv-M

ummm, what's the biggest advantage of cht 2.0 right now??? Wouldn't it be widgets? So if mobile shell 5.0 can widgetize any app on your phone, that would be pretty awesome. And considering MS has always used less memory that sense, I'm guessing they can do it better than htc.

i love SPB shell, because i can totally customize each page
it needs some skin to make it better.
They could create more icons, like glass icons ... current icon are not very as nice as i expected like Anastasia icons ...
if they do that, i thinks it will be better than manilla in my opinion ...but i know that others prefer manilla ...

It was released ot OEM/Carriers on Oct 5th
SPB Software Launches SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 for Manufactures and Carriers
SPB Mobile Shell 5.0
ShareThis
San Francisco, CA – October 05th, 2010 – SPB Software, a leading mobile applications and games developer, today announced the latest version of its best-selling mobile user interface (UI), SPB Mobile Shell 5.0, for device manufacturers and carriers. SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 provides a uniform user interface across most mobile operating systems: Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and more.
The SPB Mobile Shell series is the most awarded mobile UI solution available on the market today. It has been publicly recognized as the number one best-selling mobile application across all smartphone platforms for the past 4 years. SPB Mobile Shell has also been successful among mobile carriers and OEMs, and has been deployed by over 15 device manufacturers and carriers, including Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, and O2.
SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 – Key Features:
* The first complete 3D mobile phone interface, offering an extremely fast and natural user experience. User interactions become much more intuitive in a real 3D environment.
* Single place to access all smartphone features: combining traditional widget based homescreen and application launcher via stunning 3D homescreen.
* Fast switching between screens with a single gesture.
* Supports almost any mobile operating system by means of a platform adaption layer. It currently offers support for Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile and is porting for more.
* The first mobile UI where widgets have been implemented correctly, enabling users to convert any icon to a widget in just one click.
SPB UI Engine provides the foundation for the SPB Mobile Shell user interface, featuring natural interaction engine, physics engine, feedback engine and more; working together to provide fast development of the best UI.
"Users have been demanding a user interface that looks good and feels natural, while carriers have been trying to find a uniform solution across multiple platforms to help address fragmentation issues and provide a unified experience for their customers," said SPB CEO Sebastian-Justus Schmidt. "SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 satisfies these issues by making the best multi-platform UI available to carriers and OEMs that can be easily personalized."
SPB will be hosting a SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 Roadshow to launch the product, which starts today in San Francisco and will include cities such as London, Tokyo, Taipei, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Berlin, amongst others. Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in arranging a product demo and executive meeting.
About SPB Software (www.spb.com)
SPB is a leading brand in mobile software, standing for a unique line of popular consumer products and partnerships with the world's most innovative handset makers and wireless carriers. SPB's software solutions deliver richer smartphone experiences and enable subscribers to do more with their mobile data connections. SPB Software is the maker of the world's single number one best-selling mobile application – SPB Mobile Shell. For more information, please visit www.spb.com.

Windows 8 May Feature Tablet UI

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229400796
Screen shots depicting features that may be part of the next version of Windows have leaked onto the Web and show that the new operating system may borrow some features from other Microsoft products, such as Office.
The screen shots, which were posted over the weekend by Neowin and other tech blogs, reveal that the main user interface for Windows 8, at least in its current build, uses an Office-style ribbon that gives users one-click access to a number of features and commands, such as "Share," "View," and "Copy To Folder."
IBM Chairman Emeritus Irving Wladawsky-Berger talks about cloud as the next evolution in computing, saying that it's a response to end-user frustration with complexity.
Pundits are suggesting the design may reflect Microsoft's desire to make Windows 8 a tablet-friendly OS that can compete with Apple's iPad and Google's Android. Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that it would build a version of Windows 8 for ARM chips, which have become the processor of choice for most tablet makers due to their light footprint and low power requirements.
Microsoft has not commented on the authenticity of the screen shots. Reaction to the purported redesign was mixed.
To exploit the natural synergy of smartphones and tablets with the cloud, first nail down solid mobile and cloud strategies.
Cloud and Mobile Computing: Better Together
"Looks too messy, and needs to be made smaller and fit more," wrote Neowin reader "Ely", in the blog's comments section. "If they make it smaller, and fine tune it then it will be fine. If not, hopefully you can turn it off," the reader said.
Another reader, "Joshie", said the changes are appealing: "Office with ribbon on auto-hide is one of the most pleasant software UIs I've ever come across, and I think it's a great way to bring menus and toolbars together in an ultimately space-saving style."
Microsoft has not provided a firm release date for Windows 8, and estimates by market watchers range from late 2011 to the 2012 back-to-school season. Most observers agree, however, that the company needs to ship a tablet-capable OS as soon as possible before it falls too far behind Apple and Google in one of the tech sector's hottest markets.
Even longtime Microsoft partner Hewlett-Packard, apparently frustrated by Redmond's failure to produce a tablet OS, recently said it planned to build slates around its own WebOS, which it gained through its acquisition of Palm, instead of Windows.
Microsoft shares were up .37%, to $25.58, in early trading Monday.

[Completed] Cortana In Windows

Microsoft’s digital voice assistant was introduced on Windows Phone 8.1 back in early April, and since then the company has been working hard to refine the service and launch it globally. On mobile.
But an appearance on the Windows platform is all but a formality.
And now we have an official confirmation. Of sorts. Marcus Ash, the group program manager working on the Cortana project fired off a series of tweets over the weekend, revealing that the software titan was indeed planning to port Cortana to the desktop.
Only after finishing work on the Windows Phone build, that is.
This is what he said on the matter:
“4. After we execute on #1 – #3, we have started to THINK about #Cortana on #Windows so more #Microsoft customers experience her.”
And followed it up with another tweet, saying:
“5. In a future state, the best experience will still be for #Microsoft customers that own all #Windows devices. Best work is on our devices.”
So basically, the idea is to provide a fully featured experience on Windows Phone, first and foremost. This is clearly the top priority for now.
Once this goal is achieved, however, the company will start focusing on other projects for Cortana, including porting the service to Windows 8.1. In case this takes time, and development requires more effort, then the digital assistance might debut with Windows 9.
And judging by how thing are going, chances are that the next full version of the operating system will be the one that arrives with Cortana built in.

This might help the Windows Phone Users. So it might be more Pertinent to post
Windows Phone 8 Development and Hacking > http://forum.xda-developers.com/Windows Phone 8 GeneralWindows Phone 8 General
I do not believe you had a question per se in mind.