[cuss]

Hi Boys and Girls :)

This is a general thread for all devices really... I know very little about development for mobile devices and want to know where to start.

What's the most popular was to develop, is there a more ideal programming language currently used or is it down to the developer?

Sorry for the very newbie post, but there's so much here i have no idea what to look for first.

Thanks,


C

[njzk2]

start with java (j2me) it's the most portable and compatible
you may try c++ for symbian if you develop on 1 or few phones that are symbian and that you need more control
eclipse with the plugin eclipseMe is for me the best IDE (and it's free)

[cuss]

Hey,

Thanks for the response.

If i wanted to have video for users to connect to on their mobile device, what would i need to do? Is this just going to be along the lines of a regular website? Thats what im ideally looking for...

Thanks again,


C

[njzk2]

you mean you have a server with video on it, and you want to transmit it to the cell phone and view it ?
i think c++ will be more appropriate, due to performance issues (and i don't know much about symbian native programming)
if you prefer java, it will deal with video playback in MMAPI, which is not absolutely standard, you'll meet lots of phones that do not support it
considering the connection, if you are in gprs, the bandwidth will be a serious issue, as gprs is limited to 9600 bauds, and costs a lot
if you consider local connection like bluetooth, it's another api, the BTAPI (jsr 82), which also is not standard (there are still bluetooth phones that do not support it), and bandwidth is not such a probleme then
connections supported over ip in java are http and https, and usualy you will connect to a servlet or a jsp, or some other webservice, which will provide you the data
that implies that you will also need to develop a server-side part, which may not be as easy as a 'regular' website

if you have more precise idea of what you want to do (specs on what is the video, the formats quality, usage, ... and how you host it, download it ...) it could help you further if you need

[cuss]

I was just thinking of a mobile device version of a website with a navigation and a video section, users can select and watch short clips (undecided but maybe 20s long and around 170x200px).

First of all is this actually possible? If so, what would it be developed in? I haven't developed anything for devices like this before, so im being a little simple about it all, but i thought you could create a webpage for a mobile device that incorporates video?

C

[njzk2]

may be then the best solution would simply be developping a WAP site
i don't know much about this technology, but i think it permits what you want and it is rather easy to program

[njzk2]

else, considering for instance that you want to play videos full screen (on s60 176x208 ...) you should consider c++ or java