Experts Online

Opera Mini + (W)VGA users, attention: a hacked, VGA-friendly Jbed version has been released!

Werner Ruotsalainen — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:05:58 -0600

(Technical note: as of 01/02/2009 2:57 AM CET, the images in the article and the mirrored download aren’t accessible. Hope they’ll become available in about 10 hours. That is, make sure you check back in 10-15 hours if you’d really want to see them. Sorry for the inconvenience - my database back-end has been having problems and the CS people have been away.)

VGA & Opera Mini (and/or MIDlet) users, you’ll LOVE this: at last, readable charsizes!

Werner Ruotsalainen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:21:59 -0500

So far, the biggest problem with running Opera Mini (or any MIDlet that uses characters to display anything; for example, the Gmail MIDlet) on high-resolution (W)VGA Windows Mobile devices was the far too small character size all contemporary, recommended (most importantly, Jbed) MIDlet managers used.

MIDlet manager news

Werner Ruotsalainen — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:12:43 -0500

In addition to thoroughly re-testing the WM2003(SE) compliance of the latest, just-released 4PDA.ru Jbed version (see the UPDATE section in my yesterday's post), I've continued testing the new MIDlet managers.

I’ve also tested some of the versions linked from the 4PDA.ru thread on my HTC Vox (s710) to find out whether they’re any good compared to the old MIDlet managers; particularly Cloudyfa’s version - the version that, so far, I’ve recommended to all MIDlet users (unless in need for M3G (3D) support.). These two are both “fixed heap” versions; some of the less simple games (for example, DoomRPG) and benchmark apps with large memory requirements are stated to run much better / more reliably in the fixed heap versions than in the regular ones (for example, that of Cloudyfa) because of the much bigger available memory. I haven’t tested the effects of this myself.

1. JBed3dMod_HeapSizeFix (that is, 3D-capable Jbed version, based on 20070524.2.1, with fixed heap)

I was really interested in how this (and an additional, hacked file available for download HERE - just overwrite JBed.exe of the original, already-installed version with JBed3d_SreenFix.exe after renaming) worked because, at 4PDA.ru, there’s a version that promises flawless, screen problem-free functionality on MS Smartphones also compatible with the excellent Gmail client MIDlet.

(Also see THIS (original HERE) for more info; see freesunny's post at 10.01.08 10:56:06.)

So far, it seemed impossible to make the latter (the Gmail MIDlet) flawlessly work on MS Smartphones under any version of Jbed. An example of the display problems the non-hacked version (or any Jbed version) can be seen in the following screenshot:

Unfortunately, the hacked version (after overwriting the EXE file with the separately downloaded JBed3d_SreenFix.exe) doesn’t really work with Gmail: while indeed the entire screen estate is used, the three lowermost menu items (Search, Compose New, Exit) aren’t visible, just like with the non-hacked case:

Note that essentially the same results from the 4pda.ru folks can be HERE. The same problem also exists in Portrait mode, not only in Landscape.

New MIDlet manager in development: PhoneME; Jbed for WM2003(SE) released!

Werner Ruotsalainen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:31:11 -0500

There are two pieces of news for everyone interested in running Java MIDlets. The first will be having a pre-WM5 device and wanting to run Java MIDlets (for example, Opera Mini) on it. Yes, at last, some Russian hackers made Jbed, the industry-leading MIDlet manager work under WM2003(SE)! The second (and, for most people, not that important) piece of news concerns a brand new MIDlet manager port for Windows Mobile.

1. Some Russian hackers, including the 4pda.ru folks, have, at last, managed to make Jbed, the best MIDlet manager, work under WM2003 and WM2003SE. The importance of this just can’t be stressed enough: so far, you only had the really inferior IBM J9 and the 10-series TAO MIDlet Manager to run MIDlets on pre-WM5 operating systems. Now, this has dramatically changed. Now, nothing will stop you from using Opera Mini on your pre-WM5 Pocket PC.

The direct link to these WM2003(SE) MIDlet Managers are as follows. There are three versions: a modded one, a non-3D one and a 3D one; all with a heap size fix.

JBed3dMod_HeapSizeFix
Esmertec Jbed heapfix
Esmertec Jbed3d heapfix

They have also made a MAJOR update to their 4PDA.ru MIDlet article, linking to all the contemporary Esmertec, TAO etc. versions (including ones with heap fixes, with and without 3D support etc.); the above links can also be found in their article. You can see the translation of the new page HERE (Google) and HERE (Babelfish). Note that I’ve kept the original page HERE (Google) and HERE (Babelfish) for historical reasons for people interested in the pre-Esmertec times.

2. Now, the other piece of news, which, again, won’t be of that much interest to non-WM2003 / non-Java hackers.

Java is a really viable programming platform. Not only several high-quality games make it worthwhile, but also probably the best and, if you’re lucky enough with your geographical location, fastest and most bandwidth usage-friendly mobile browser available for mobile phones (including Windows Mobile), Opera Mini 4.

I’ve already devoted an entire all-in-one Bible to running Java on Windows Mobile (and Symbian). Now, let me introduce the latest Windows Mobile KVM: PhoneME.

PhoneME is another "let’s bring Java to various platforms” projects (official homepage HERE), which has recently received Windows Mobile support.

Misc news: new Jbed / Jblend distros; PDA controller / Web browser news, Revival out

Werner Ruotsalainen — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:05:14 -0600

1. After publishing my review of VirtualCE 4, there have been some changes:

a new MyMobiler version has been released, implementing, for example, manual screen rotation and the ability to hide the Today screen icon
some of the bugs of VirtualCE 4 have been fixed (for example, BMP24 crashing). Hope the developer also finds a way to completely (even from the bottom taskbar) hide the main selector / controller screen as is asked in the above-linked HowardForums thread
Pocket Controller 6 has turned out to support LAN discovery and hiding the connection “bubble” upon TCP/IP connection (as opposed to the ActiveSync one).

2. I, after more than a week’s waiting (see my previous post HERE), still haven’t received any feedback from the Strategy Analytics Inc. folks regarding the lack of Opera Mini in their 5-Star Safari Leads Mobile Browsing Experience, which, in many Windows Mobile users’ (including me) opinion, is the most useful / quickest Web browser for the Windows Mobile platform. And, for other mobile platforms too – on my Symbian Nokia N95 and BlackBerry 8800, I almost exclusively use this browser to access the Web. Not including it in the test makes the entire report pretty hard to depend on – it’s like completely ignoring, for example, Ferrari (a top-performing car) when evaluating the cars of Formula-1.

And, of course, I’ve already elaborated on the bad ranking of Nokia Web (running on Symbian S60 3rd edition devices – that is, NOT on Windows Mobile) and, particularly, Opera Mobile (running on all major mobile platforms). Again and again, if you do learn the dialpad shortcuts and/or, with Opera Mobile running on a dialpad-less Pocket PC, use a third-party tool to assign its key functionalities (accessing favorites, current tabs, back etc.) to Pocket PC hardware buttons, they both become quicker and easier to operate than Internet Explorer. It’s clearly at this point (in addition to the lack of Opera Mini) that Strategy Analytics Inc.’s report severely lacks – it’s evident the test folks didn’t really make an attempt at learning the dialpad shortcuts / configure Opera Mobile for easy and much quicker access / use.

The (Java) MIDlet Bible PART II

Werner Ruotsalainen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:46:18 -0500

PART II – CONTINUED FROM HERE

The (Java) MIDlet Bible

Werner Ruotsalainen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:44:12 -0500

(Note that this Bible does NOT discuss Java applets or applications. For more info on running applets under Windows Mobile, see the Web Browsing Bible; for application-related info, see my generic Java articles.)

You may have already heard at least of Java games (more precisely, MIDlets) running on almost all current “dumb” phones. These games are all the rage today, especially with teenagers, which also means there are thousands of sometimes really high-quality games for ordinary phones, all written using the portable Java language, ready to be played on (almost) any kind of mobile phone. Just an example: in THIS HowardForums thread, the topic starter post lists some (but not all!) games available for the Samsung QVGA 240x320 phones (d600, d900, e900 etc – not only Windows Mobile ones!). Quite an impressive list, isn’t it? And it’s just the tip of the iceberg – there are a lot more games, all waiting for you to purchase, download and run!

No, don’t think MIDlets are only for gamers and are absolutely useless otherwise. You can make a good use of them in the enterprise too. There are several solutions already for, for example, mobile payment, reservations etc. done using a MIDlet as opposed to the Web, which is, in a lot of cases, is much harder to access / operate on a small-screen device. Controlling for example your bank transfers via SMS can also be less intuitive and/or require a lot more work / data entry than using a GUI to do this. Other, known enterprise-related MIDlets are Jupiter, which is basically a financial data streaming program (also see THIS) and Betfair (also see THIS). Should you be interested in these “MIDlets in the Enterprise” questions, I really recommend Michael Juntao Yuan’s excellent book “Enterprise J2ME: Developing Mobile Java Applications” – I’ve learnt a LOT from it. Highly recommended!

TUTORIAL: Control issues of Java MIDlets – all secrets of button handling

Werner Ruotsalainen — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:09 -0500

Lately, with the advent of Opera Mini and the really excellent and highly recommended Gmail MIDlet and some quality games (see their list in the 10/19/2007 update of my 3D MIDlet article), there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for MIDlet-related information. This is certainly shown by the sheer number of MIDlet-related questions asked at XDA-Developers, probably the best, most lively Windows Mobile hardcore user community with the most posts. For example, today, I’ve answered at least 20 different MIDlet-related questions there. Quite a few, isn’t it?

Let me give you all another modest present: in addition to my already-published previews (for example, the 3D Gaming Bible, the 4pda.ru Download Bible etc.), another excerpt – a full chapter – from the forthcoming Bible. Yes, it’s coming and yes, I do try to get it ready tomorrow or the day after – everything, all accompanying screenshots and charts (the main chart; 3D games Compatibility Chart and JBenchmark Chart) are ready, I only need to consolidate all my thoughts into an all-in-one, still-somewhat-comprehensive Bible, which will, I promise, be MUCH better, will contain MUCH more information and MUCH more up-to-date than that of the Russian-only 4pda.ru. Now, look at the length of the 4Pda tutorial (and all the linked-in ones) to see how much information it contains :) Not very easy to come up with something that has even more info, is it?

Note that the MIDlet managers I refer to in the article can all be found in the main chart of the Bible.

The Button Enhancer Bible & great button config tips for Opera Mobile / Mini users

Werner Ruotsalainen — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:53:04 -0500

Back in early 1997, when the first Microsoft WindowsCE 1.0-based devices hit the selves, they already contained shortcuts to built-in programs. Back then, as the 1.0-series of WindowsCE exclusively ran under clamshell Handheld PC’s with a built-in keyboard, it was pretty easy to find place for these quick start keys. For example, in the Philips Velo 1, the entire number row is overridden with them, providing access to almost all major applications (Pocket Word, Excel, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, WWW, Inbox, Database, Calculator, Voice Memo) delivered with the device. When, in 1998, the Palm-size PC’s and, in 2000, Pocket PC’s arrived, the lack of a built-in real keyboard meant it was no longer possible to crunch as many buttons in the radically reduced front and side surface of the device. Therefore, the number of shortcut keys were substantially reduced; most devices only sported five of them. There were differences in both directions: for example, the HP iPAQ 2210 only had four, while the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720 had six and, what is more, these buttons were all bifunctional: press and hold them instead of just quickly pressing it, and another functionality starts. (Some models, for example, the h2210, also supports something like this – holding the buttons results in, in general, creating new records. However, unlike with the Pocket Loox, you can’t redefine the functionality if you want to access something different.) Unfortunately, very few models support bifunctional (short-press and long-press) buttons. While some device manufacturers (like HP with their WM5 upgrade for the HP iPAQ hx4700, introducing full support for press-and-hold front buttons) did realize the ability to double the functionality one can quickly access with a single button press(-and-hold), not even the latest mainstream models offer this. For example, HTC’s Pocket PC Phone Edition (Windows Mobile Professional) models, in general, only offer one application (app for short) button with double functionality (for example, Button 4 on the Universal and the Wizard); all the others are single-function and, therefore, greatly reduce their usefulness and the flexibility, should you want to greatly speed up invoking applications or greatly simplifying tasks (for example, by a hardware button-initiated macro playing back several pre-recorded stylus taps to, for example, greatly speed up mail checking). Some of the current models even more reduced the number of (redefinable) buttons. For example, the HTC Elf / Touch only allows for redefining the Camera button and nothing else (also see THIS). Yeah, only ONE button. Nice, eh? The hardware manufacturers’ neglecting the need of people wanting for more functionality assigned to the few hardware buttons of their Pocket PC’s (and, due to the, in general, far fewer application buttons they have, to a lesser degree, MS Smartphones) has resulted in a plethora of third-party solutions that do allow for this. In this roundup, I explain and thoroughly compare these all. This kind of a Button Enhancer Bible has long been awaited. Except for some not very recent (pre-WM5) and, now, completely outdated quick reviews & comparisons, there has never been a really decent and thorough comparison of the major button enhancers, let alone ones that cover even the latest (2007), kick-butt, freeware titles developed by some highly skilled XDA-Developers folks.

(Hopefully) final MIDlet Bible main feature & hack & standards compliance chart published!

Werner Ruotsalainen — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:41:51 -0500

It was yesterday that I’ve published a larger excerpt from my forthcoming MIDlet Bible (a full roundup & tutorial explaining what MIDlets are, why you would want to run them, what applications there are to do this etc.), focusing on mostly 3D games. I haven’t been lazy in the meantime: I’ve made some serious updates to the main feature & hack & standards compliance chart of the Bible.