A Guide to Mobile Emulators
In a previous article, I put forward a three-point plan for testing mobile Web sites. One of the points involved the use of emulators for first-pass device testing. This article concentrates on configuring emulators for mobile site testing (it also highlights emulators that can be used to test mobile applications too). It outlines the different types of emulator available, the best ones to use, and the various ways in which they can be used. For the uninitiated, an emulator is a software program that aims to replicate the functions of a specific piece of hardware or software. more...
Build Web Apps for iPhone using Dashcode
So far, much mobile developer attention has been fixated on the iPhone SDK released by Apple to build native iPhone applications. This is understandable, since with the SDK you can write native iPhone apps that take full advantage of the capabilities provided by the device, such as accessing the accelerometer, the camera, as well as obtain geographical locations using Core Location. more...
Testing Mobile Web Sites Using Firefox
Before you ever begin testing your mobile site to determine how it looks on handsets, you should make sure the functionality of the site is working as you expect. This is not always straightforward, as you want to approximate the mobile environment as closely as possible. Fortunately, Mozilla Firefox supports some great extensions that can make testing your mobile sites a piece of cake. This article explains how to set Firefox up to act as a first pass test environment for your site. more...
Mobile Web 2.0 "Dramatic Developments" from AT&T Really not all that dramatic....
Well, I'm sad to report that the folks over/up/down at AT&T wireless appear to not quite have their act together when it comes to what is the 'next big thing' in wireless. I had really been hoping/anticipating that the webinar they hosted on June 30 entitled "Dramatic Developments in Mobile Web Technology" was going to provide something concrete and actionable for you (and I), alas, that was not to be the case. more...
User-Agent Switcher for Safari 4
The User Agent Switcher plug-in for Firefox has been a GREAT add-on and we all love it. 1 year and 27 weeks ago Ronan wrote a really simple, but useful configuration file for it that is available here on mobiForge (if you use Firefox it's a MUST: User Agent Switcher config file). more...
Are Widgets ready for me?
OK, so getting back to the widget reality here. I'd like to take a look at what the platforms are, what your options are and if it's really even worth it to go there. I know that last time I got a bit distracted with the whole 'sprite' thing, but I promise to stay on track here. more...
Battle of the Superphones: Palm Pre vs. Apple iPhone - which is a better Web browsing device?
There are already countless reviews of the newly announced Palm Pre available online. Rather than write another one, we instead are going to focus on what we, and we hope, our readers, are most interested in: how does the Pre fare as a web browsing device. In particular, we're going to test how well it does against its arch-rival, the iPhone. Can the Pre out-iPhone the iPhone? We're going to ignore the app store, the widgets, the battery life, the media player and instead focus on web browsing. more...
Location, Location, Location
Location based services (LBS) has been a buzz word and a hype since birth of mobile services. I'm not saying that it is a failure! more...
Fennec Delivers!
We've all been eagerly anticipating the entry of the Fennec (Firefox Mobile to the uninitiated) into the mobile browser space. A couple of days ago we were given our first taste of the future with Fennec when a new alpha version was released for Windows Mobile devices. So how does it stand up? Well, initial testing seems to indicate that Fennec will certainly be a contender. The Fennec team have packed in support for a wide array of technologies. more...
Widget Investigation leads to a 'Worst Practice' Discovery
Nokia just wrapped up their Developer Conference in Monaco last week. Sadly, I didn't have the budget to go. Maybe you were lucky and did (or maybe you live there, lucky you!). Anyhow, one of the technologies that they're pushing these days is their WRT (Web Run Time) or Widgets for the lay person out there. This whole mobile widget thing is nothing new, but what does appear to be new is that they're gathering a steam this time. more...
