Flash on Mobile Devices: An Introduction to Flash Lite

On March 15, 2007, I gave this technical presentation on Adobe Flash Lite to a group of twenty or so, Harvard University, academic professionals.

Transcript

1. Flash on Mobile Devices: An Introduction to Flash Lite An Introduction to Flash Lite March 15, 2007 Scott Janousek, Flash Mobile Developer www.scottjanousek.com/blog Technical Director, http://www.hookenmobile.com www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
2. Special Thanks Special Thanks • • Philip Desenne i h l h • Nicholas Lamphere • All in attendance … :) Please be considerate to others: All mobile devices turned off, or to Silent mode please. www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
3. About Me About Me • General Info – Local to Boston Massachusetts USA – Local to Boston, Massachusetts, USA – Me = Developer first, Designer second – Working with desktop Flash for six years – Flash Mobile Blog • http://www.scottjanousek.com/blog/ • Mobile Mobile – Started with Flash Lite 1.1 in 2004 – Developing with Flash Lite 1.1, 2.0, 2.1 – My mobile company: Hooken Mobile – Flash (Lite) Training Instructor – Coauthor: Foundation Flash Applications for Mobile Devices Coauthor: Foundation Flash Applications for Mobile Devices • http://www.flashmobilebook.com/ www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
4. Flash Lite Flash Lite Who What Where Who, What, Where, When How and a When, How, and a bit f “Wh ” wee bit of “Why” www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
5. Part 1 The “When” of Flash Lite www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
6. Flash Mobile Timeline Flash Mobile Timeline PDA’s popular Handsets and consumer electronics popular Note: Flash Lite 3.0 was announced at the 3GSM 2007 conference www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
7. Part 2 Part 2 ”What” is Flash Lite? What is Flash Lite? www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
8. Mobile Development Platforms Mobile Development Platforms • J2ME – Java 2 Micro Edition BREW (V i ) • BREW (Verizon) – Qualcomm Platform (for games, etc) – C++ • Series 40/Symbian Series 60 (Nokia) – Platform and Operating Systems • WAP, Mobile Ajax, Opera Platform … others! – (legacy) Mobile Web ( g y) • .NET – Microsoft’s answer to mobile • Python • Python – Scripting language and runtime player • Flash Lite – Adobe Flash Player for mobile and devices www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
9. Flash Lite is Mobile, it is also Global! Flash Lite is Mobile, it is also Global! Millions of handsets and devices shipped WORLDWIDE! devices shipped WORLDWIDE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
10. What is Flash Lite? What is Flash Lite? • Adobe Flash Player specifically created for: M bil h – Mobile phones – Consumer electronic devices PDAs – PDAs • It’s for devices with constraints such as: l CPU – slower CPU – less memory other limitations found on portables – other limitations found on portables … • Bottom line? Fl h d diff t d kt d – Flash runs under many different desktop and mobile platforms www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
11. The Flash Lite Platform The Flash Lite Platform • Player profile for Mobile Devices – Client run‐time is the Flash Lite Player – SWF is output file format p • Content Creation Tools • Content Creation Tools – Flash 8 or Flash CS3 Authoring IDE CDK S d B dl D i – CDKs, Sound Bundler, Documentation – SWF publishing and emulation – MORE www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
12. The Flash Lite Platform The Flash Lite Platform • Testing Tools – Flash 8 Mobile Emulator – Adobe Device Central • Products/Services • Products/Services – Adobe Flash Home™ Ad b Fl h C ™ – Adobe Flash Cast™ www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
13. Flash Lite Device Platforms Flash Lite Device Platforms • Handset Platforms: – Nokia Series 40, Series 60 – Verizon Wireless BREW devices i d NTT D C M KDDI – i‐mode: NTT DoCoMo, KDDI – Others … • Other Portable Device Platforms: – Windows Mobile 5 – iRiver Portable Media Players – Chumby PSP (not Flash Lite but close enough) – PSP (not Flash Lite, but close enough) – MORE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
14. Flash Lite Evolution Flash Lite Evolution • Flash for Pocket PC – Custom Flash SDK 6/7 for PDA Custom Flash SDK 6/7 for PDA • Flash Lite – 1.0: animation only (mostly) • i‐mode – 1.1: data loading support, fscommand2’s • Symbian i‐mode others Symbian, i mode, others – 2.0 : Flash Player 7 • Symbian, i‐mode, others 2 1 Fl h Pl 7 d – 2.1: Flash Player 7 and more • BREW, Symbian, Windows Mobile 5, others – 3.0: TBD (native Flash Video support!) • TBD (probably same as 2.1 with other platform additions) www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
15. What is Flash Lite good at? What is Flash Lite good at? • Animation at o • Casual Games • Mobile Browser Based Flash Applications Mobile Browser Based Flash Applications • Flash Lite User Interfaces • Standalone Applications Standalone Applications – MOBILE LEARNING • Rich Media (images, sound, video) Content Rich Media (images, sound, video) Content • Device specific Content Types – Wallpaper, Screen savers, “chaku flash”, others p p , , , • MORE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
16. Flash Lite Content Types Flash Lite Content Types • SWF (Flash file format) normally standalone or SWF (Flash file format) normally standalone or browser based on the desktop. • Flash Lite content types are “specialized SWFs” • Flash Lite content types are specialized SWFs • Common ones are: Standalone Browser Wallpaper Screen savers “Chaku Flash” …and many more! • Availability is based on device, region, etc. y g www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
17. Sample Flash Lite Content Sample Flash Lite Content www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
18. Benefits to utilizing Flash Lite Benefits to utilizing Flash Lite • Rapid Development • Rapid Development • Small Deployment File Size (.SWF’s) • More consistent Runtime and Platform • Rich Media Support • Rich Media Support –text, images, video, sound, animation continued www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
19. Benefits to utilizing Flash Lite Benefits to utilizing Flash Lite • Usability and User Experience • Usability and User Experience • Less Fragmentation across devices • Feature Rich Designer/Developer Tools • Easy to learn (compared to C++ etc) • Easy to learn (compared to C++, etc) • Active Flash Development Community • MORE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
20. Flash Lite 1.1 Features Flash Lite 1.1 Features • Based from Flash Lite 1.0 player p y • Provides Flash Player 4 functionality – Flash 4 ActionScript syntax (ActionScript “0.5”) • fscommand2 API – Extends device Operating System integration • Adds new network support (data loading) for • Adds new network support (data loading) for dynamic applications • Preinstalled on many existing mobile devices in Preinstalled on many existing mobile devices in the marketplace today – Millions of devices are Flash Lite 1.1 enabled www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
21. Flash Lite 1.1 Architecture Flash Lite 1.1 Architecture www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
22. Flash Lite 2.x Features Flash Lite 2.x Features • Based on Flash Player 7 * • ActionScript 2 0 ActionScript 2.0 • Device Video • XML & XML Sockets (2.1 only) • Image Support • Dynamic Media Loading • Mobile Shared Objects • Mobile Shared Objects • Text enhancements • Inline text support pp • Synchronized device sound • Compressed SWFs • … and MORE! * Note: Not all features found in Flash 7 are found in Flash Lite 2.x. Minor restrictions apply. www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
23. Flash Lite 2.x Architecture Flash Lite 2.x Architecture www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
24. Flash Lite 3.0 Flash Lite 3.0 • Not released yet! Not released, yet! • Announced Features: N ti Fl h Vid ( fl ) t – Native Flash Video (.flv) support – Others … TBD • Have a feature in mind? – Submission: • mobiledeveloper@adobe.com • http://www.adobe.com/go/wish Feature Discussions: Blog Postings – Feature Discussions: Blog Postings www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
25. Extending Flash Lite Extending Flash Lite • Flash Lite can integrate with other languages: Flash Lite can integrate with other languages: – J2ME – Python y – C++ – BREW – Others • Integration methods: g – (socket) connections – fscommand launch – MMI (Flash Lite integration with device) www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
26. (Flash Lite) Mobile Challenges (Flash Lite) Mobile Challenges • Screen (Size, Pixel Depth) ( , p ) • Limited Memory • Performance/CPU Speed • Device Fragmentation • Bandwidth • Security • Connectivity D I • Data Input • Distribution and Deployment www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
27. Part 3 ”How” to create Flash Lite (content) ( ) www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
28. Flash IDE Demo Flash IDE Demo • Use Flash IDE to author Flash Lite content Use Flash IDE to author Flash Lite content www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
29. Flash 8 Mobile Emulator Demo Flash 8 Mobile Emulator Demo www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
30. Adobe Device Central ‐ Demo Adobe Device Central Demo www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
31. Obligatory “Hello World” Obligatory Hello World • createTextField() //‐‐ FL 2 only () // y • Example: //-- hello world example createTextField( "helloworld txt" createTextField( helloworld_txt , this.getNextHighestDepth(), 0, 0, 100, 10 ); helloworld_txt.text = "hello world!"; trace( helloworld_txt.text ); www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
32. Flash Lite Game Demos Flash Lite Game Demos Mad Bomber Alien Invasion i i li • iRiver U10 game • Handset to iRiver u10 • iRiver Clix game • Development Time: 3 days Fl h Lit 2 0 • Handset to iRiver u10 • Porting Time: 1 day • Flash Lite 2.0 • ActionScript 2.0 • OOP (Object based style) • Flash Lite 1.1 • Timeline driven (Flash 4) • OOP (Object based style) • Timeline driven (Flash 4) www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
33. Flash Lite Wallpaper/Screen saver Flash Lite Wallpaper/Screen saver • “Device Status Animations” Device Status Animations • Flash Lite 2.0 Wallpaper/Screen saver d Si l S h i f • Taps Battery and Signal Strength info – display animations based on that • Target Device: Nokia Series 40 (5300) • Size is: 240 x 320 (pixels) (p ) • Frames per Second/FPS: 16 • Bitmaps and vectors • Bitmaps and vectors www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
34. Adobe Device Central Adobe Device Central • Used in testing Flash Lite content prior to Used test g as te co te t p o to deploying on target device(s) • Saves precious development time p p • Updatable “Device Profiles” or skins • Device Profiling g – Memory Estimation – Performance Simulation • Environmental Testing – outdoors, indoors, etc. • MORE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
35. Part 4 Part 4 “How” to deploy How to deploy www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
36. Transferring Content to Devices Transferring Content to Devices • Methods to get Flash Lite content onto device: et ods to get as te co te t o to de ce: – Bluetooth – Physical Cable – MMC – OTA (over the air) bil b S S • Mobile Web, SMS – Infrared – WiFi? WiFi? • Nokia PC SUITE for Series 40/60 devices • AppLoader for Flash Lite BREW development AppLoader for Flash Lite BREW development www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
37. Mobile “Players” Mobile Players • Subscribers – Purchase handsets, make calls, access data, etc. • Operators Di t ib t t t i f b ib – Distribute content, manage service for subscribers • Handset and Device Manufacturers – Design and construct the devices and handsets Design, and construct the devices and handsets • Aggregators – Collect content and distribute it (via operators) • Content Providers/Developers – Create mobile content (games, applications, etc) P d /S i C i • Product /Service Companies – Adobe for instance www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
38. Flash Lite Content Distribution Flash Lite Content Distribution • File Formats: – .swf – .sis (Symbian Installers), .CAB (Windows Mobile) Si il t t i d kt • Similar concept to .zip on desktop • Delivery Methods: – Distribute through WebServers s bu e oug ebSe e s – Adobe Flash Cast – i‐mode (NTT DoCoMo, others) A (H d F M bili h ) – Aggregators (Handango, Fun Mobility, others) – Nokia Content Discoverer – Adobe Flash Lite Exchange Adobe Flash Lite Exchange – OTA, email, URL, bluetooth, etc. www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
39. Distributing Flash Lite Content Distributing Flash Lite Content • Operators Ope ato s – Verizon, NTT DoCoMo, others • Content Providers – Smashing Content, Fun Mobility, Atom Films, others • Aggregators – Handango, Iguana Mobile, others • Developers – Worldwide User Groups: • http://www.flashmobilegroup.org, others! Flash Lite World Map – Flash Lite World Map: • http://www.scottjanousek.com/flashlitecommunityworldmap www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
40. Part 5 Flash Mobile Products/Services / www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
41. Adobe “Mobile Experience Suite” Adobe Mobile Experience Suite www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
42. Adobe Flash Cast™ Adobe Flash Cast • Has been around since Flash Lite 1.1 as bee a ou d s ce as te . • Pushes down SWF’s to devices via servers • SWF content can be almost anything SWF content can be almost anything – games, news, etc • NTT DoCoMo i‐channel – Major installation deployed in Japan – has millions of subscribers – delivers SWF content: news, games, etc. • Major installation in U.S – estimated 2007 with major carrier www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
43. Adobe Flash Cast™ Architecture Adobe Flash Cast Architecture www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
44. Adobe Flash Home ™ • Announced at 3GSM 2007 • Flexible, white‐label home screen solution that combines customizable home screens with customizable home screens with live data services to provide subscribers with personalized, i i engaging experiences across handsets. • Embed data services and active Embed data services and active content into home screens and easily promote new services t il d f i k t tailored for various market segments, extending and differentiating your brand in a highly visual way. www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
45. Part 6 Part 6 ”Where” to go now Where to go now www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
46. Where to go from here Where to go from here • Foundation Flash Applications for Mobile Devices (Book) • http://www.flashmobilebook.com • Total Training Flash Lite 2.1 (DVD) • Flash Lite Yahoo Lite • flashlite@yahoogroups.com @y g p • Flash Mobile User Group • http://www.flashmobilegroup.org • Devnet articles evnet articles • http://www.adobe.com/devnet/devices • Alessandro Pace blog: • http://www.biskero.org • Flash Lite 2.1 training • San Francisco, April 16th 2007 @ Adobe • Boston (June 2007 timeframe?) ( ) • Mobile Monday Boston • http://www.momoboston.com www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
47. Flash Mobile Device Smorgasbord Flash Mobile Device Smorgasbord • Flash Lite Nokia Series 40/60 – Nokia Series 40/60 – iRiver PMP (u10, e10, Clix) – viliv p1/p2 viliv p1/p2 – Chumby – Others … • Custom Flash SDK builds – LeapFrog Leapster – Kodak Easy Share Camera – PSP k – Pocket PC PDAs – Others …. www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
48. Which Flash Lite device to get? Which Flash Lite device to get? • First figure out your target mobile platform(s): First, figure out your target mobile platform(s): – Symbian? BREW? Windows Mobile 5? Other? • Adobe Supported Device List • Adobe Supported Device List: – http://www.adobe.com/mobile/supported_devices D l d Ad b D i C t l • Download Adobe Device Central – Search device profiles • Ask recommendations on Flash Lite Groups list – flashlitegroup@yahoo.com www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
49. Summary: Why use Flash Lite? Summary: Why use Flash Lite? • Rapid Mobile Development • Flash Lite content can offer ROI (apps, games, etc) • Millions of devices preinstalled and shipped! M bil U E i i i t t! • Mobile User Experience is important! • Reduces mobile “fragmentation” issues • Better toolset from Adobe • Better toolset from Adobe – Flash 9 + Device Central + Flash Lite = “mobile bliss” • Flash Lite Service Solutions Flash Lite Service Solutions – Adobe Flash Home ™ – Adobe Flash Cast ™ • MORE! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
50. BFPUG Invite BFPUG Invite ll f h l h l f • We cover all aspects of the Flash Platform • URL: – http://www.bfpug.com/ • Where? When? – Meets monthly at New England Institute of Art Brookline Village g www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
51. My Blog My Blog • http://www scottjanousek com/blog http://www.scottjanousek.com/blog www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
52. P t 7 Part 7 Flash Lite Q & A Q & A www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
53. Q & A Q & A • What are your questions? What are your questions? www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007
54. Thanks! www.hookenmobile.com 3/19/2007