Hello
Welcome to the Openwave® Mobile Developer Toolkit Version 1.0 (OMDT). We
know you have many choices of wireless development tools, so we appreciate your
interest in OMDT. Here is my take on what the content of OMDT represents to
you, my fellow wireless developers.
There are many new wireless technologies to consider in the near future. You have probably already heard some of the buzz around them, but more importantly, you now have to determine what those technologies mean to you and how to use them to create better wireless applications for the next generation of services, networks, and handsets.
The good news is that you've come to the right place! OMDT's is about giving you the knowledge and the tools to master WAP, WAP Push, location-based services, MMS and whatever else the future brings.
The reason why we mentioned the future is simple: the technology landscape changes rapidly, and so what we tell you today won't last forever. New devices ship, new technologies are invented and new development tricks will be discovered. For this reason, OMDT will improve and grow with time to give you the latest tools and tricks of the trade.
XHTML and CSS
The first release of OMDT is focused on the most important of these technologies,
the mark-up that glues all of this together: XHTML-Mobile Profile (and its brother,
CSS). We are excited and pleased to provide you with an introduction to how
this technology is an integral part of the Openwave product family. In fact,
not only do we believe that we have created one of the best browsers on the
market, but our browsers are also among the most widely available around the
world. If you consider all of its incarnations, the Openwave browser software
has shipped in over 300 million handsets, the largest installed base in the
world.
Within the resources available in OMDT, we will tell you what XHTML-MP is about and show you sample applications you can refer to in order to get started with XHTML development in no time. You can deploy those applications today, because devices supporting XHTML are available now at your local mobile phone shop (e.g., Sharp GX10, LG LX5350, Siemens S55, just to name a few). You can think of XHTML-MP as HTML on a mobile phone. More information about how it is different from good old HTML can be found in the tutorial that accompanies the sample applications. The main point, though, is that you can now use the very same technologies that get the big Web going to build your wireless offering.
As far as tools go, Openwave gives you a world-class Client SDK that accurately emulates existing devices and lets you build those apps with confidence. You can find the latest version of the Openwave Client SDK within OMDT. Of course, because it's XHTML we are talking about, any web browser can automatically turn into a development tool for rapid prototyping of your wireless apps. This will greatly simplify your life when developing the server side of your applications.
Just the Beginning
Openwave Mobile Browser Version 6 was our first to support XHTML and CSS. You
will find it quite solid and powerful compared to other XHTML-capable browsers
on the market, yet this is just the beginning of a wave of new features we will
greatly enhance in the future. It won't take much before compelling graphical
applications like the ones below (figure 1) become commonplace. The key here
is Openwave Mobile Browser Version 7 and the
list of new features is pretty exciting: Powerful graphics, JavaScript (ECMAScript)
support, I-Mode support, superior XHTML/CSS support, MP3, just to name a few.
On the day Openwave Mobile Browser Version 7 ships, OMDT will be there to help you take full advantage of its power and be first in line in deploying the applications that define the future of mobile data services.
Fig 1: The wonderful world of V7
What about other technologies?
Of course, XHTML is just the starting point. Wireless is more than browsing.
It is also about delivering value, delivering fun and delivering emotions. Java
games, WAP push, MMS and location-based services are the enabling technologies.
Openwave is a leader behind all of these technologies and will give you the
knowledge and the tools you need to be successful in the wireless arena:
Mobile Connections Partners
There is more to OMDT than simply Openwave's tools and documentation. You also
have tools and resources from our partners. If you're wondering how this may
be relevant to you as a programmer, it's simple: Once you develop cool applications,
some of our key partners who aggregate applications and content may offer you
an opportunity to participate in their portfolio of products they offer to operators
and carriers. Be it technologies, APIs, or helping you find distribution channels
for your applications and content, OMDT contains a treasure of resources you'll
want to look at very closely.
Open Source
OMDT also contains relevant Open Source projects.
In addition to time-honored Open Source pillars such as Tomcat, you will find
two very interesting projects: OUI and WURFL.
OUI, The Open Usability Interface is about simplifying WML development for all of the legacy WAP 1.X devices out there. You can support Openwave, Nokia and other devices already in the market while ensuring good usability.
WURFL, the Wireless Universal Resource FiLe, is an IP-free XML-based repository of device capabilities (in addition to a wealth of software/utilities to deploy the WURFL in practice). While waiting for UAProf to become a viable tool for developers, we believe WURFL to be a good, low-cost, simple, fast and flexible alternative for the people in the trenches.
OMDT contains local copies of OUI and WURFL for off-line browsing.
We would appreciate your thoughts on how the Open Source community can be further tapped to improve wireless technology and tools.
Conclusion
Keeping up to speed with all the wireless technologies is a big challenge. OMDT
will make it fun. Enjoy.
Ciao,
Luca Passani
Senior Engineer, Developer Services
luca.passani@openwave.com