Nokia pushes Creative Class Community and Flash Lite

Not sure if this is old blog-news, but Nokia have been pushing out some email marketing over the past couple of days and making mention of their "Creative Class" for Flash Lite developers working on the Nokia platforms.

Highlights a pretty decent resource for Flash Lite informaiton on the Forum Nokia site anyway.

Beta testers needed for Moket Chumby games

If you are a Chumby owner and would like to help out Moket by testing the games that we are porting from mobile to Chumby, then please email me (dale AT moket DOT com) with your Chumby account name so I can make you a Moket "Chum" and send you the games through to your channel. The games will be set as Private widgets until we launch.

Unpacking the new Chumby

Today was Chumby Day in the Moket office. As you can see from my previous posts (also my first attempts at posting pics from my N95 via Shozu) we've had a bit of fun with the new toy, and even have been busy porting our game catalogue for release as Chumby widgets (see below). Scott has also been having some fun with his new Chumby and has posted a fairly comprehensive list of features and info about now being able to get in line to buy the Chumby online through their website!

Unpacking the Chumby was a great experience so I thought I'd share with you the process and the cool packaging these guys have used.


1. Inside the FedEx delivery carton was the entire package encased in bubble-wrap and a thin foam bag, secured with a Chumby sticker.


2. We found inside the foam wrapping a cool fabric draw-string bag (looks like hemp, but I doubt they could be sending that stuff through customs in some countries?), complete with a sewn Chumby label and swing tag showing what colour device lay inside (it was Classic Black for me).



3. Inside the cloth bag was all the goodies. The power source was inside a separate sewn bag. There was a blue fabric bag the held the Chumby Charms (you get a free Set One when you buyt the Chumby, then you can buy the other 4 sets separately). The charms are cool rubber characters from the Chumbosphere and also seen in the tutorial movie when you start the device. There's a nice manual printed on recycled paper and held in a frosted plastic sleeve. And of course ... ta da ... the Chumby device itself.



4. Not the best photo, but you can see there's a screen protector on the touchscreen, just as you get with a new mobile. It's also protecting the bevel around the screen, and when you peel that away there's a secondary protective film covering the screen.



5. This is my new Chumby (left) and the prototype device we have had for a while (right). You can see that the devices have become more tight and compact. They aren't as prone to squashing out of shape as the prototype. The old bend sensor has been replaced with a click switch which is far more responsive and definite in action. The speakers are around the back with the on/off, USB ports and power plug. The skin is leather with embossed Chumby logos (nice touch) and overall just feels more solid.

The guys have done a great job with this, and apart from a great gadget it's also the first commercial device shipping with Flash Lite 3! Scott will be presenting some aspects of the Chumby and FL3 at his upcoming Boston Flash Platform UG meeting.

So there you have it. We are now officially Chumbified :)

Chumby charms

What better way to dress up your Chumby than with some Chumby charms!

My new Chumby has arrived!

More to come on my new toy once I finish playing :) (not sure why my pic is upside down either, just in case you're about to email me!)

Casual games help reduce stress

Maybe for the players - certainly not for developers :) PopCap have done a stress test study to measure the effects of casual gaming on stress levels.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/63117,casual-games-help-reduce-stress.aspx

Developing Adobe Flash Lite 3 Applications for Nokia Devices

Bill Perry is delivery an upcoming webinar for Flash Lite 3 application development. Here are the details:

Wednesday, October 24, 20079:00 A.M. PDT

With more than 62 different Nokia models worldwide with Flash Lite pre-installed, the market opportunity for developing mobile Flash content is expanding, and you can be a part of it. The newest version of Flash Lite supports ActionScript 2.0 and introduces support for Flash Video (found on sites like YouTube) based on Flash Player 8. See Flash Lite 3 examples on the latest and greatest Nokia devices and learn how you can get started with Flash Lite development. This eSeminar will introduce you to the entire workflow for Flash Lite 3 development, from concept, to design, to determining addressable devices, to selling your content and getting paid. Learn how to create compelling content for multiple devices by using the integrated development environment of Adobe Creative Suite® 3 tools, including Flash, Device Central, Photoshop®, Premiere Pro®, and After Effects®.

By attending this session you will learn:

• The difference between Flash Lite 2.x and 3
• How to embed an FLV into your Flash Lite 3 application
• New security settings that you need to be aware of

Attend an eSeminar and you'll be entered to win a copy of Adobe Flash Professional CS3 or an iriver Clix.

Register here. Questions? Please send us an e-mail.

MAX Barcelona 2007 Flash Lite Mobile Guide

Paul Lamonby has made this new MAX Barcelona 2007 Flash Lite guide available for a free download - great work Paul.

Developed in Flash Lite 1.1 to work on all available handsets, the guide has quick and easy access to all sessions over the 4 days, with links to a conference center map and further details about each session. Dont worry if your phone clock is not set to Barcelona time, the guide will adjust to the local time to show you exactly what sessions are on whenever you need to know.

Photos from recent US trip

I've added some pics from my recent trip to the US for MAX on my Facebook site.

This is the first time I really have used Facebook for anything, and I must say that the photo upload and photo album management workflow was pretty cool and very quick. I am doing my best to avoid being sucked into another social networking black hole, but this at least has given me something useful.

Back in BrisVegas - thank you Chicago

A lot of my colleagues have already blogged their post-MAX conference posts, but mine is a little late. Mainly because after travelling for 20 hours to get home from Chicago, we arrived to find that 2 of our 3 daughters had chicken pox, and so the jet-lag recovery has not happened just yet! I'm feeling a bit better today though I must admit, but I think it's more the caffeine than anything else.

Well what can I say, MAX 2007 was fantastic for so many reasons, but mostly for the times spent just hanging out with other members of the Flash Lite community. The sessions were great, don't get me wrong, but these types of events tend to hinge on the social aspect of colleagues from around the world getting time to meet and find out more about each other. So, to Darren, Evan, Matt P, Alessandro, SJ, Mariam, Bill, Adam, Evan C, Keldon, PG Lover, "Sally" (see video for some explaination), Duane, Leo, Matt B, Greg, and the many, many others who made MAX a special event - thank you.

I must tell you though that the trip ended on a high - I visited a Star Wars exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Full of original movie props, models and costumes, I got see a whole stack of really cool Star Wars nerd stuff ... and ... got to meet Anthony Daniels in person (C-3PO) ... what a way to finish off a full-on 11 days in the US!