Cross-device compatibility

[Flemming Richter Mikkelsen]

On 2/10/07, Ulrik Rasmusen <openmoko at hwiz.dk> wrote:
> Hey,
>
> I was wondering how much thought there's been put into making applications
> for
> OpenMoko compatible across different devices. Imagine in a couple of years,
> when OpenMoko has been put on 10+ different types of phones, all with
> different features. For instance, some will have GPS (like the NEO), some
> will have a big screen, while others will have small screens. Some will have
> touch-screens, while some will have a lot of buttons instead.
>
> Since we will be using GTK+, I can imagine that the composition of the
> interface will be totally up to the developer. What will then happen when we
> move these applications from a 480x640 screen to a much smaller one? On
> devices that use J2ME, the rendering of the different controls and menus are
> decided by the host device, which makes it possible for the developer to
> target a big range of devices with different display capabilities without
> putting much thought into the UI. Would it be possible to do the same on the
> OpenMoko platform?


I agree. But can't this be worked on later after we get a working device?

> Also, since the applications for the Neo will use the touch-screen, there
> should be some usability guidelines, so developers makes their applications
> usable by keyboard-based phones too.

I tried Trolltech's Greenphone (running Qtopia 4). The entry box
recognizes hand writing and keyboard input so the programmer does not
have to worry about that. (Also, you just need to make
a button, and it will automatically work with touch screen. Makes
porting between devices with and without touchscreen painless)