Developer Challenge was a series that we started earlier this year to highlight a wishlist of applications that we would love to see on S60 devices. It was also meant to help us answer a question that we get by some developers who contact us saying “what would you like us to develop for S60?” . Developer Challenge has started taking shape now, and we already have 8 articles in that category that you can browse here.
We were glad to see a lot of our readers chime in and tell us that they agree with us on each of these application’s ideas, but what we are really excited about is seeing our thoughts come into fruition. Now, let’s make it clear that we don’t pretend that our post generated the application, nor that we caused the developers to make it. What we like to think is that we created enough motivation for some developers to bring an idea that they already had into life. If that’s really our role, then we sure as hell are extremely proud about it. Here, we will present to you the Developer Challenge ideas that are already available, and those that we are promised to be in the making.
Comic Book Application for S60
This is the application that generated the whole Developer Challenge thought. I wanted a Comic Book reader application for my S60 devices. I was asking for an easy way to flip through strips, as well as a simple way to pick the comic where I left off when I close the app and re-open it.
I’m excited to say that this application is now available but only for S60 5th edition devices, which means that only Nokia 5800 and N97 users will be able to benefit from it. TouchComic, which is its name, is developed by Jamie Fuller, and has reached v1.4 now. It’s based on Python, so you will need to install Python 1.9.4 ’s runtime (or higher) and script shell before you install it. TouchComic suports .cbz (known compression format for comics) and .zip files with .jpg .gif and .png content. Comics should be placed inside a “Comics” folder on the memory card in order for the application to find them. As far as usability is concerned, TouchComic goes fullscreen with a double tap, rotates to landscape mode, and allows you to flip pages by simply dragging you finger across the screen. It also remembers the page where you left off when you close it, and intelligently opens it up when you return. You can read more about TouchComic and watch a video demo by Jamie here, you can also keep up with it on its Google Code page. Personally, I LOVE IT, it’s everything that I wanted, and I’ve been enjoying some Asterix & Obelix goodness all thanks to it.
Where is the S60 Facebook Application?
Asked by Ricky, several times, this question has finally met its answer. S60 5th Edition users are also in the luck for this one, as we can finally download the Facebook widget from the Ovi Store for free. It works well and allows you to interact with your friends in a very simple and beautifully designed way. Unfortunately, this widget is yet to be found for S60 3rd Edition handsets. MojosMobile, the guys behind Twittix, said a very long time ago that they are working on one. We hope to see this application in action, very soon.
Where is Shozu’s Competition?
My main issue with Shozu has been that I can’t really choose several different uploading destinations, from the client, depending on the picture that I took. I wanted uploading profiles mainly, and apparently the answer to my question has always been there. Pixelpipe is an awesome photo sharing service that takes pictures and videos from your computer, mobile or server, and uploads them to tons of destinations that you can choose: Facebook, Flickr, Share on Ovi, Picasa, YouTube, Blip.Tv, Vimeo, Twitter, Twitpic, Twitvid, Wordpress, Blogger… the options are endless.
After creating an account and setting your destinations or “pipes” in PixelPipe on the browser, you can head to pixelpipe.com/nokia on your phone or download their new widget from the Ovi Store, in order to get your configuration file. This file will allow you to import PixelPipe into Share Online on your device. What this means eventually is that you no longer need to install a 3rd party application in order to upload images to your favorite sites. What it also means is that now you can upload pictures straight from the Gallery, by clicking Options, Post to Web. PixelPipe has one big ACE up its sleeves, and it is the fact that it supports what I like to call uploading profiles. When setting up your pipes, on the browser, you can choose Routing Tags, which means that you can control where each picture gets sent to by simply putting a tag when you upload it. Each pipe can have several tags, and each tag can be shared by several pipes. This means that the possibilities are endless and you have full control over each picture you send. PRICELESS!
Ever since discovering PixelPipe, I have stopped using Shozu, and moved on completely. That counts into 3 months of a very happy user. PixelPipe does what I want it to do, gives me total freedom, and doesn’t bloat up my device with things I don’t need. BIG thumbs up.
Hand Drawn Symbian Foundation Theme
After going over the whole new Symbian Foundation look, Ricky asked for a theme that carries on this design language. We know that our new favorite theme maker, tehk7, is looking into this. We’re not sure how close the project is to fruition, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Google Reader Application
After having discovered the benefits of a full blown application compared to a mere web page, I asked for a Google Reader application that offers the same functions as the iPhone designed Google Reader mobile webpage, but also offers Search functions, as well as the ability to organize feeds in folders from the application itself. MojosMobile, true to their reputation of breathing new life into S60 applications, have announced that they are working on this. We can only hope that it will end up being as good as we imagine it will.
These are the 5 positive news concerning 8 of our already published Developer Challenges. We’re keeping our eyes open, looking for any sign of someone working on the other 3 (Google Docs, S60 menu Restore and Connection Master), but we haven’t found one yet. If you do find one yourself, please notify us. Also, if you have any Developer Challenges yourself, please contact us using the Contact page on top of the site, or by emailing me directly on dotsisx@symbian-guru.com . I still have tons of Developer Challenges thoughts, but I always have time to go over suggestions. After all, it’s not only our application wishlist, but it’s also yours.
