Introducing Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
Posted September 10, 2004
Chat Date: April 27, 2004
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Introduction
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Hi everyone, and welcome to our chat: Introducing Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition!
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Now, I'll have our host for the chat today introduce himself:
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Hello and welcome to today's chat
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
My name is James Pratt, I'm the product manager for the Windows Mobile developer experience
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
That's all the tools, SDKs, technical articles and beta programs that you use to deliver Windows Mobile applications
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I'll primarily take questions at the end. But depending on volume I may stop mid stream to answer some
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
To set expectations, I will not be announcing any hardware launch dates today
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
And I'm Andrew Brown, the MVP Lead for Mobile Devices, and the moderator for this chat.
Start of Chat
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
There is a PowerPoint presentation accompanying this chat - please download it here:
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
https://download.microsoft.com/download/5/a/2/5a26bc00-e0d9-444d-8a57-7efa43dd7494/msdn.second.edition.update.ppt
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Thanks Andrew
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You can follow along in the deck to make it obvious where I'm going to change slides
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I'll put Slide X. But I guess that was self explanatory
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Slide 2
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So today I'm going to give an Introduction to Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I'm primarily going to be focusing on developer features and developer information
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But I'll open with some end user stuff too
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Today's session is an introduction, we have more detailed sessions later in May on the specifics of supporting high resolution and orientation aware devices
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Slide 3
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Back in 2000 when we launched Pocket PC 2000 we supported one form factor The Pocket PC. We've constantly invested in our platform since then to add new form factors and to build out the development platform and that is a trend we intend to continue with
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Example form factors we've added include Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone in 2002
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Second Edition is our latest release which is about enabling further hardware innovation and implementing key customer scenarios
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
From a hardware innovation perspective you may have seen Bill Gates demonstrate the Motorola MPX at MDC, which is a device which opens in a standard phone clamshell form factor so is a great phone
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
But can also open on a different hinge to enable a great messaging experience with a full alphanumeric keyboard
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These are the types of innovative devices we expect Second Edition to enable
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Slide 4
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We're opening up some key end user scenarios
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For example we now have a built in Microsoft MMS client in Smartphone which can be replaced by an operator or ISV if they choose
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
internet explorer now has a one column view which enables an even better browsing experience on Pocket PC which we'll look at more later
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the user can now control the system wide font size on Pocket PC so they can make it bigger if they cannot read the screen easily or reduce it if they want to see more on the screen in built in apps, like pocket inbox
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
To make it easier to use the Pocket PC Phone Edition you can now navigate the home screen using the D pad as you already can with Smartphone
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Slide 5
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So here we see the Screen Control panel applet which allows you to adjust that font size. This will affect the today screen and many built in applications
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An application can query this font size using SHGetUIMetric. So it can also respond to this setting changing
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Slide 6
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Here we see an example before and after changing the font size
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The before has the middle setting on the selection bar which is the standard Pocket PC setting, the right is the smallest setting
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In an application like Pocket Inbox, you'd be able to see more emails in summary view, for example
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Slide 7
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I mentioned the Internet Explorer "One Column view" feature which is a new option on the View menu
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Essentially it completely eliminates horizontal scrolling making for a much better browsing experience
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Slide 8
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So here we see yesterdays BBC news page on the left and then what it looks like with one column
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Notice that the articles have become much more readable and that there is no sideways scroll bar. It's a great feature
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Slide 9
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One of the key areas of innovation is enabling new screen form factors
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Here we see the two new orientations aside the classic Portrait screen. You can see what the today page will look like in landscape (middle) and Square (right)
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We anticipate that square screen devices will have a hardware keyboard so although you lose some screen it's only what you'd lose to the SIP usually
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Slide 10
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Devices will be able to switch between Portrait and Landscape orientation but not from Portrait to Square or Landscape to Square
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The user has a number of options for changing the orientation
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They can use the Screen Control panel applet (shown) and they can change to a left handed or right handed mode
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Some devices may implement a hardware button so the orientation may change at any time
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The emulator App button 2 simulates this
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Slide 11
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From a screen resolution perspective
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We're enabling ALL these orientations
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In a VGA mode
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You can see here the pixel sizes that that implies
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Slide 12
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But there are a couple of things you should realize here
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We've increased the DPI (dots per inch) that is supported to 192 for Pocket PC and 131 for Smartphone
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But that devices cannot change resolution AT ALL, i.e. a VGA (640x480) Pocket PC will never operate in 320x240
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You may also see devices which have a high res screen and can switch from portrait to landscape
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Slide 13
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But why is High DPI important? Well there's a couple of reasons
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Although the logical DPI your application sees may be 192 the effective DPI will be higher.
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Meaning that graphics and text will render VERY crisply
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You need to see a device to appreciate the difference
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This means that technologies like clear type become really important which render text that is very easy to read and are improved on higher resolution screens
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Slide 14
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High resolution doesn't mean big physical screens
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On the left here you see the logical screen size that is reported to applications
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But on the right you see the physical screen size and the point is, that they're exactly the same physical screen size
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You will see small variations in physical screen diagonals as you do now but not of the order of 2x implied by the DPI change
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Slide 15
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So when you're thinking about a high resolution application you should be thinking in terms of increasing the detail in applications and not trying to cram more information on the screen
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if you do that your hit target for screen/stylus taps becomes VERY small which really affects the usability of your applications
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Slide 16
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I've talked about what Second Edition means to devices and end users
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Let's talk about developers
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Slide 17
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I'm going to focus in a few areas
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Application presentation layer, Win32 development and .NET Compact Framework development
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We aren’t going to get too detailed today because we don't have much time
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But an important thing here is that the core development platform shown by this slide remains unchanged
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Slide 18
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That's because all the APIs that you need to support Second Edition are already available in Win32 and in the .NET Compact Framework
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The Service Pack 2 release of the .NET Compact Framework is built into ROM on all Second Edition devices which includes performance enhancements around data sets and the XmlTextReader class
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But again, no new APIs
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You don't even need to download a new SDK for Second Edition. Your existing tools can target Second Edition
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
We have released some helper functions like SHGetUIMetric which help you access system metrics so you can, for example, draw borders of the right width etc
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And we have added some backward compatibility features to the platform
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So that many apps will be able to run without needing changes
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Slide 19
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But we wouldn't let an important release like this one go by without releasing some new content :)
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
So we have the Developer Resources for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition which contain those helper functions, new samples and white papers.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You should download and digest this package
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
There are new Emulator packages for Pocket PC and Smartphone which allow you to test your applications on the new form factors. There are 2 new Smartphone images and 12 new Pocket PC images (including phone/non phone, portrait/landscape/square and existing/high resolution)
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Additionally, if you're an eVC4 user. there's a new service pack, service pack 3, which improves support for second edition and has all previous service packs and any QFEs released since SP2
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Slide 20
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That covers the content
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
But what should a developer do to start supporting Second Edition, that's the second part of our chat
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I'm going to stop to take questions on what I've covered so far
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I'll leave specific development questions until after the second portion of the chat
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Does the presence of MMS client mean that the standard messaging plug-in knows how to display MMS message count?
A: I need to check on that and get back to you. I have someone looking into that
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Are there any changes to the connection manager in SE? Connection manager often makes connecting more complicated and confusing.
A: No, connection manager remains unchanged
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Hi. I'm trying to integrate windows media player into my pocket pc application. I read about cfcom's libraries but I'm looking for an alternative way of doing this due to costs. Is it possible to integrate video in ppc03 through flash? P/invoke?
A: There was an SDK for 2002 but it's not supported on 2003 or 2003 Second Edition
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: will the new SP edition stretch pixels for older apps or is there just one "mode" of operation
A: There's no logical pixel multiplier so no, you’ll see white space around most applications that aren’t resolution aware. GAPI games will get centered and have borders around them
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: XP Embedded used Device Update Agent to apply QFEs to the device after it is in production. Does the new platform provide the same functionality?
A: Pocket PC and Smartphone are based on Windows CE which does not currently support that functionality. This is something we're looking at for a future release.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Have any of the white papers been updated since the first drop
A: Not since release at MDC no
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Will an app compiled using the WM2003 SE headers and libs run on WM2003 First Edition?
A: That's our intention. There are very few new headers and libs, in fact I can only think of the SHGetUIMetric which will compile inline for 2002
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Is there an easy way to develop Smartphone homescreen plugins? I mean write in managed code, not in native c++ ?
A: Not specific to this chat but there is no managed interface for homescreen plugins
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: has anyone thought about the negative performance impact on gaming for high-DPI devices? Using GAPI to draw on a 640x480 display will hurt the framerate
A: Yes, we have thought about that
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: We've provided a way to access the frame buffer directly to help with performance
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Directly accessing the framebuffer will not help. What SE needs is access to hardware bitblt acceleration present in most new PPCs. Will this come to pass?
A: That's good feedback, we're looking at this with some hardware vendors at the moment. Our next release will have better support for hardware accelerators
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: SE has no GAPI support (!!!)
A: SE does have GAPI support contrary to some posts I've seen floating around the web. Essentially there is GXDMA emulation as there is on several devices today.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Macromedia Flash player will be released for Smartphone?
A: That's a question for Macromedia. I definitely have nothing to announce. Please also stick to the topic!
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
OK
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I hope other questions will be answered as we move through
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I'll take more Q&A at the end until we get kicked out of the chat room!
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Slide 21
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The first thing you need to do is install eVC4 SP3 if you're an eVC4 user. This will roll up SP1 and SP2 and contains some enhancements for Second Edition support
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You should then install the Developer Resources for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition package
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You should install the new emulator bins which will integrate directly with Visual Studio.NET 2003 and eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0
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If you use eVC4 I suggest you create new emulator targets to make it easier to switch between emulators
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Slide 22
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Let's look at how to do this
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Essentially, the aim is to make the emulator target appear in the drop down for emulator targets
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These steps walk you through this process
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I'm not going to walk you through one by one
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I suggest using names like Pocket PC 2003 SE Landscape, Pocket PC 2003 SE Square etc so you can identify easily in the target dropdown in eVC 4
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Visual Studio.NET 2003 already offers a great interface for selecting your emulator targets
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Slide 23
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So you have your tools set up. What should you do next?
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You should evaluate your application and see what, if anything, needs to be changed
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Slide 24
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To do this you can load up your existing project compile for your current platform, run in the and take screenshots
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These will enable you to compare your application running across different platforms and make your action plan
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This is especially important for High DPI devices where the variances might be subtle
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Slide 25
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So you've done this for high resolution and you might notice that it looks just fine
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That's because we have an emulation layer through which your code is running which makes the app think it's running on a 96 DPI device and essentially is pixel doubling your application
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Note : This is Pocket PC only. If you look at those screen segments you'll notice that on the right the text looks sharper with less jagged edges
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Slide 26
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So you might be thinking. OK. Nothing to do then
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Well, there's a choice for you to make
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Going through an emulation layer will affect your performance because code has to run to perform the emulation so if performance is important you may want to turn this emulation off
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
You can also use higher resolution images, as shown by the today screen on the right which will give you a more attractive application
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The white papers in the Developer Resources package talk about how to turn this emulation layer off
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Slide 27
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How about for landscape and square screen devices?
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First thing is that users get notified if they install a 2003 or earlier app on a 2003 Second Edition device
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The warning lets them know the app wasn't written for this platform so may not display as they expect
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
It's also important to realize that a user can always switch the device into Portrait mode so even if the app doesn't run in landscape, they can still switch into portrait and use it
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Dialog based applications will get scroll bars if there are controls that would be offscreen which means a user can continue to use that application. So in the general case, users can continue to use applications without changes but for an optimal experience you may want to update your application to make it take advantage of new screen resolutions/orientations
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
There are a number of ways you can do this, let's look at those
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Slide 28
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Fit Content To Window
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Here's an example of Month View in Calendar
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notice that in both portrait and landscape the number of days displayed i.e. the content remains the same, we've just expanded the grid a little
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if you can do this, it provides the most familiar user experience
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Slide 29
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Change The Content
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Here's the year view in calendar
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Here, if we tried to display all twelve months in Landscape it would look very cramped, almost unreadable, so we decided to Change The Content
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by presenting 8 months rather than 12 we've preserved a good user experience
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but the grid concept remains the same
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Slide 30
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in some cases, like for example media player, you have a fixed size element that you don't want to change
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here we wanted to have the display window the same size but the various player controls needed to move so we changed the layout. this is more confusing to the user so use with care
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Slide 31
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Another alternative, is to design with square screen in mind
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in this case you design your application to work in the 240x240 or 480x480 portion of the screen that is available in both landscape and portrait, then it doesn't matter which orientation you are in, your app just works
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This works well for options dialogs and you can see we have used this technique a lot, the example here being the calendar options
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Slide 32
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So at a high level, there's dealing with Second Edition but in an hour web chat, there's not enough time to go into technical detail
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so what next?
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Slide 33
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First, go get that Developer Resources for Second Edition. There's a slide earlier in the deck with the URL
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It's also posted on www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/developer
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There's lots of guidance in there including code samples and instructions on handling orientation changes
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
There's some more detail on the backward compatibility features too
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Also, we have some more web casts coming up in May based on content that was delivered at MDC. You can find them on the msdn chats site.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Also, on the Windows Mobile blog https://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile we will post tips and tricks so check back there. you can also use that to give us feedback
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Slide 34
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In general terms, the Windows Mobile developer portal is where you'll see content of this type surface publicly first
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If you join the Windows Mobile Solutions Partner Program you'll get early access to the next generation of Windows Mobile
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And finally, Mobile2Market is the program that can help expose your applications to operator and distribution partners.
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There's also a great Mobile2Market contest running right now.
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So check that out on www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/mobile2market
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
So that concludes the presentation
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I see lots of questions. I'm going to work through them top to bottom but feel free to post more
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: On an SE dialog with vertical scroll bar and controls offscreen, is it true that WM_PAINT and WM_ERASEBKGND msgs are sent before contained child windows are auto-repositioned, thus corrupting background painting? If so, any dialog that draws directly on its background (as opposed to using only child controls) will be drawn incorrectly when the dialog is scrolled.
A: This is the nature of the dialog manager, because the app's drawing code was not written to take the scroll position into account.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Where can I get a SE beta images for iPAQ 4150 or 2210? I know that these were distributed on the MDC in SF.
A: That was an offer extended to MDC attendees by our OEM partners. You need to contact HP about the possibility of a beta image
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: when changing aspect views does the application get notified about this?
A: Good question. The white papers deal with this but it's very simple
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: A native full screen window will get the WM_SIZE message. You should layout your application in your handler for that
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A: A non full screen window will get the WM_SETTINGCHANGE message with SETTINGCHANGE_RESET
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A: non full screen windows are unusual
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A: Managed applications need to handle Form.Resize
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Does eVC4 SP3 include an improved ARM compiler? The current one is quite bad
A: There have been some improvements in the compiler but I'd be interested in feedback from you on what was specifically bad. Post to the blog entry for this chat and I'll forward to the compiler team
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Is there any way to get into the notification system (that is, the notifications added to the top taskbar) so we can determine if there are any pending notifications from other applications?
A: Not in Second Edition but something we may introduce in the Future Windows Mobile platform
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Can eVB apps be used in Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition using the current 2003 eVB runtimes?
A: Yes, although we are phasing out support for eVB in response to demand for VB .NET. You should think about porting your application. There's a good whitepaper in MSDN
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Are there any online emulators available without downloading the Developer Pack?
A: No. Our emulators only ship with the tools
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: As for GAPI. There is some discussion in some forums coming from the Pocket TV developers claiming that GAPI support in SE is broken and that all hardware vendors should implement the driver escape code GETRAWFRAMEBUFFER
A: I'm very aware of Tristan's concern and we are working closely with him. In general full screen GAPI applications will be just fine as the device is rotated into Portrait when GAPI is started up
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: Hence existing games generally work just fine.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: As Tristan points out, we've also asked OEMs to implement a new ExtEscape, GETRAWFRAMEBUFFER which will provide direct access to the screen buffer
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: That means as a GAPI dev you have a choice : direct screen access or GAPI thru emulation
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A: His concern is that OEMs do not know about this ExtEscape
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A: Before devices go to market they go through a certification process, one of the tests in there is for the ExtEscape
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A: I hope that answers the question, but I'd like to thank Tristan for helping us work through these issues
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Is it there fullmode without the bars and controls where controls can be overlaid when touching the screen? (I don't own ppc yet)
A: I'm not sure exactly what the question is but essentially yes, there is a full screen mode. For Windows apps you use SHFullScreen (I believe)
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: will windows mobile 2003 second edition be released as an upgrade on many existing phones (e200 etc) or will it be only available on new Smartphone?
A: That's the choice of the operator and/or OEM. We will release the bits to them so they can supply an upgrade if the choose. There are Pocket PC and Smartphone versions of the platform
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Why are only residents of the USA, Canada and UK able to enter Mobile2Market competition?
A: I believe for legal reasons.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: Although we'd love to be able to receive submissions globally
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Why are there no XDA IIs in USA?
A: No operator has picked up that platform in the US yet although if you're desperate for one I believe www.expansys.com sell them
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Does WM2003 SE support utilizing Bluetooth capabilities via Compact Framework
A: Not just now although you may be able to use those APIs through p/Invoke. I don't remember an instance of them being used but it doesn't mean it isn't possible. Apparently www.opennetcf.org has a library
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: will Bluetooth play a big part in the next version of windows mobile, will simple things like support for sending files, contact info, playing games be made available?
A: Playing games is available already, you just need to open a socket over Bluetooth.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: What are the legal reasons only residents of the USA, Canada & UK are able to enter Mobile2Market competition ?
A: Unfortunately I wasn't involved in that discussion. You can post that feedback on the blog entry for this chat and I'll try to get an answer. (https://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile)
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: The full screen mode q was about possibility to use overlay controls to control a video playback in fullscreen mode. But I don't see why that's not possible.
A: The answer here is that in order to implement good video playback you need direct framebuffer access which you get through GAPI and the GETRAWFRAMEBUFFER ExtEscape
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: However, once you go into full screen mode with these technologies, you are entirely responsible for drawing the screen.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: So if you wanted to overlay controls, you'd need to do that drawing yourself and handle the mouse clicks
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: will camera playback be improved with the new OS. it seems really buggy and pretty slow, then again, this may not be due to the OS
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: The Future Windows Mobile platform i.e. beyond 2003 Second Edition will have improved developer support for cameras. We will get performance improvements from moving to the new CE core OS
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
A: but a big portion of performance is to do with the drivers which we don't write
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
OK. I think that's all the questions
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
I'm going to stay around a few more minutes
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
if anyone asked a question that I missed please ask it now
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Ok, the million dollar question...when is SE coming out to the general public as an upgrade?
A: I'd point you to one of my initial lines : I'm not making any announcements regarding availability of devices today
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Why MS doesn't want .NET CF to be ported to Palm OS and other mobile platforms?
A: The .NET Compact Framework is architected so it can be platform independent however it requires a platform specific execution engine which we do not have at the moment for other platforms
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: I'm not aware of the performance of the current PPC technology compared to say Pentium, can you give any hint what kind of performance it is, 400 MHz Celeron? Or is this totally stupid/impossible question.
A: It's a difficult question to answer. Most Smartphones will run Doom. Most Pocket PCs will do that comfortably. I'd suggest you check out some of the apps available to get a feel for performance
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
Q: Will Microsoft ever come out with a scale down version of DirectX for the PPC? like maybe code taken from DirectX 6.0?
A: Future Windows Mobile based around Windows CE 5.0 will support Direct 3D and Direct Draw
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
This concludes our Windows Mobile chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
And you can post any follow ups to our blog!
Moderator: Andrew (Microsoft)
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Mobile Devices or other Windows topics.
Host: James_Pratt (Microsoft)
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