Articles by Tim

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Some pretty exciting developments are taking place in mobile device input methods.  Game developers get to take advantage of devices with a  traditional keypad, touch screens, multi touch screens and motion sensors.

It’s early days yet but the potential in these devices is starting to be realized with games such as TapTap Revolution for the iPhone using multi touch and demos such as this moving ball demo that use Flash Lite and accelerometers.

It wont be too long before some brilliant mind makes a leap in mobile device interaction akin to Johnny Lee’s amazing Wii Remote hacks. These hacks transform the $40 game piece into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.

Gamasutra posted an article discussing the role Flash Lite has played in empowering Tokyo based content provider Pikkle to create a casual gaming site attracting 40% of all male teenagers in Japan. According to Pikkle’s president David Collier, Flash Lite has been key in building the community because of its lower barriers to development and the ease of game downloads when compared to Java games.

Obviously the rest of the world has some ways to go to catch up to the penetration rates of Flash Lite enabled handsets but the number of handsets is steadily increasing.

Adobe has announced the alignment of the company’s operations for personal computers (PCs), mobile handsets and consumer devices. In support of this strategy, the Mobile and Devices Business Unit (MDBU) is joining Adobe’s Experience and Technology group. This can only be a good thing for Flash Lite.

Meanwhile, in the continuing story of iPhone Flash (non)support the WSJ has reported on a conference call between investors and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen in which Narayen said his company is finally working on a media player for Apple’s iPhone. Adobe has been working on Apple’s software developer tools since they were released last month. The tools will let Adobe build a Flash player for the iPhone, then distribute it through Apple’s iTunes online store.

Is Microsoft Paint about to displace Adobe Photoshop as the minimalist designer’s tool of choice?

Take a look at the cool work done in an advertisement for KuneriLite where they hand draw a Nokia N95 using just Microsoft Paint and one very talented hand, the result is pretty neat.

>> KuneriLite extends Flash Lite and allows developers to access S60 features (i.e Bluetooth, GPS, Camera, and more) and create great looking S60 applications.

Santoki’s game Sketch Mini has featured in Forbes list of Ten Cool Games for Mobile Phones.

“U.K.-based Web site Playyoo.com is a social network where user-generated content demonstrates the beauty of simplicity. Developers and gamers alike can upload and download games from anywhere in the world for free. Players control a stick figure in “Sketch Mini” as he tests his courage and dodges wrecking balls. The game runs on devices supporting Flash Lite, notably including recent Nokia and SonyEricsson phones, plus some LG, Samsung and Motorola handsets.”