P990, M600 and W950: UIQ 3 compatibility and Symbian Signing special offer

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May 19, 2006 P990, M600 and W950: UIQ 3 compatibility and Symbian Signing special offer	[Back]

Updated July 21, 2006: Special offer extended until September 30, 2006

The Sony Ericsson P990, M600 and W950 are all UIQ 3-based phones using Symbian OS v9.1 and although they look different from each other, they share the same family DNA.

Using the UIQ 3 platform means that an application written for one phone, for example the M600, will in most cases run on the other two UIQ 3-based phones.

This compatibility also holds true for Symbian Signing. Signing a UIQ 3 application for either the M600, P990 or W950 means that the application is Signed for the other two phones. Although Symbian Signing is not a technical requirement of UIQ 3, it is in practice a business requirement for many on-line sales channels, including the Motricity powered Sony Ericsson Application Shop. Motricity is supporting developers by offering a discounted price for signing UIQ 3 applications through the software testing house MphasiS until July 31, 2006 which is now extended until September 30, 2006.

P990, M600 and W950: common features

As the P990, M600 and W950 are all UIQ 3-based phones with touchscreen UIs, most UIQ 3 applications written for one phone will run on the other two.

The UIQ 3 platform is an open software platform, based on Symbian OS v9.1, allowing developers to potentially target all UIQ 3-based phones using one single codeline. Applications will automatically receive the look and feel of the device they run on without the need to write extra code. Updates and bug fixes are identical for all target platforms, and only one code update is needed to propagate it to all UIQ 3-based phones. Developers benefit from a shorter time-to-market since code written for UIQ 3 will be identical through all handsets, unless device specific features have been used.

The P990 follows the same legacy form factor as the P800, P900 and P910 smartphones but differs by using Symbian OS v9.1 and UIQ 3. This means that P990 applications are compatible with the M600 messaging device and the W950 Walkman phone, and vice versa.

UI features:

Command framework
UIQ 3 uses a command framework of generic commands rather than hardcoding, which enables the applications UI to adapt to each phone. UI modes can be checked by running the application through the emulator in the UIQ 3 SDK. The M600 and W950 use SKT (Softkey Style Touch) mode, however the P990 differs due to having flip-open and flip-closed keypad modes. More information about UI compatibility can be found here>>
Controls and menu choices
UIQ 3 manages the layout of controls in a new way. Menu choices are now handled dynamically and the UIQ 3 platform decides how to present menu choices (in UIQ 2.1 all applications had to handle this without extensive support from the platform). Various UIQ 3 Tips, Tricks & Code articles cover these issues>>

Although UIQ 3 is consistent across all three phones, phone-specific features vary. The P990 includes a 2 Megapixel camera, video telephony and WiFi which are not included in the M600 and W950, so any P990 application using these features will not port directly to the other two UIQ 3-based phones.

Symbian Signing special offer

All applications sold through the Motricity powered Sony Ericsson Application Shop must be Symbian Signed. The UIQ 3 platform makes this easier as Signing one application for one UIQ 3-based phone means that this application is Signed for the other two phones, reducing development costs and time to market.

Cutting costs further and supporting developers to port existing applications to UIQ 3 or create new UIQ 3 titles, Motricity is offering all Sony Ericsson Application Shop/Motricity Content partners a reduced Symbian Signing price until September 30, 2006. Motricity has teamed-up with the software testing house MphasiS to offer:

New Symbian Signing price of 130 Euro per testing, compared to 185 Euro for the first testing (+20 Euro if application needs network connection) and 165 Euro if a second testing is required (+20 Euro if application needs network connection).

A saving of up to 130 Euro for one UIQ 3 application to be tested twice.

Offer available until September 30, 2006.

MphasiS delivers the Symbian Signing process in 1-2 weeks (dependent on any issues with the application)

To get this special offer, firstly you need to be a registered Sony Ericsson Application Shop/Motricity Content partner and then send an e-mail to Mphasis on jay.hanmantgad@mphasis.com identifying yourself as a Sony Ericsson Application Shop/Motricity Content partner.

To help you with the Symbian Signing process, here are five tips to try before you send your UIQ 3 application to MphasiS>>

More information:

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