Hodentek Mobile

2014 was a mixed year. I lost my brother Dr. Vijaya Raghavan Krishnaswamy, a neuro-surgeon by profession. He left a void that cannot be filled. I did not complete the book I was writing. Regarding the blogs I did quite well with a record number of posts.                                                  Year   Posts Hodentek.blogspot.com           2013   94                                                  2014   246 Hodente...

Costs Rs.9199.00 and Microsoft will be looking forward to a 'Money Rain' as the phone is quite affordable and best off breed. You can buy in store or online starting Nov 28,2014. This is the first time Microsoft has its own brand instead of tagged on to Nokia. Microsoft's best of the productive products Office, Skype, OneNote, OneDrive and Bing are all free for the life of the phone. For previous posts on this blog read here to see the specifications: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/11/all-5s-for-microsoft-lumia-535.html Read the full story here: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/first-microsoft-lumia-launched-in-india-for-rs-9199/1/403818.html

HTML5 is just one of the essential features for HTML based phone apps that provide the scaffolding. You will also need CSS3 to dress it up in more delightful ways and of course JavaScript to power the interactivity of the app without which it is dead in the water. While you could use DOM and vanilla JavaScript, it is lot more easier to use a framework (there is a learning curve), a User Interface Framework which combines JavaScript with CSS to provide a set of programming tools to deliver rich mobile applications. Quite a lot of them use jQuery in one form or another. The frameworks save a lot of development time and effort. There are different kind of devices (iPhones, Androids and Windows Phones) but also different operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, etc) and it will be desirable if one could use one tool to cover all these variations. This area has developed to the extent that you can develop cross-platform, cross-device (response design!) apps but still there iss...

IoT has to be 'Universal'. Therefore, it has to be multi-platform, multi-device, device-size agnostic and more. This is why you hear more and more 'cross-platform' development. This app works on iPhone but not on Android etc. will not do. AppMethod is one such program from the veteran, Embarcadero. Sign up here to get software that you can use to build apps in record short time. http://www.appmethod.com/sign-up?cid=701G0000000vHaD   Registration is needed, but easy with few elements. Note that the downlaoded program (file size: 3GB) is free for only one year. Read the information on the download page above. See overview here taken from a video on the site Features overview One-stop mulitdevice app development platform Supports Internet of Things FireUI Multi-device designer Enterprisemobility Devices with FireDAC support

These are Windows Phone 8.1 updates. Lumia Cyan Update features: Personal Start Screen Action Center Word Flow Keyboard Improved and updated imaging Apps Nokia Camera Nokia Storyteller Creative Studio More details here: http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2014/07/15/lumia-cyan-update/ Here is a Lumia Cyan Update Video Denim Update aka Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2014/09/04/lumia-denim-update/ Supported features/enhancements: Cortana  UK and China as Beta India, Australia and Canada Public alpha US-Natural language, Car kit integration via Bluetooth; snooze reminders and better calendar Live folders Organize Folders, apps Apps Corner-Customized Start Screen suitable for employees SMS Merge and Forwarding Snooze Time for Alarm App Consumer VPN-Security feature while using public Wi-Fi Mobile Web Site improvements Store Live Tile List of Nokia Phones that leverage Denim update features such as...

It looks like Verizon is not going to roll out Cyan Update in the near future as they are " taking quality issues very seriously ". It is being rolled out to so many others and they even have a schedule. Thankfully I have no fixed contract for my Nokia Icon and I am seriously considering returning it.

Microsoft launched a low priced smart phone (Lumia 525)  today with some very desirable features. Probably I will ditch my Nokia Icon 929 and get this one as Verizon is most likely not going to roll out Windows 8.1 for this Nokia Icon. It has, 5" screen 5 Megapixel front-facing camera 5 Megapixel rear-facing camera Skype & OneNote Reasonable battery capacity 1905 mAh Single SIM or Smart Dual SIM(both 3G) Personal experience with Action Center, Word Flow, Live Folders, Cortana 1.2 GHZ quar-core processor and 1 GB RAM 8GB Internal memory Plus microSD card slot (up to 128 GB) for external memory Plus 15GB Free OneDrive Available colors: Cyan, bright Orange, bright Green, white, dark Grey and Blackat a very affordable price, about 110 euros (8000 Indian Rupees in India). When can you buy? Soon, during this month More details here http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2014/11/11/lumia-535/ Watch this promo video here:

I have been looking at sensors as related to Health and Fitness apps and I came across a problem which prompted me to look at all Nokia phones to see the sensors available on the phones and the carriers who offer the phones. Well, Verizon sold me a phone which is really a Nokia 929 as a Nokia Icon Black. I am not if it is the same as Nokia Icon. Here is a listing: Verizon Phones Lumia 822 Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Magnetometer. Lumia 928 Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Magnetometer . Lumia Icon Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, SensorCore. Reference: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mobile/phone/lumia-icon/specifications/ AT&T Phones Lumia 830 Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, SensorCore. Lumia 635 Accelerometer, SensorCore. Lumia 1520 Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope...

If you have not reviewed my previous posts please do so now. Cross-Platform Project apps that you can choose for designing apps here: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/08/creating-projects-with-intel-xdk-part-2.html Step-by-step procedure to create a ListView app here: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/09/creating-projects-with-intel-xdk.html There are some slight changes in this version and I recommend you download the latest. Here in Part 1, I will cover using the tab view template in Intel XDK for cross-platform and in Part 2, I will cover modifying the template and deploying it to your device. If you do not have the latest Intel XDK you can get it from here: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/11/get-latest-intel-xdk-and-jump-start-app.html Download the above and double click to install. Launch the Intel XDK application from its shortcut. You may get a warning as shown. Click Yes - Safe Restart This happens if you did not exit the applicat...

Microsoft Lumia smartphone will be released on coming Tuesday. The promotional image is not breathtaking. I am not sure what kind of designers they have in Redmond. They should send them out to Cupertino. This picture is from the below link   This is the beginning of change over of names from Nokia to Microsoft. I do sincerely hope that Microsoft does not fire its staff responsible for Camera as I believe the Nokia branded cameras (I have an Icon) are perhaps the best of the cameras. Add your comments here: http://conversations.nokia.com/blog/2014/11/07/want-to-see-morelumia/ Another change I would personally like to happen is that Microsoft provide the upgraded OS (Windows Phone  8.1) to all phone owners irrespective of the carrier. This is a must, I would not take no for an answer. I have been ranting about it for a considerable time.   http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/09/bad-news-if-you-have-nokia-icon-from.html

Intel XDK is continuously evolving. The version number now is (November 4) v1536 and you can download from here for the major mobile platforms: https://software.intel.com/en-us/html5/tools Also download product briefing here: https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/Intel_XDK_ProductBrief_9_14.pdf The key benefits from the pdf are listed here: Easy-to-use streamlined intuitive workflow from idea, design, debug, build and deploy Develop efficiently: Integrated design, test, and build tools for many devices Deploy simply: Across more app stores, and form factor devices The new features in this release: Apache Cordova CLI and Plugin version is updated to 3.5 Intel App Preview Updates App Designer Updates- App Starter deprecated Code editor and Web Services updated Google Play games services add to featured Cardova plugins list Build system has been updated Also serveral issues in the previous version have been addressed   Read more here: https://...

In order to serve the growing number of Indian users of Xiaomi, a new dedicated data center is planned to be opened in India in 2015. Xiaomi was storing Indian users' data on Servers in China but after receiving warning from Indian Air force they have decided to move out from servers in China. Presently they will be moved to servers in Singapore and later to Indian datacenter when it gets ready. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-27/xiaomi-moving-indian-user-data-to-servers-outside-china Read my previous post oon Xiaomi here: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/08/xiaomi-from-china-challenges-apple-and.html http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/08/xiaomi-smart-phones-are-sell-off-in.html Are they more popular than iPhones? I bet they are. Here is a piece of text quoted here from the previous link: " And you thought iPhones were popular. At 2 p.m. on Oct. 14, Xiaomi put 100,000 of its Redmi 1S smartphones up for sale in India, using local e-commerce site Flipka...

You may find this helpful if you are developing an application for Windows Phone. You are a Windows Phone 8.1 Preview developer and you have created a nice app that you want to test on a phone you own. How do  you test it? While developing the application using Visual Studio 2013 Express for Windows Update 3 (this is a free developer resource, read more here ) you will see it on a emulator, the phone image that emulates your actual phone  that comes on your PC/Laptop when you run the app. After running the app on your laptop you should deploy it to your phone. The phone you buy is by default locked and you need to unlock it. Details of unlocking the phone are here: Go to this link: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkID=317976 This is how I was able to do. I connected my phone (Nokia Icon) to the laptop. On my Windows 8.1 Professional (x64 bit) laptop I searched for Windows Phone and got these results(few shown) I clicked on the Windows Phone Devel...

First of all it does not run on all Windows Phones (hereafter they are called Microsoft Lumias). Only the following Lumia phones have the support of Lumia SensorCore which is needed for this feature: Lumia 630 Lumia 635 Lumia 730 Lumia 735 Lumia 830 Lumia 930 Lumia 1520 Lumia Icon running on Windows 8.1 according to http://web.developer.nokia.com/blogs/news/lumia-sensorcore-sdk-1.0-has-graduated-from-beta   However I was able to install it on Lumia Icon running 8.0 as well. You can get it from the Windows Store. Just search for Health and Fitness; download and enjoy. You should see a screen like this when you activate the app. This one is on my Nokia Icon running Windows Phone 8.1 Preview.  

This is possible if you use the LumiaSensorCore SDK.  What is LumiaSensorCore SDK? Read here: http://hodentekhelp.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-lumiasensorcore.html How do start using the SDK? Well you need to bring it to your application. It is not like downloading it as an executable but it is a Visual Studio Extension that you should install. If you have Visual Studio 2013 Express Update 3 http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/news/2014-aug-4-vs.aspx You should launch VS2013 and from its Tool menu you should access Manager NuGet Packages and download the SDK as shown. You should have NuGet Package manager. If you do not have go here and install it. How? Go here to this link: http://hodentekhelp.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-do-you-install-nuget-package-manager.html   Once you do this you should be able to start working with this.      

Yes. You are stuck with it as Verizon does not tell (or it does not know) when it can push the Windows Phone 8.1 to your Icon. It was rumored that the 'push' is going to happen at the end of August. Come on, today is September 19. May be you should trade it at a AT&T stall. http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/07/windows-phone-81.html Actually, I admit I had a rough conversation going with a Verizon assitant at one of the local stores here. They have one answer, "I don't know when". They were nice and better at anger management. Verizon sells a phone and does not tell when it is going to push the new OS. Nokia and Microsoft seems to have no bearing on this 'push'. Nobody takes the responsibility! Practically you are stranded!

The CodeShow() on CodePlex is one source which may help you a great deal in programming for the Windows 8 Platform. You may get a comprehensive picture of an end-to-end app but more importantly CodeShow() gives you an opportunity to learn all the bits and pieces of accessing devices like camera, error handling with grace etc. In order to install CodeShow() there are some options. You can install from Windows Store from here: http://aka.ms/codeshowapp This not some kind of an executable but bundled source code. Another option is to get the source code from here http://codeshow.codeplex.com/ . Once here, you can download a zip file by hitting the marked tab (Download). This will give you a snapshot of the source code as it exists at the time you downloaded. Mark you,  it gets continuously updated and if you are not vigilant you may miss out. This is a zip file and extract everything to your favorite folder. There is yet another option Clone it or Fork it. ...

After the July 2014 release, the September 2014 SDK was released (Intel XDK - Release - 2014 September 08 v1332) recently. Plugins and Services integration especially for games development with HTML5 was the high point of the July release. Read previous posts if you have missed: Details of July release here: http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/08/jump-start-your-cross-platform-app.html Types of project you can create with Intel XDK here: http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/08/project-options-for-cross-platform-apps.html Creating a ListView type of cross-platform app with Intel XDK here: http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/09/creating-listview-type-of-cross.html Step-by-step procedure to create a ListView cross-platform app with a template here: http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/09/creating-projects-with-intel-xdk.html New features in the September release are: Improvements to Live Development    Live Development in Develop tab has been changed...

The jump was partly from RackSpace to Azure Cloud. In the process the entire on-premise infrastructure has also been moved to Azure according to http://blogs.msdn.com/b/stevengu/archive/2014/09/03/partner-profile-jumpstart-moves-games-to-microsoft-azure-to-improve-reach-and-gameplay-and-adds-two-new-games.aspx . JumpStart is a leader in the learning-based multiplayer games for kids with recent releases like School of Dragons and Madagascar Math Ops. According to a JumpStart article it has thrown all of its eggs in Azure basket that includes all of its web content, web and mobile game products to Azure. Read more about this here: http://www.jumpstart.com/aboutus/press-releases/jumpstart-transitions-to-microsoft-azure-scalable-cloud-technology 1

Samsung Tab Active is a ruggedized Android tablet targeting the rough and the tough. With home building picking up construction workers will all be carrying this tablet as Samsung imagines. It is toughned against occasional drops and spills from coffee or soda. It is sheathed in a anti-shock housing which is also dust-proof. Otherwise it appears to be a standard Android (4.4 KitKat) with a 1.2GHZ Quad processor and having a display resolution of 1280x800 resolution. Other feature highlights: 3.1 MP camera designed for barcode scanning Replaceable battery Specially built construction worker-friendly C-Pen Wi-Fi / WiFi LTE versions Samsung's proprietary KNOX Security protocol 16 GB storage plues MicroSD slot More details here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2602388/samsungs-rugged-galaxy-tab-active-takes-aim-at-the-workplace.html Here is a video you may want to watch from http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/samsung-galaxy-tab-active/  

In my previous post  http://hodentekmobile.blogspot.com/2014/08/creating-projects-with-intel-xdk-part-2.html    I covered the various project options that you can choose for designing your apps that can be accessed by multiple devices, iPhones, Windows Phones, iPads etc. In this post I describe the steps to create a ListView App with the Intel XDK using the published templates. A list view consists of a list and when you click on one of the list items, you get a detailed page related to the item. This is a very common type of application. Download the source code for the template from github here: https://github.com/gomobile/template-list-view-ad The following note is from the above site: 'App Designer Ready-This template can be used for simple list view application that has a main view with scrollable list and detail view for each list item, this template can be used for creating applications similar to Mail app, Messages app or Twitter* app' After downlo...