hSenid's blog on Outsourcing

If you have to choose between a device running Windows Mobile and a similar device running Windows CE, the other factor you must consider is the availability of application programming interfaces (APIs) on each platform. The most obvious difference is that on Windows Mobile 5.0 and later you have access to additional managed code libraries that are not available on Windows CE; these libraries make it easier to interact with the platform. For example, the Microsoft.WindowsMobile.Status namespace contains classes you use to query system status for many different items, such as the current active network connection and Internet Protocol (IP) address, battery power, screen orientation, phone status, media player information, or whether the device is cradled. You can also register to receive notifications when a system status changes. Also, you can use classes in the Microsoft.WindowsMobile. PocketOutlook namespace to query and set Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile data on tasks, appointments, and e-mail. You can use other libraries to access hardware on the device such as the phone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a camera.

Of course, whenever possible managed code developers call APIs only in managed libraries, but sooner or later, every managed code application developer has to resort to Platform Invocation Services (PInvoke) calls to native APIs to access functions that are available on the platform but not through managed APIs. Having a broad understanding of features available in native APIs on Windows Mobile that are missing from Windows CE can help you choose between platforms. To access a native API, you must use PInvoke to call functions in native APIs that effectively do all the hard PInvoke work for you.

There are too many differences in native APIs to describe them all here. To get an understanding of which native APIs are available on Windows Mobile that are not in the underlying Windows CE platform, study the documentation that comes with the Windows Mobile SDKs.

1. Customer satisfaction

The most important factor to consider is customer satisfaction. If the customer isn’t satisfied with the goods or services you provide, you can be sure they’ll either be looking elsewhere or escalating their concerns. You must take a customer approach and insist that your outsource provider have the same commitment.

2. Financial savings

Outsourcing in many cases provides a financially compelling alternative to providing the services in-house. However, if reducing cost year over year is a key measure, it’s essential that you craft the partnership so that the provider has the incentive to help you meet your goals.

3. Share the risk

Share risk with your outsource provider, both from a reward and recognition perspective and from a remuneration perspective. If you’re meeting or exceeding your goals and expectations, make sure that accolades are shared appropriately.

4. Delivery and Quality

Delivery and quality aren’t always used in the same sentence, but they should be. Be very specific and deliberate when documenting your expectations on delivery and quality.

5. Scalability

Your outsource partner needs to be positioned to meet your growth requirements, so don’t just look at their current capability—look at their ability to scale. Just as you need time to ramp up skills and staff, your outsource provider needs time to react to your needs.

Mobile games can be classified into three broad categories:

• Embedded games: Games that are hardcoded into the mobile handset’s system and shipped with it. Soon to be outdated/obsolete. Example: Snake, shipped with all Nokia phones.
• SMS games: Games played by sending text messages—for example, SMS to game server—that process them and sends back the result through SMS. Often in the form of live contests and polls. Not very popular because the cost of gaming increases with each SMS sent to the game server.
• Browser games: These games are played using mobile phone’s built-in microbrowser (net browser for mobile devices), either in online or offline mode. Players can play such games online through their cellular carrier’s or a third-party game provider’s game Web site, or download them for offline gaming. This category includes a wide range of games, such as solo or multi player games, network games, offline games, arcade games, and so forth

Among these three categories, browser games are today’s most popular type of mobile games for their innovative and multimedia-rich content, appealing presentation, and lower cost of gaming compared to SMS games.

Why Choose Java for Mobile Game Development?

Although C++ has the advantage of being compiled into native code with direct access to system resources, and with BREW the platform provides end-to-end solutions to mobile game developers while allowing them to work with any desired language (including C++, Java, XML, and Flash), Java is the most popular choice for game development. Java, or the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) platform to be precise, is identified as the most convenient for developing mobile games. The driving forces behind J2ME’s popularity are:

• J2ME enjoys the status of an industry standard backed by all major handset makers, with most of the present day mobile phones being Java-enabled.
• J2ME is a free and open platform. This helps keep the development costs low and provides the necessary flexibility with ample support freely available for developers using it.
• Its highly portable nature (“Write once run anywhere”) ensures that a game application written for one brand/type of handset will work with all other brands/types of Java-enabled handsets.
• It is especially optimized for small devices, is lightweight, and is highly secure because applications written on it cannot access or affect other applications running on the phone/device.
• J2ME consists of the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) API that is designed specifically for developing applications for mobile devices including mobile phones, keeping in mind their limitations and constraints. Furthermore, the latest MIDP version 2.0 itself dedicates a whole API to game development, making game development simpler and quicker.