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Want to know what it'll take to win MOTODEV's Game Developer Challenge? If you're preparing a game for submission and want a leg up on the competition, Motorola's Stephen McDonnell has some advice for you. "This competition is an opportunity to see the sorts of innovation that can only come from small independent developers," says McDonnell, one of ten mobile gaming industry insiders who will judge the competition. "And I'm interested in games that take advantage of the particular capabilities of mobile devices: mobility and pervasiveness, LBS and context awareness, camera, audio, social networking, personalization... games that integrate these will be truly mobile games. Of course, they need to be fun as well!"

Creativity is key in the Challenge, which will propel two previously unpublished titles in Java and Windows Mobile categories straight to the big time. One Grand Prize winner in each category will receive an exclusive publishing contract with I-play, promotion to the gaming community, a briefcase full of new Motorola products and much more.

The Game Developers Challenge judging panel brings together some of the industry's most experienced and influential figures, including Joe Ariganello, General Manager of Games for U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel, Hugo Reyes, founder of Wireless Gaming World, and Sun Microsystems' Chief Gaming Officer Chris Melissinos. Runners-up in each Challenge category will receive 1-on-1 consultation with the judges, a unique chance to gain invaluable market and channel feedback.

There's still time to get started: the deadline for entries is August 10, 2007. For complete rules and information, and to get the lowdown on all of our esteemed judges, visit the MOTODEV Game Developer Challenge website.

Getting in Touch with Haptics

As mobile computing becomes more pervasive, the quality of mobile data networks and the capabilities of mobile devices are getting stronger, spurring the development of cooler, more innovative and more user-friendly applications for handheld resource-constrained devices.

One intriguing user-centric concept is haptics -- delivering feedback to a user's sense of touch rather than relying only on visual and audio cues. Leading-edge developers are finding creative ways to turn mobile device vibrator motors into haptic agents, enhancing their applications and improving user experience:

In games, haptics allow the user to feel immersed in the action. If you strike an opponent, you feel the jolt up your arm; if you drive your car off the road, you feel the grumble of gravel under the wheels.
Haptic ring tones can quietly deliver a meaningful message to the user without disturbing others, and without requiring the user to look at the handset's screen. This is already possible on a wide range of Motorola handsets: the vibration pattern can be changed to match special ring tones you may have for individual callers.
Haptic phone signals can relay vital information to users. Consider dropped calls: a user can tell that the call is gone by looking at the display - but that's generally far too late. Convert that visual alert into a haptic alert through vibration, and the user can respond immediately.

Many other implementations are possible. Haptic-enhanced audio and video applications are being developed that vibrate in sync with the music. The adult entertainment industry has begun using haptics for interactive experiences. And location based applications can be configured to use tailored haptic alerts matched to specific locations.

Java ME defines the [vibrate(int duration)] method in the display class used to activate the vibrator in handsets. As more innovative applications continue to be developed, use of the vibrator motor will become more common. In the end, haptic uses of the mobile handset are limited only by the creativity of the developer.

-- Asokan Thiyagarajan, Motorola Technology Evangelist

Two new MOTODEV Fast Track Center partners can help smooth your path into the competitive European marketplace:

QArea provides a wide range of custom engineering and porting services and operates the BugHuntress Testing Lab. They also offer specialized localization to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, encompassing 11 former Soviet republics, helping customers to reach this massive market segment quickly and efficiently.
Pocketland is a premier go-to-market channel specializing in Windows Mobile applications. They serve the European market through web portals localized to six languages, including Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch and English.

Visit the Fast Track Center today to learn more about these companies and their exclusive offers for MOTODEV members.

Motorola's G24 high-speed, quad-band GSM module enables seamless connectivity for today's fastest-growing mobile-to-mobile applications. The G24, a single engine capable of multiple software configurations, including Java, is designed for flexibility to meet the specific needs of its customers around the globe. Weighing just over 10 grams and measuring only 24.4 x 45.2 mm, the G24 packs a ton of functionality into an impressively small package.

Developers interested in creating applications that work in tandem with the powerful G24 can visit MOTODEV to download developers kits, reference manuals and other resources that will help them build dynamic applications quickly and easily. Users can also request access to valuable tools and demos that will maximize their development efforts for the G24.

Access the latest information for the G24 today.

MOTODEV staff and technology experts were on hand at the 2007 JavaOne conference in San Francisco last month, helping developers to find a wealth of resources and services for creating and delivering next-generation Java applications on Motorola's products.

See a complete wrap-up of the event - including photos, video of the Motorola General Session Keynote and valuable links - in the MOTODEV Events & Training area.

Capturing Images and Video
Nearly all current Motorola handsets have built-in cameras with the ability to take pictures and record video. Java application developers are discovering increasingly clever uses for these ubiquitous cameras, using the Mobile Media API detailed as a component of JSR-135. This article provides a quick and practical guide to leveraging Java ME APIs to take pictures and record videos within applications, along with a handy troubleshooting section and sample code.
MIDlet Lifecycle on Motorola Linux OS Devices
This document outlines the changes in the Java KVM architecture which allows background running capabilities of MIDlets on the Linux-Java platform and provides information to help developers create MIDlets for the platform.