I have been watching for a while what channels are available for Meego Harmattan app distribution. For Maemo5, it's pretty simple. For free app, there is the extras repository which works pretty well except that the app manager is slow. For paid app, there is Ovi Store, but the implementation is pretty lame. In case you haven't heard of, the frontend is a webpage that just downloads non-encrypted deb file for paid apps....
Gladly, the store is much improved in Harmattan. Harmattan has a dedicated Store client and so the integration is much better. The version available for N950 probably will not be the release version so I won't comment on the small details, but generally it provides a seamless experience for browsing/purchasing/installing apps. It's not hard to see that Nokia Store will be the default destination for N9 users to search for apps.
I was expecting there would be a channel similar to extras available very soon for Harmattan when I received N950. Unfortunately due to various issues, there is still nothing similar to Maemo5's extras repository for community app. This leaves Nokia Store as the one and only official channel for app distribution. As a result, Stockona is currently undergoing Nokia QA. Let's see how long it takes before Stockona gets published...
Friday, August 26, 2011
Porting to Harmattan (3)
Some time ago, I decided that the only feasible way for Stockona to run well on Meego Harmattan was to re-work the UI using Qt components. The main reason was window focus issue that's very annoying to me. For whatever reason, the VKB in Harmattan doesn't work well with pure QML TextInput element. The focus becomes sticky once VKB is shown. I have tried to fill the un-used area on screen with MouseArea element to make de-focusing works like how it should be, but then sometimes when I switched in/out of task manager, the VKB popped up for no reason. I gave up debugging this and step-by-step changed the UI to Qt component. I was unsure if it would be worthwhile doing so, but in the end I think it was a correct decision. Qt component works great, and takes care of the UI design work so I have more time fixing some of the logic bugs instead of trying to put together graphic elements like what I did on Fremantle. I found the Sheet and Dialog (QueryDialog to be specific) elements to be especially handy for taking user inputs and displaying information to users.
The only disadvantage using Qt component is of course the portability becomes an issue for other platforms. Now I have been focusing on the Harmattan version and made several releases, the code base has become quite different to Fremantle's version in several areas. I am kind of lazy to merge the changes back and seriously hope the community project to make Qt component available on Fremantle will be working soon.
The only disadvantage using Qt component is of course the portability becomes an issue for other platforms. Now I have been focusing on the Harmattan version and made several releases, the code base has become quite different to Fremantle's version in several areas. I am kind of lazy to merge the changes back and seriously hope the community project to make Qt component available on Fremantle will be working soon.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
N950: What impress me most
* Disclaimer: User experience is based on pre-beta firmware on not-for-sale device.
What do I like the most about N950, specifically Meego Harmattan? It's definitely the swipe interface. At first, it takes some getting used to. Besides, N950 is not really designed with this interface in mind so there are things that could be done better (e.g. the gap between screen and frame is noticeable and the swipe is not as smooth as N9). But I quickly fall in love with the interface. Yes, there are times when I want to scroll but find I swipe into task manager. This is much easier to happen in landscape mode due to the limited vertical scrolling space, but in general, it's not frequent and in the case it happens, I can still easily go back to the app by a tap.
This is really a killer interface, and IMO the biggest selling point for N9. It is fluid and intuitive, and the interaction makes me feel the device is "alive." This is kind of like how iPhone was/is about - simple and beautiful interface that reacts to user command naturally. Android (3.0 is better than 2.0 but still a mess) feels pathetic in this regard, let alone the poor core interface of Windows Phone. I am pretty sure, most people will love this interface once they start using it.
Of course, there are still quirks and glitches since the software is pre-beta and Nokia is not Apple. And of course there is the dark cloud hanging over Meego Harmattan that the N9 is likely to be the only and last device running this OS. But hey, it's not like Nokia will never release software update. You see, people still buy new cars that are close to end-of-their-life-cycle. Not every Android receive sw update after two years. Even Apple drops sw update for earlier device after some time, so I wouldn't worry too much about all this "Nokia abandon Meego" drama. There is more important things to worry about, right?
Besides the swipe interface, the camera on N950 is really really good for its size. I am impressed by its quality and the UI again feels good. But I wish there were a dedicate camera button. Nokia tried too hard mimic Apple in this regard. Maybe Nokia or 3rd party developer can learn from Apple and make the volume key to become camera key at some point in the future.
What do I like the most about N950, specifically Meego Harmattan? It's definitely the swipe interface. At first, it takes some getting used to. Besides, N950 is not really designed with this interface in mind so there are things that could be done better (e.g. the gap between screen and frame is noticeable and the swipe is not as smooth as N9). But I quickly fall in love with the interface. Yes, there are times when I want to scroll but find I swipe into task manager. This is much easier to happen in landscape mode due to the limited vertical scrolling space, but in general, it's not frequent and in the case it happens, I can still easily go back to the app by a tap.
This is really a killer interface, and IMO the biggest selling point for N9. It is fluid and intuitive, and the interaction makes me feel the device is "alive." This is kind of like how iPhone was/is about - simple and beautiful interface that reacts to user command naturally. Android (3.0 is better than 2.0 but still a mess) feels pathetic in this regard, let alone the poor core interface of Windows Phone. I am pretty sure, most people will love this interface once they start using it.
Of course, there are still quirks and glitches since the software is pre-beta and Nokia is not Apple. And of course there is the dark cloud hanging over Meego Harmattan that the N9 is likely to be the only and last device running this OS. But hey, it's not like Nokia will never release software update. You see, people still buy new cars that are close to end-of-their-life-cycle. Not every Android receive sw update after two years. Even Apple drops sw update for earlier device after some time, so I wouldn't worry too much about all this "Nokia abandon Meego" drama. There is more important things to worry about, right?
Besides the swipe interface, the camera on N950 is really really good for its size. I am impressed by its quality and the UI again feels good. But I wish there were a dedicate camera button. Nokia tried too hard mimic Apple in this regard. Maybe Nokia or 3rd party developer can learn from Apple and make the volume key to become camera key at some point in the future.
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