please help!! questions on "pocket/portable" PC development

[alexbaker]

[Johan]

Hi,

I can give answers to some of your questions.

1. A Pocket PC is simply a device running a specialized GUI on top of Windows CE 3.x or 4.x The GUI is specifically designed for handheld computers. Typically, all Pocket PCs up until today use portrait displays (240x320).

2. You don't really need to consider the details for developing for Pocket PCs, see my answer to question 6 below.

3. A MS Smartphone runs another specialized GUI on top of Windows CE 3.x. The GUI is specifically designed for phones. All Microsoft Smartphones runs Windows CE.

4. Again, you don't really need all this details..

5. All today's Pocket PCs use 240x320 displays, all smartphones 176x220. This might change however. Memory varies from 16mb->128mb.

6. Yes - there are two. PocketFrog and GapiDraw. GapiDraw is the most widely used, and has been used to release games such as "EverQuest for the Pocket PC" distributed by Sony Online Entertainment. GapiDraw has more than 150 active developers and you will find it's forum here at PocketMatrix.

If you create your game using GapiDraw, you actually first create it for a stationary PC. It can there run in full screen, hardware accelerated mode. You then simply recompile it for Pocket PCs and MS Smartphones. And this actually works! GapiDraw has been used in almost 100 commercial games since it was first released one year ago, and it is free of charge (you only need to notify us before you release games depending on GapiDraw to function). GapiDraw will soon support other devices as well (such as those based on the Symbian OS).

Find out more on GapiDraw at www.gapidraw.com

7. The GapiDraw platform will survive longer than the hardware. GapiDraw supports all Pocket PC devices and Smartphones with 12-bit or 16-bit displays.

8. GapiDraw can be used with both C++ and C# (using a free .NET wrapper). The performance is about the same. Choose whatever you are comfortable with.. Tutorials and samples are included with the distribution package.

9. Yes, Symbian Devices are IMHO able to seriously "compete" with Pocket PCs and Smartphones.

[mlepage]

[Johan]

mlepage: Unfortunately I cannot give any details regarding a potential Palm port..

[alexbaker]

at first, sorry for beeing offline so long, but i didn't have to time to re-visit.

thanks for all your posts, regarding my question.

there are some things still open for me.

@Johan:
>>6. Yes - there are two.
Do you mean with this answer, that i can easily program without looking at the detail hardware-specs ? like Direct3D on "normal Windows development" ?


>>If you create your game using GapiDraw...it for a
>>stationary PC....recompile it for Pocket PCs and
>>MS Smartphones....And this actually works!
did i understand this right: GapiDraw is more than a pure graphic-layer, it is something like a complete "interface" to those WinCE devices ?
- it must be yes, because if you say generally creating it on the standard PC and then _just_ recompiling without chaning something will result in something of this ?!?!?
- if not, then i'm wondering how it works with the user-input ? (you know what i mean?)


>>will survive longer than the hardware. GapiDraw
>>supports all Pocket PC devices and Smartphones
>>with 12-bit or 16-bit displays.
mmh....and i hope 32bit display devices, too, some day ?!


>>Tutorials and samples are included with the
>>distribution package.
great, i will look at it.


>>seriously "compete" with Pocket PCs and
>>Smartphones.
ok, then let us redirect this question to the "market chance" - do you think that symbian OS is "staying" at mobile phones or that it will "swap over" onto pocket PC'S at an undefined point of time ? or do you think that the WinCE OS will rule, as it has down until today, the pocket-pc-os-market ?
are there any other devices, which are running on WinCE, except the pocket-PC's and smartphones ??
the intention of this question:
i'm not sure to focus on developing what - symbian OS is ugly as hell, it's API, for me as average programmer, nearly understandable; even small demos require code-size as my complete PC-3D-engine *laughing* and i hope that developing on WinCE is more comfortable, more clear and such things - but if WinCE "looses the mobile-device-favorite-OS war", then i'm stucked on WinCE and it would have been better, that i would have continued learning symbian OS API, in the cases if symbian OS win's this war.


@mlepage:
>>For the original poster, Palm devices are totally
>>different, running Palm OS which is
mmh, ok;


is there any information available on the salescount of such mobile devices ? where can i see, what sells the most ? palm/OS, pocketPC/WinCE, other-mobile/other-OS ??

[alexbaker]

oouuups, i forgot:

@Johan:

does gapidraw supports any 3D-mode ? or do i have to program this feature for myself, by using good old "demo-scene-known" techniques ?

and what SDK / Tools do i need ? you mentioned the usually known MSVC6 / or VC7/.net; but i'm wondering, for which case are the "embedded Visual Tools" and the "embedded Visual C++ 4.0", i found on microsoft.com ? is it a "light version" of visual C++ 6.0 ??
(i own's a copy of MSVC6 for me, so this would be no problem)


(sorry for asking so much )

[alexbaker]