Device Testing

One of the problem with mobile development is the testing phase. There are thousands of devices, so how are we gonna test 1 application on so many? There is no straight forward solution due to the fragmented scenario.

Accessing the devices is one way, and here are the providers:

• Nokia Remote Device Testing - Nokia free service for developers! But only 20 handsets.
  
• Sony Ericsson Virtual Lab - Similar to Nokia, but charges around USD$20 per hour.
  
• DeviceAnywhere
  
• Try phone - Try the phone before buying! (not for application testing)

Here are some links discussing the problem:

• Theoreticlabs blog - A very well written blog
  
• paca mobile center
• Sun development guide

MIDlet Icon sizes

One of the problem with the mobile fragmentation is that the icon size used is different. There is no minimum size specified, and it is up to the platform to resize the icon. As such, if you want a perfect looking icon for a MIDlet, the only way to do it is to know the size that the phone support.

A good reference is from j2me wiki.

Here is an extracted (from mobilepit) icon size guideline for different devices

Nokia

• Series 40 - 128x160=24x24, 208x208=46x46, 240x320=46x48
• S60 1st and 2nd - 176x208=42x29, 352x416=76x76
• S60 3rd - 176x208=31x31, 208x176=37x37, 352x416=76x76, 240x320=53x53/55x55, 320x240=52x52/54x54, 208x208=37x37
• N90/N95 : 84x58

Samsung & Sony Ericsson
Most Samsung phone accept 16x16, 32x32 icon size

Motorola
15x15, 16x16, 32x32