InfoTart

I gave a presentation on user interface design and marketing on mobile phones this afternoon for a boutique ad agency in Cambridge. It was a lot of fun and we had some great discussions.

One of the questions that came up was how to take screenshots for mobile phones. That’s an excellent question and one that has bedeviled me in the past, as well. So here are links to the software programs I use for taking screenshots on these types of phones.

• S60: I highly recommend the free utility called Screenshot from Antony Pranata. It’s a very good free product.
• UIQ: There are now two products I can recommend.

1. CellPhoneSoft AutoCam: This is a good product at a good price, just $15. Note that the license key is locked to your phone’s unique IMEI number.
2. Screenshot from Antony Pranata: He has ported it to the UIQ platform. I haven’t tried it for UIQ yet, but considering that the S60 version is great, I expect this turned out well, too. Price: Free.

• BlackBerry: There’s an excellent utility called BBScreenShooter and its’s free. However, it’s pretty complicated to set up. Also, it only works when the device is connected to your computer with a cable. Still, it’s free and it works well.
• Windows Mobile: Illium Software offers two free applications, one each for Windows Mobile Smartphone/Standard and PocketPC/Professional. The product can be a little tricky to use sometimes. There are also commercial (non-free alternatives), but I’ve relied on Illium’s free utilities in the past.
• PalmOS: LinkSOFT GMBH offers a screen capture utility for Palm devices, but I haven’t tried it yet. The price is a reasonable $15.
• Nokia 770 running Maemo OS2006: There’s a free utility called CPU/Mem/Screenshot which can take screenshots of the 770. I’ve used it before and it works fine. I’m not sure if any utilities are yet available for the newer generations of the Nokia Internet Tablet, the N800 and N810, but a simple search of the Maemo application catalog will hopefully turn up something.
• Apple iPhone: There’s nothing official yet, but if you’ve jailbroken your phone, you could give the iPhone ScreenShot utility from Rabota a try. Note the version compatibility warnings! Hopefully, once Apple officially opens the device to third party software, we’ll see more official — and stable — products.
• Google Android: Since the OS is still under development and there aren’t any devices released yet, your best bet at this time is to take screenshots of apps running in the emulator. I’ll update this item when I run across a screenshot utility.
• S80: For owners of these older devices, you can use an excellent utility called Remote S80 by Mobileways.de. You might need to get the software from a third party such as Handango or Motricity as I don’t think they support it any more.
• Motorola RAZR: Here’s a link to an excellent post at ModMyMoto on how to take a screenshot on a RAZR. It’s not for the feint of heart.
• All Other Phones: Sorry, no information! Worse yet, it’s probably not possible due to basic software restrictions common in most other phones. A good alternative for Java (J2ME) software is to install an emulator on your PC and take regular screenshots of the product running in the emulator.

Last night, Pandemonium Books in Central Sq. had a book signing for a local Boston author, Mark del Franco. I sort of ran into his debut novel accidentally a few months ago, Unshapely Things. Fortunately, it’s a decent fantasy novel and an enjoyable read.

Unshapely Things takes place in an alternate Boston, a place where the Big Dig never happened and faeries and elves live among us. The main character is a druid who lost his powers for working magic (or “essence,” as the book calls it) and needs to stop a madman from destroying the world. Nothing special. Just gotta save the world!

It was also great fun reading about all of the places described by the book that no longer exist in our Boston. In the alternate reality Boston of the book, Fort Point is a fearie/elf ghetto, the Combat Zone was never bulldozed, and the Orange Line still runs above ground down Washington Street. Reminds me of what Boston must have been like back in the 1970s when it was a lot grittier than it is today. (Except for that whole faerie/elf ghetto thing…)

Anyway, Mark just released his second book in the series, Unquiet Dreams, which looks pretty good, too. So he was at Pandemonium last night to sign copies and promote the series. My friend JP told me about it and we went together.

Unfortunately, the line was very short. As in no waiting at all. So JP and I just sat down and chatted with Mark for like 45 minutes. Other folks stopped by for a quick chat and to get their books signed, but JP and I were there for the duration talking about Boston politics and life before the Big Dig. Mark is an interesting guy, fun to talk to, and he knows Boston really well! I wish Mark well with his promising new series.

We were also happy to hear that Book #3 was delivered last night to the publishers, but probably won’t be released until the holidays or maybe January 2009. I hate waiting…

And wasn’t that nice of him to pose with me? Am I becoming a celebrity stalker??

I am the proud owner of a Sony Ericsson W960i. It’s a Walkman branded smartphone with a touch screen. I am really loving this phone!

The device runs an OS called UIQ. Last night, I went to the UIQ web site and downloaded some free themes. UIQ currently offers 7 excellent free themes. The one I activated immediately is called Barcelona, which is my favorite of the 7. Boy, it’s pretty…

If you own a UIQ-powered device, definitely check out the set of free themes from UIQ!

Doesn’t it just figure? I haven’t missed a day of work in like 3 years due to illness — and the minute I get laid off, I now have a nasty cold.

Yes, I’m no longer working at iSkoot due to forces beyond my control…

Such is life at a startup. The split was on good terms and I wish the company well. Before I left, we were working on some concepts for some cool new product ideas, so I look forward to seeing what the company achieves next.

What grand adventures are in store for me next? It’s a little too early to tell today, but some interesting leads have appeared. Boston? London? Sweden? Atlanta? California? We’ll see…

Meanwhile, I need to pick up a giant bottle of Vitamin C and start chewing those things down…

So I went out last night to an industry networking event in Cambridge called Web Innovators. It was at the Royal Sonesta Hotel near the Museum of Science on the Charles River. After the event was over, I joined some folks for drinks in the Royal Sonesta’s bar. And on the way out, guess who I ran into? I ran into Steven from the current season of Project Runway!!

I saw him on the other side of the room, surrounded by folks and randomly chatting. I thought to myself, “Jeez, he looks familiar…” And then it occurred to me how he was familiar! I love that show, and Steven was my favorite contestant! And of course I had to get my picture taken with him.

He’s in town to host some sort of event at the Museum of Science tonight called Seamless, Computational Couture. Looks cool but unfortunately, the event is sold out so I can’t continue to stalk him. 

Maybe I should start hanging out at swanky hotel bars more often. One never knows who one might run into…