What's new in UIQ 3.1

UIQ 3.1 is based on the Symbian OS v9.2 and introduces the new features and changes below. For more information on what is new in Symbian OS see the Symbian Developer Library and the Symbian What's new.

Use this UIQ 3.1 SDK if you create applications that need to use new features in UIQ 3.1 or Symbian OS 9.2. UIQ strives to keep backwards compatibility in the platform. This to ensure applications built with an SDK based on an older version of the platform runs on phones created on newer platform versions. If you want to target the entire set of UIQ 3 based phones you can still build your applications with the previous version of the SDK based on the UIQ 3.0 platform.

To benefit from the flexibility in the platform a number of new concepts needs to be followed. Below is a summary of new items and concepts in the UIQ 3.1 SDK. For a more detailed description see the UIQ Style guide, Programmer's guide, the various HowTo documents as well as the general API Reference.

If your application is using new features in UIQ 3.1 and you want to restrict the application to be installed only on UIQ 3.1 based devices and later, use the new ProductID 0x101F63DF in the pkg file. For syntax see the .pkg file.

UIQ 3.1 includes an additional softkey algorithm - "Three softkeys". "Three softkeys" replaces "Three softkeys and Back key" (introduced in UIQ 3.0) as the default softkey algorithm. The main difference is that "Three softkeys" uses the right softkey as back key, whereas "Three softkeys and Back key" has a separate back hardware key. This means that the "Three softkeys" algorithm puts the More menu on the left softkey.

(Read more about the softkey algorithms at: Commands in the User Interface)

The new Clear command type is mainly used for deletion of characters.

The "Three softkeys" algorithm has one dedicated hardware key called the Clear key. This key consumes Clear commands. If there is no Clear command, this key acts as shortcut to the command that is placed on the right softkey.

The reference configuration in UIQ 3.1 is Softkey Style. This configuration has been tested on reference hardware and is the one for which the UIQ applications have been optimized. The other configurations are still supported by the underlying framework. This makes it possible to develop applications for other styles.

The new softkey algorithm affects the placement of commands for the ListBox since one softkey has been reserved for the "Back" command. A multiple select enabled ListBox is said to be in "mark mode" when at least one item has been marked and that in turn puts the "Mark" command on a softkey to ease further marking while moving the replaced command to the More menu. In a multiple select enabled ListBox where no items are marked, the mark commands are put in a cascading menu. More detailed information is available in the Programmer's Guide.

The UIQ platform now supports the use of SVG (scalable vector graphics). SVG files can now be contained in an CEikImage and a set of new methods are added to the class to manage the animation.

The new support for SVG also includes animation of application icons in the application launcher. For more information about SVG please see: SVG Guide

J2ME

The Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) implementation has been extended with several new Java Specification Request (JSR) APIs.

New supported JSR's in 3.1 are:

• JSR-177 Security and Trust Services

  API SATSA-CRYPTO - Provides a general purpose cryptography API for use in MIDlet suites allowing operations such as message digest, digital signature verification, encryption an decryption

  SATSA-APDU - The APDU optional package might not be supported on all UIQ 3.1 based devices but only those where the phone manufacturer has added support. The SDK provides a reference implementation that can only communicate with the Sun Java Card emulator and currently doesn't support PKCS#15 certificate parsing.

• JSR-205 Wireless Messaging API 2.0 - The JSR 205 package is a extension of JSR 120 an API allowing MIDlet suites to send and receive SMS and MMS messages from the GSM network along with receiving of Cell broadcast messages.

• JSR-211 Content Handler API - The Content handling package provides a execution model to allow MIDlet suites and non native java application to register them selves as content handlers for various contents types. The package allows content handlers to be invoked and get a response, register as a handler, query registrations, respond to invocation request.

• JSR-234 AMMS Camera capability - The AMS add the Camera capability to the 234 package, giving MIDlet suite control over advanced features of an on-board smart phone camera such as Exposure, Flash, Focus and Zoom.

Old supported JSR's are:

• JSR 139 - CLDC 1.1

• JSR 118 - MIDP 2.0

• JSR 185 - JTWI 1.1

• JSR 75 - PDA Optional Packages for the J2ME platform

• JSR 82 - Java API's for Bluetooth, now also including Push and OBEX parts

• JSR 120 - Wireless Messaging API 1.1, now also including Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) part

• JSR 135 - Mobile Media API

• JSR 184 - Mobile 3D Graphics API for J2ME

• JSR 172 - J2ME Web Services specification, XML parsing and SOAP interface