The Associated Press (AP) has long understood the importance of a mobile presence. AP has applications on all the major mobile devices, and is continually working to improve the user experience offered and to be there on the best and newest phones. The AP Windows Mobile app has been one of the most popular Windows Marketplace downloads, which made it a high-profile case for further improvement.

AP identified two things they wanted to change. First:  a better user interface, more in keeping with the family of AP Mobile products on other platforms. Second:  a better user experience, with a boost in features to match AP’s other Mobile applications; gesture support, video stories and search were three high-priority features that they wished to appear in the new version.

Our aim at Matchbox was to give AP a new Windows Mobile app that matched the state of the art in UI, features and modes of interaction, while also making sure it fit the Windows Mobile conventions and styles.

Our initial research phase involved close collaboration with AP while we examined their other mobile apps, identifying what was common to each app and what made for a consistent and rich user experience. Once we had gathered the data we began to map the intended experience and branding requirements onto a range of Windows Mobile device types. Our iterative design cycle entailed wireframes, flows, and mock-ups, adding detail as we worked in feedback from AP.

As a result of Matchbox Mobile’s involvement, AP for Windows Mobile is now a state-of-the-art application offering the advanced features and modern UI that users have come to expect.

Matchbox and Qualcomm saw the need for a high-profile social networking Web application and decided on the creation of a Twitter widget for Plaza Mobile Internet as an example of the type of compelling experience Plaza Mobile Internet could deliver. This widget would support all the core features of Twitter: following other users, sending out tweets, replying and retweeting.

Our long experience with mobile devices, as well as our specific achievements with creating the official Twitter app on Zune HD, meant we were open to the challenge: to translate the ease-of-use and power of Twitter to a variety of mobile phones using a new web-standard based widget engine.

Our two aims were to create an easy-to-use app that captured the Twitter experience, and also to highlight the benefits of Plaza Mobile Internet by making the widget an inspiration to other potential developers: it would have to deliver a consistent and positive user experience across all suitable devices.

Matchbox worked together with Qualcomm to identify the key experience required, and to focus on the tools provided with Plaza Mobile Internet for rapid application development in a mobile Internet context. As a result of our deep understanding of mobile development, we were able to design, develop, test and deploy a high-quality Plaza widget in under three months. The resulting mobile Internet widget delivers the core Twitter experience including: following Tweeters, sending and replying to Tweets and seeing Twitter user profile images. In addition, the widget acts in two modes – minimized and full-screen – that demonstrate the versatility of the Plaza Mobile Internet widget platform.

The Twitter widget for Plaza Mobile Internet, developed by Matchbox Mobile, is now available to Telcel and Claro Brasil mobile subscribers in both Spanish and Portuguese respectively.

Qualcomm is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.  Plaza and Plaza Mobile Internet are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.  All other trademarks are the property of their corresponding owners.

Microsoft’s new Smartphone platform, Windows Phone 7 Series, was given an in-depth showing at the MIX10 conference in Las Vegas on March 15^th. Matchbox Mobile helped make this happen in record time and with excellent results.

During the day1 MIX10 keynote, Microsoft highlighted for ISVs the benefits of the new Windows Phone 7 Series architecture in a series of eye-catching software demos. As part of this demo line-up, Microsoft focused on the Pictures hub, which allows third party developers to plug in applications so that they appeared as part of the photo experience. Matchbox’s new application Colorizer was shown; the app allows the user to take any photo snapped on the phone, make it black and white and then use gestures to brush the color back into specific parts.

In February, we at Matchbox accepted the challenge of creating the Colorizer app in time for MIX10, even though the timescale was aggressive. We had four weeks from the first description of the application until the live demo that would be seen by thousands of enthusiasts world-wide.

Creating this application involved picking up a new tool-set, meeting a very tight deadline and delivering a successful experience that would greatly add to the overall Windows Phone 7 Series demo. We were able to put our Silverlight, Windows Phone and Zune development experiences to good use in hitting the right features and the right performance. Our flexible and fast working practices meant that Colorizer was delivered fully-functional, on-time and was a great success: Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore got a great pop from the MIX10 audience as he demonstrated colorizing a photo of his son using Colorizer.

The Zune HD, Microsoft’s pioneering portable media player, can be extended by third-party apps via the Zune HD Marketplace. Microsoft recognized that Zune HD users were very keen to use popular social networking applications on their Zunes, and so identified Twitter and Facebook as two high-priority apps to make available. The Twitter and Facebook apps for Zune HD would be free downloads for all Zune users, and would couple the frequent-use nature of social networking with the clean, distinctive user interface of the Zune HD.

Matchbox Mobile is the developer behind the million-plus download Facebook application for Windows Mobile, as well as many other high-profile mobile apps. Given Matchbox’s success with social networking software for mobile and our expertise in generating compelling mobile user experiences, Microsoft chose Matchbox to develop the Twitter and Facebook apps for the Zune HD.

Our first challenge was to ensure that the streamlined and rich user experiences for Facebook and Twitter would translate to the unique Zune HD style, while retaining the distinctive brands of each social networking tool. We worked closely with the Zune team to ensure that our applications would not only fit with the device user experience, but enhance that experience overall.

After the iterative and collaborative design process, we developed our software for the XNA platform, which is more typically geared towards gaming. Despite this we were able to make use of the engine to bring out the best of the Zune platform.

The Twitter and Zune apps for Zune HD are now available as free downloads to the global community of Zune users, who are able to keep up to date on Facebook and Twitter while enjoying the music and interactivity of their Zune HD. With these apps we have demonstrated our ability to solve technical challenges elegantly, and to deliver exciting user experiences on cutting-edge devices.

Microsoft decided in 2008 to have an official Facebook application developed for the Windows Mobile 6.x range of phones, with the goal of creating a comprehensive, feature-rich user experience that would make use of unique Windows Mobile technology. In addition to a rich feature-set Microsoft wanted to ensure a consistent and high-end user experience across all Windows Mobile 6 devices, with their many screen sizes, form factors, touch screens and non-touch interfaces.

Microsoft chose Matchbox to take on the challenge of delivering this showcase Facebook app. Matchbox developed the app to support all the major Facebook features, including contacting friends with comments, wall posts and private messages, viewing friends’ photos and profiles, and managing the user’s own profile and status updates. Matchbox engineered several features specific to Windows Mobile, including the ability to upload not just photos but videos taken on the phone, and integration with the phone dialer to call friends right from the Facebook app.

Matchbox invested heavily in the initial design phase to ensure the UI would be clear and easy to use not just on the newer phones with high-res touch screens, but also those with smaller low-res screens and QWERTY keyboards. The Facebook app was then tested extensively to ensure a consistent experience across the whole range of Windows Mobile 6 phones. Since its launch in 2009 the application has become one of Microsoft’s most downloaded and popular apps for Windows phones. Such was its success that in late 2009 Microsoft had Matchbox create a case study to detail the app development process for the benefit of other Windows Mobile developers. This is available on MSDN here.

Version 1.2 of the Facebook app has now been released for all Windows Mobile 6 phones.

]]> http://www.matchboxmobile.com/case-studies/microsoft-facebook-client/feed 0 http://www.matchboxmobile.com/case-studies/microsoft-retail-client http://www.matchboxmobile.com/case-studies/microsoft-retail-client#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:02:02 +0000 admin http://gator902.hostgator.com/~matchbox/?p=319 Matchbox develops Retail Client, a Windows Mobile demo application for Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.

Microsoft works closely with its retail channel to promote Windows Mobile devices including carrier and device specific promotions. This often includes creating videos to promote the unique capabilities of a device or to appeal to a particular target market. Microsoft has however faced challenges distributing these videos and other media content to be easily installed and run on the many thousands of phones in retail stores. In addition, Microsoft was aware that retail store representatives often

had to devote time each day to removing content on phones from customer’s web browsing and other activities. Microsoft wanted to take away this daily task for Windows Mobile devices.

Matchbox built a retail client solution for Microsoft to meet each of these goals. The application allows videos for specific retail promotions to be easily packaged and loaded onto memory cards, which are then distributed to each retail store. Retail representatives only have to insert the memory card into each phone and the videos automatically install, and then run whenever a customer is not using the phone. The retail client also includes a background “cleaning agent” that regularly removes content created by a variety of customer activities, such as web browsing, camera use, documents, phone logs, and text messages.

The retail client developed by Matchbox has given Microsoft a simple and scalable way to get promotional videos to hundreds of thousands of phones in retail stores across the US. The client has also helped ensure Windows Mobile phones require little to no maintenance for all retail store representatives.

Dashwire is an exciting new mobile company with an award-winning Connected Service offering for smartphone users. Dashwire’s service seamlessly synchronizes your mobile phone data, integrates it with the web and makes it easy to manage, enhance, and share the memories captured on your phone with others.

Dashwire approached Matchbox in 2006 to develop the original Windows Mobile client prototype. It was vital the client be developed quickly to validate the concept and test with users.

Matchbox worked closely with the Dashwire team to integrate the Windows Mobile client with server components to deliver core features of the service including:

•  Wireless backup of contacts
•  Automatic media uploads
•  Synchronizing bookmarks and call history
•  Sending text messages via Dashwire’s website

Matchbox gave Dashwire the jumpstart they needed to prove the concept was viable. Dashwire successfully launched its service in 2007, and was named Best Mobile Consumer Application by LAPTOP Magazine at CTIA 2008. Matchbox is now working with Dashwire on expanding its service to Symbian users, expected in Q4 2008.

Matchbox developed and delivered a custom mobile device management solution for a major US carrier. The carrier contracted Matchbox to provide a platform that would meet their specific needs for configuring large batches of phones Over the Air. The solution needed to work not just on the carrier’s latest phones, but the millions of legacy handsets already in the hands of their customers.

Matchbox developed a mobile device management platform that has allowed the carrier to remotely manage millions of their customer’s new and old handsets. The solution allows the carrier to reconfigure customer’s phones for new services, manage how they connect to the network, and even deliver firmware updates to the handsets. Matchbox is proud to provide this unique device management solution to a major US carrier.

In early 2007, Microsoft released its latest Smartphone OS, Windows Mobile 6, including many unique new features. As part of the launch Microsoft needed the ability to easily set up devices with fictitious content to showcase new features of the Windows Mobile 6, for demonstrations and events.

Microsoft approached Matchbox to develop a solution for showcasing the new platform’s key features. Matchbox developed AutoLaunch, a desktop-based application designed to create custom demo packages that can mass configure demo devices to the same state and with the same sample content. Using AutoLaunch, Microsoft can easily create demo packages that include sample content such as Outlook email, contacts and calendar items plus media files such as music, pictures, and videos, and any third party applications relevant to a particular demo.

Microsoft was rapidly able to realize a number of benefits from the AutoLaunch solution. The Windows Mobile team can now easily and reliably setup devices with standardized, legally approved demo content, using a solution that scales to meet the needs of Microsoft’s demonstrators and presenters around the world.

Matchbox has developed software for a major US carrier to provide a better experience for their Smartphone subscribers when connecting over their WiFi network.

The carrier rolled out a national Wi-Fi network providing subscribers with more secure, broadband speed connectivity, while at the same time reducing load on their cellular network. However, connecting to the network via a Smartphone could be cumbersome, requiring subscribers to manually enter login credentials via a web portal every time they connect.

The carrier contracted Matchbox to create a client for their Smartphones that would take the hassle out of connecting to the Wi-Fi. So Matchbox created a solution that works silently and detects whenever the carrier’s Wi-Fi network is available, then seamlessly connects with the subscriber’s login information.

The solution has been successful both through an increase in use of the carrier’s WiFi network, and reducing the level of WiFi related customer service calls.