Qt Mobility 1.2 technology preview

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Developers looking to experiment with the latest Qt Mobility API should direct their attention to Nokia's Qt Labs, where a technology preview release of Qt Mobility 1.2 was announced during the Christmas break. The primary focus of the 1.2 release is delivering backend support for MeeGo. However, there are also some new features, which will be of interest to both MeeGo and Symbian developers. A beta release of Qt Mobility 1.2 will follow this technology preview at the end of January.

Qt technology preview releases are not intended for use in commercially deployed applications. Rather they are released to publicise and encourage feedback on both capabilities and API features and structures.

The Qt developers are looking for feedback on the 1.2 release, in advance of shipping with MeeGo 1.2 in "early 2011". Qt Mobility 1.2 will also be included in future versions of Symbian and will likely be made available for existing and older versions via the Smart Installer.

The current technology preview does not include a Symbian .sis file due to the (im)maturity of the backend for the Connectivity module on Symbian. However, this is expected to be rectified at the beta stage.

In addition to the MeeGo backend work, the Qt Labs blog highlights two significant additions in Qt Mobility 1.2: Connectivity Bluetooth and Connectivity NFC (Near Field Communication).

NFC is set to be a hot trend in 2011. The majority of Nokia's future Symbian^3 and MeeGo devices are set to include NFC. The first device with NFC support is the Nokia C7-00. However, currently, the NFC chip is the C7-00 is inactive; it is expected to be 'activated' by a future software update. As a result, NFC testing will need to be done in the Qt Simulator, until such time as the necessary back ends are completed and NFC supporting hardware is available.

A complete list of 1.2 roadmap items is available in the roadmap and more details are available on the Qt website.

Those wishing to check out up to date builds of Qt Mobility 1.2 can download from the following URL's"

Source code: http://qt.gitorious.org/qt-mobility/qt-mobility/commits/master
MeeGo packages: http://download.meego.com/live/devel:/qt-mtf:/qt-mobility:/1.2/testing/


David Gilson for All About MeeGo and All About Symbian, 13th January 2011.