A major manufacturer of mobile devices wanted to distinguish itself from the competition by creating a visually exciting user interface for its new smartphone model. Ixonos implemented a music player in the manufacturer’s phone. The user can experience this player aurally, visually as well as tactilely.
BACKGROUND
An international manufacturer of mobile devices wanted its new smartphone to have high usability as well as visual fireworks. In its quest for new, innovative ideas, the manufacturer approached Ixonos, whose experts offered to create a unique music player user interface that would tickle both the ears and the eyes of its users.
SOLUTION
The user interface of the music player adds graphic pizzazz to the phone. The player’s 3D graphics combine music listening with a visual experience. While using the player, the user can, for example, browse album covers by touching the screen, rotate the screen 90 degrees with the graphics being repositioned accordingly, and choose between various views to play music in. As the music plays, stylized graphics appear on the screen, moving in time with the music.
The music player was implemented in the C++ language, on the Symbian platform. The three-dimensional graphics were created using the OpenGL programming interface familiar from computer environments. Now, the OpenGL environment was innovatively used in a mobile device. The interface enabled complex threedimensional graphics to display on the smartphone with no slowness or delay.
The mobile terminal manufacturer had not previously purchased complete, ready for use services from a subcontractor. However, the manufacturer and Ixonos had a history of productive cooperation. As previous successful results had created a deeply confidential relationship, Ixonos became the first company to have delivered a complete service to this manufacturer. By purchasing the service, the device manufacturer avoided cost risks, as the price for the project was agreed in advance.
BENEFITS
With the music player implemented by Ixonos, the mobile terminal manufacturer attained the ”wow effect” desired for the new phone model. The human-friendly user interface matched the major manufacturer’s technical requirements. The music player gave the new phone model a graphic edge, making it stand out from the manufacturer’s competitors by virtue of its looks.