Chapter 9

Multimedia

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Understanding multimedia concepts
• Working with audio
• Working with video

Today’s smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mobile operators (MOs) use multimedia functionality as their main selling point. Most smartphones have a good camera with 5 or 8 megapixel capabilities, an FM radio, a variety of sounds like different ringtones, and video capture functions. Some smartphones even have a surround sound system and can be regarded as mobile theaters.

With users relying on mobile devices increasingly as entertainment devices, Windows Phone 7 (WP7) has a stronger emphasis on multimedia technology including music, pictures, and video.

This chapter begins with an architectural overview of the common multimedia components offered by three OSs: iPhone OS (iOS), Google Android, and WP7. The chapter then compares the common features and differences among the three OSs. The latter part of the chapter focuses mainly on WP7. You’ll discover what WP7 provides for multimedia features in details. The accompanying code illustrates how to use WP7’s multimedia APIs in your applications.