My very first Windows Mobile phone was a Samsung BlackJack, and my wife and I each use, and love, BlackJack IIs (a matching his-and-hers pair in blue and pink respectively) every day. The Blackjack II is also very popular phone among my coworkers; it’s very common for one of my colleagues to pull out a BlackJack device during a meeting to check their mail, manage their calendar, or do some research.

Given my history, I’m sure you can imagine that I was totally stoked to hear about Samsung’s Web site, the Samsung Mobile Innovator (found at http://innovator.samsungmobile.com) for Windows Mobile developers. After doing some research I found out that the Mobile Innovator has actually been around since October 2008. In February 2009, Samsung added developer centers for Java and Windows Mobile development.

Membership to the site is free (all you have to do is register), and includes a number of great features:

• How-tos and walkthroughs on writing and signing apps for Windows Mobile. This includes a Getting Started tutorial on Windows Mobile Programming and content on popular topics, such as Debugging with Visual Studio 2008, and Unit Testing for Devices.
• Samsung’s downloadable SDK for Windows Mobile, which gives developers access to Samsung phone features such as accelerometers, notification LEDs, and haptic feedback.
• Downloadable Skins for Device Emulator that allow you to build and run code on images skinned for Samsung’s line of Windows Mobile phones (including the BlackJack II, Epix/Mirage, Robin, Saga, ACE, and Omnia). The following screenshot shows the Device Emulator skin for the SGH-900 Omnia:

…and here’s an image of the SGH-617 Blackjack II Device Emulator skin:

Additional features of the Samsung Mobile Innovator program include:

• Access to the Windows Mobile Discussion Board: an open forum that provides support for Windows Mobile device users.
• Lab.dev: a virtual device lab that allows you to install and test your applications on Samsung Windows Mobile devices over the Web.
• Access to the Samsung Reference Collection, which includes links to a Knowledge Base, the Samsung Device Database, the Samsung Mobile Innovator Wiki, and the Samsung Windows Mobile SDK Documentation.
• Product Showcase that provides detailed specifications for the latest Samsung devices that run on the Windows Mobile platform.
• Access to Sammi, the Samsung Mobile Innovator blog for Mobile Developers.

Just in time for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, the Samsung Mobile Innovator has started to go global by launching a Chinese-Language site. For more news about the Samsung Mobile Innovator, check out the Mobile Innovator News.

You can register for Samsung Mobile Innovator at https://innovator.samsungmobile.com/mbr/individual.mbr.add.do.

Enjoy exploring all the great features the Samsung Mobile Innovator has to offer for you!

(Special thanks to Constanze Roman for helping write this blog post, and to Jonathan Konrath from Samsung for reviewing it before posting!)