Moodle for Windows Mobile (pocket IE)

Following on from my iPhone detection script I have added the Windows CE User Agent. When Moodle detects the WinCE browser tag it loads a new stylesheet called wince.css.

The new style sheet does exactly what the iPhone stylesheet does, expect this time links are created for use with a stylus and not the finger. So basically things are much smaller and links are more compact. I was toying with the idea of making it completely touch screen like the iPhone but I like the BBC Mobile page too much so I kept things simple.

I need to make Moodle as useful on the small screen as it is on the desktop. Users should have all the same functions delivered on their mobile. Removing the left column hides the blocks and these add functionality to courses.

To get around this I have written a small footer menu which contains administrative tasks and key elements from blocks. I’ll be adding the main ‘nuts and bolts’ of Moodle here.

The stylesheet should also work well on standard WAP browsers on basic mobile phones too. If the user agent doesn’t detect WinCE or iPhone it will then look to see if it’s a mobile device.

Next Step

My next move is to get hold of an Android phone and a Blackberry.

Although I use the agent switcher in Firefox for initial development it is often best to check it out on the physical device as things often tend to look different in real-life!

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