Datasheet

Phone Features
x
5
Light Sensor
The ambient light sensor built into the phone is responsible for adjusting the brightness of the dis-
play based on the amount of available light. This sensor cannot be accessed or controlled via API
and is not covered in this book.
Proximity Sensor
The proximity sensor is built into the phone hardware. It deactivates the screen when you place the
phone near your face or any other body part or inanimate object. This prevents accidental dialing or
feature activation during a phone call.
In the name of science, the authors of this book exhaustively tested hundreds
(well, maybe not hundreds) of items to see what would trigger the proximity
sensor. They are happy to report that putting the phone’s screen next to nearly
anything will suffi ce. The authors also determined during this testing that the
phone’s proximity sensor is active only during phone calls.
Sadly, this means that you won’t be using it in your games, unless your game
happens to be called “Make Several Phone Calls and See if the Screen Goes Dark
When You Put the Phone Next to Your Face”! Of course, stranger things have
happened. Neither of the authors (or anyone else) ever expected “I MAED A
GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1” to sell more than 300,000 copies on Xbox Live
Indie Games. So, who knows? Go for it!
Digital Camera
No self-respecting, super-cool smart phone would consider itself complete without a built-in camera
and fl ash. Fortunately, Windows Phone 7 is no exception. All phones, regardless of manufacturer,
are required to have a digital camera that supports a minimum of 5 megapixels. They are also
required to have a dedicated camera button (for that “OMG!” candid shot) and a fl ash.
Megapixels are calculated by multiplying the horizontal and vertical pixels of a
camera’s default image resolution just like calculating the area of your back-
yard (assuming its rectangular, like a picture from your new phone).
Manufacturers aren’t limited to 5 MP. Searching online reveals some upcoming phones that will
start shipping with a 10 MP camera.
c01.indd 5c01.indd 5 1/31/2011 3:27:14 PM1/31/2011 3:27:14 PM