NetFront™ Dynamic Menu

Delivering the Next Mobile Experience

NetFront Dynamic Menu provides mobile operators with a comprehensive framework that enables mobile content and services to be pushed and pulled directly to and from mobile handsets.

NetFront Dynamic Menu tears down the static mobile data model and replaces it with a new, dynamic model that presents mobile users with a dramatically compelling mobile experience that generates greater end-user interest and interaction while enabling new branding opportunities, business models, and revenue opportunities for operators and their content partners.

For complete information on NetFront Dynamic Menu download the PDF brochure.

 NetFront Dynamic Menu brochure (PDF: 280 KB)

What is NetFront Dynamic Menu?

NetFront Dynamic Menu enhances the user experience on mobile phones with an updatable, graphically rich interface that enables easier access to advanced phone functionalities, premium content, and operator services.

NetFront Dynamic Menu replaces the static user-interface screen on mobile devices with a dynamic or active user-interface written in markup language. Standard Web technologies like XHTML/HTML, SVG, ECMAScript, CSS, DOM and even SMIL, can be used to render this dynamic interface. XHTML/HTML is used to support navigation and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is used to add rich, scalable graphics capabilities.

In a typical mobile device, the root menu and idle screen (the default screens displayed when the user is not actively engaged in other applications) are displayed in a static manner. No information beyond the date and time is typically displayed. NetFront Dynamic Menu provides end-users with a functional root menu and idle screen that supports continuously refreshed content.

Key Benefits

• Provides unlimited branding opportunities
• Enables unlimited service opportunities
• Based on open standards
• Enables advanced user-interface designs
• Delivers a compact footprint

Main Menu Concept Screen	Main Menu Concept Screen (Data Folder)
RSS Pushed Channel for News	RSS Pushed Channel for Sports

How Does NetFront Dynamic Menu Work?

There are two NetFront Dynamic Menu main functions:

• Support for pushed content
• Framework for XML-based phone and application user-interfaces

Pushed content can consist of informational updates such as a current headline added to a news channel, or it can be content that defines the handset menu itself. The transport is handled in a modular fashion so that different transport configurations can be implemented with a minimum of effort.

A command is typically associated with each content message sent to the device. This command relates to functionality such as "set wallpaper", "save to location", etc. It is also possible to push commands to the device without sending data using: "query configuration", for example.

Some update types require the user to approve the download of content. The other class of update allows for automatic updates without querying the user for each delivery. This is useful for updating content such as news channels.

In addition to pushing content to the device, NetFront Dynamic Menu allows for building menu control functionality with standard markup languages. This means that new menus can be pushed using the same mechanism to push content to the device.

NetFront Dynamic Menu Architecture

The NetFront Dynamic Menu (NFDM) client is composed of a NFDM Agent and a NFDM Player. The NFDM agent is a small deamon program that handles receiving updates and data. The NFDM agent contains replaceable modules for communication protocols and the event interface to the NFDM player. This allows for easy porting and customization depending on platform requirements. The NFDM player is a small shell built on top of the NetFront Rendering Engine.

NetFront Dynamic Menu UI Customization