Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia’s development community just got its first taste of near field lovin’ with the first Qt SDK to support NFC. While you’ll be forgiven if you’re not up in arms over the latest revelation, owners of the company’s latest handsets can soon expect a greater number of useful apps that take advantage of this newfangled technology. The developer tools enable the creation of applications for both Symbian and MeeGo, and allows software authors to simulate NFC tags and create events based around them — all within the virtual environment. Programmers looking to dip their toes into the water will find a couple of experimental apps from Espoo’s pride that highlight near field communication, along with the complete source code for each. Sounds like it’s time for some to make a pot of coffee and let the coding madness ensue.

Qt developers gain NFC support with Nokia’s latest SDK update originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileBurn  |  Nokia Conversations  | Email this | Comments

Turns out, Sony Ericsson is really coming around to the understanding that Android phones are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. After taking notice of the FreeXperia team’s tireless efforts to bring CyanogenMod 7.1 to certain SE devices, the company is now “pulling a Samsung” by lending its support to the cause. The firm has provided the group with approximately 20 phones, along with debugged and rebuilt camera library binaries to ensure a proper user experience. Not stopping there, Sony Ericsson hopes to make these bits available to all developers under a special EULA in the near future. Of course, the company continues to remind its users that it doesn’t specifically condone unlocking the bootloader — which still results in a void warranty — even though it’s willing to help you do just that.

[Thanks, Thorsten]

Sony Ericsson lends hand to FreeXperia devs, shows love for CyanogenMod 7.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Sony Ericsson Developer World  | Email this | Comments

Canonical launches Ubuntu App Developer platform for curious coders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Thinq_, The Inquirer  |  Ubuntu  | Email this | Comments

It’s pronounced “twerp,” but don’t mistake TeamWin’s Recovery Project for a run-of-the-mill chump. The software is intended as a touchscreen replacement for ROM managers such as TWRP 1.0 and ClockworkMod Recovery. In addition to the all-important backup, restore and install functions, the utility now provides a full GUI for touch input that’s fully customizable with XML themes. As a particular boon, developers will have the option to design custom installation processes unique to their particular ROMs, which is a lovely (though very metaphorical) cherry on top. As you’d expect, the software supports both phones and tabs, and if you’re interested to see more, just check the full demo video after the break. According to the developer, the utility still needs some work before it’s ready for prime time, but it’s rather nice to see the group stay productive as it matures.

[Thanks, Ian]

Continue reading TeamWin demos TWRP 2.0 recovery manager for Android, scoffs at your volume rocker (video)

TeamWin demos TWRP 2.0 recovery manager for Android, scoffs at your volume rocker (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Central  | Email this | Comments

You know Nuance right? They’re the folks who make Dragon speech recognition software for Macs, iThings, Blackberrys, Androids and cars. Earlier this year, the company released its Dragon Mobile SDK to provide the tools needed to get folks talking to their phones, instead of with them. Now, Nuance has added support for Windows Phone 7 (no Mango support… yet) and upgraded its developer program to provide devs with more support so it’s easier to make voice-enabled applications. Additionally, it’s added eight new languages to its repertoire — Canadian French, Americas Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean, Taiwanese Mandarin, and Cantonese — with more to come.

We got to speak with Nuance about its new program, now called NDEV Mobile, and were told it’s broken into three tiers: Silver, Gold, and Emerald. NDEV Silver is the base level that gives devs free access to Nuance’s text-to-speech and voice recognition technology. Gold service provides SSL data encryption and access to cloud-based speech recognition and TTS servers over the web (rather than using a client-side API) through per-user or per-transaction pricing models. At the top end, the Emerald level rolls out the red carpet with integrated custom vocabulary and grammar — for creating apps that recognize industry jargon — and dedicated account management. The company sees the Emerald tier appealing most to enterprise customers, but it’s available to any dev willing to pony up for the extra Nuance TLC. So, intrepid app-makers, now that you’ve got the tools to make our phones understand us better than ever, how will you use them?

Continue reading Nuance adds WP7 support, gives devs better service with NDEV Mobile developer program

Nuance adds WP7 support, gives devs better service with NDEV Mobile developer program originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Nuance, (2)  | Email this | Comments