Hasta La Gadget!

Peter Chou is sharing HTC’s graces at Uplinq 2011 with the announcement of OpenSense SDK, where the company hopes to recruit developers willing to create apps specifically for Sense 3.0. With help from the HTCdev community, software designers will receive tools to create a seamless experience between their applications and HTC’s user environment (while also rendering their apps incompatible with non-HTC handsets). Beneath the skin, developers will be provided access to proprietary APIs that support 3D displays and tablet pens — which could make quite the gaming session. There’s currently no release date for the SDK, but the company is already taking names for a summer launch. So, if you’re comfortable helping HTC build this barrier around Android’s “open” mantra, we imagine there’s some rather slick apps waiting to be given life. Jump the break for the accompanying PR.

[Thanks, Jonny and Eric]

Continue reading HTC announces OpenSense SDK and HTCdev, offers paradise inside its walled garden

HTC announces OpenSense SDK and HTCdev, offers paradise inside its walled garden originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google I/O is still ongoing and at the session for teaching developers how to build Android apps for Google TV the team has just shown off a quick peek of the new Honeycomb-based UI that will be released later this year. Shown above you can quickly compare it to the original UI to see how different, and hopefully improved it is. The new icon layout should make getting back to live TV a simpler process, while there’s also that large space above for widgets and support for notifications. Developers will be able to run their ADBs on devices later this summer, but prior to that it will have a “Fishtank” program for some devs to take home their internal test units to run apps on now — no hardware modification necessary.

The team also just announced that the source code to the existing Google TV remote app for Android is being open sourced, so anyone who thinks they can do better (it wouldn’t be difficult) can have a crack at building their own. Also available is code for the Anymote Protocol it runs on so developers can make tablet or phone apps that integrate with and control the Google TV — both are linked below. Other features mentioned included support for 3D, and game controllers using Android 3.1’s expanded USB compatibility. There were no product announcements before the session ended, and no word on the rumored and expected ARM base for new products, but the project manager confirmed new product announcements “later this year.” Google TV will need new product announcements if it’s going to receive a boost over other smart TV technology, but the potential of the market and availability of open source code is still providing a tantalizing vision of the promise it’s failed to capitalize on so far.

Update: The entire presentation is now available on YouTube, check it out after the break as well as an earlier Bootcamp presentation on the same subject.

Continue reading Google TV shows off new Honeycomb UI, plans for Market, SDK; opens up remote app source code (video)

Google TV shows off new Honeycomb UI, plans for Market, SDK; opens up remote app source code (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 16:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When he first showed off the original iPad, Steve Jobs talked up the “fourth screen.” But is four really enough? We mean, really? Could the fifth screen really have been on our wrists all along? Sure, we’ve seen plenty fall flat with smartwatches, including big names like Microsoft and Sony Ericsson, but that hasn’t stopped companies from trying. The Meta Watch certainly isn’t Fossil’s first connected wristwatch — nor is it the first watch SDK — but it does have a lot going for it, including a thumbs up from HP. The two models are built on Texas Instruments’ CC2560 Bluetooth platform, which allow them to receive push notifications from smartphones and tablets, so you can read e-mail, tweets, or Facebook updates — assuming the right developers get onboard. And since none of the apps actually live on the watches, they get solid battery life — seven full days on a charge, according to the company. You can pre-order the watches now, or wait until they officially go on sale in July for $200 a pop — make sure to set a reminder on your nano. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Fossil Meta Watch shows you where you can put your fifth screen

Fossil Meta Watch shows you where you can put your fifth screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still waiting for some specific US launch details for the Xtion Pro and Wavi Xtion motion sensors that ASUS showed off at CES earlier this year, but it looks like folks in Japan can now already get their hands on half of that duo. Unity Corportation has just announced that it’s releasing the Xtion Promotion sensor (complete with an SDK) in the country for ¥19,980, or roughly $240. That should work similarly to a Kinect considering that PrimeSense is responsible for much of the technology behind it, although you should be aware that this one is aimed squarely at developers looking to create their own games and applications for it. You’ll have to wait for the more consumer-friendly Wavi Xtion for something that you can simply plop down in your living room.

Unity Corporation releases Xtion Pro PC motion sensor in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew it was coming, and today at MIX 11, Microsoft showed off its developer platform for the next version of Windows Phone, which developers will be able to get their hands on for free in May. The new application platform adds:

• Multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer, and fast app switching, including background audio playback for HTML5 webpages
• Deeper integration of apps into the OS, allowing programs to leverage Live Tiles, including push notifications via Live Agents running in the background
• Raw access to the camera and sensors (gyro and compass) via the Motion Sensor library, letting apps to control device hardware

Microsoft hopes this will allow developers to make even more creative and engaging apps. To get our juices flowing, it showed off demos of new app concepts from Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping, and Kik Messenger. Check out our gallery below and hit the break for the details.

Continue reading Windows Phone adds multitasking, deeper OS integration, and sensor access to dev platform

Windows Phone adds multitasking, deeper OS integration, and sensor access to dev platform originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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