Many of us use Bluetooth everyday to connect our smartphone with the car stereo, headset, or even a fitness app like FitBit.
The growing number of apps and devices that use Bluetooth for
communication opens up a world of opportunity for developers, especially
those taking advantage of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
If you’re not familiar with BLE, it’s a subset of the Bluetooth 4.0
spec that uses a fraction of the power consumed by older
Bluetooth-enabled devices. In a world where battery life is at a
premium, BLE ensures communication between the smartphone and Bluetooth
devices is simple, reliable, and efficient.
That’s why we’ve released a number BLE compatible devices, like the HTC One, HTC One X+, HTC Butterfly and Droid DNA,
with an open API for developers interested in leveraging BLE in their
apps. Some early examples of uses for BLE include the pedometers, heart
rate monitors, and other sensory devices many of us use during our
exercise and travel daily.
One of the most exciting features of the newly unveiled HTC One is its built in IR (Infrared) capabilities. Today HTCDev is excited to announce the addition of an IR API to the HTC OpenSense SDK.
This new partner API will be offered upon request to developers looking to leverage IR for potential apps on the new HTC One.
The first use for IR in the new HTC One is Sense TV. Part of Sense 5,
Sense TV leverages the built in IR port on the device and allows you to
control your TV and home entertainment center directly from phone.
Additionally, Sense TV pulls together a TV guide based on the user’s
geo-location during setup.
So when you’re traveling, the TV guide is updated with local content
on the phone and you can start browsing and watching programs. Right out
of the box, your new phone has all the capabilities of a universal TV
remote and more.
This new API allows your phone to “learn” the key codes from your
remote or other IR-capable device and then control it. With the
expanding use of IR, your apps could easily adapt to new hardware such
as printers, DSLR cameras, real estate lock boxes and many more.
And now we’re looking for developers interested in integrating with
this new API. Got an app that you think would be well suited for the IR
API? Fill out this form and we’ll send you more information!
Be sure to note you’re interested in the IR API specifically and if you
have a current app that might be a good fit (or if you just have a
great idea)!
Last week, there was some buzz about a website that contained RUUs for HTC devices being taken down at the request of HTC. We’d like to take a minute to provide some background.
The issue with the site in question was NOT that it provided custom
ROMs or RUUs. The site used HTC trademarks without a license from HTC.
The domain name contained ‘HTC’ and it used HTC logos, making it appear
to be an official HTC website. Like any other company, we must protect
our trademarks and brand. We cannot risk being associated with, and held
liable for, software that we don’t have any control over that’s put
onto an HTC device through a third party.
HTC openly embraces the community that chooses to flash custom ROMs onto their devices. The HTC Unlock Bootloader tool on htcdev.com
evidences this support. We think the custom ROM community is valuable
to the overall health of the Android ecosystem, and we have no intention
of abandoning them. We love the passion of this community, and we hope
you continue to build with us, use HTC products, and give us honest and
direct feedback.
Leigh Momii (LM): “The first thing I want
to say is it’s amazing that you built DoodleDroid in your spare time
while holding a full-time job! How did find the time?”
Eric Peterson (EP): “Half an hour at a
time. Seriously, before becoming a parent, finding time to work on
DoodleDroid was a snap. Now I get most of my work done on the bus
during my commute.”
LM: “The bus? That’s great! Way to be
efficient with your time I’m a big fan of DoodleDroid, it’s one of the
best drawing apps out there on Google Play. What was your inspiration
for creating this app?”
EP: “I always enjoyed drawing, and was
interested in Mao Bi (Chinese Calligraphy). I thought it would be an
interesting challenge to try to simulate a calligraphy brush. I usually
have some sort of side project going just to keep myself entertained
and learn something. At the time I had an old HP iPaq, which was
perfect for starting out. It had a pen, and I was able to write code
for it with the tools I was familiar with (C# in Visual Studio). The
app was relatively simple, but it let me get familiar with designing
motion based brush effects.
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