Category Archives: Blog post

Last year, we published a story covering GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema), a Russian, radio-based satellite navigation system covering the globe (locations mapped above), which a number of our Xperia™ devices support. In addition to an overview of GLONASS support in our latest Xperia phones from Sony Positioning Specialist, Magnus Persson, he also explained how you can incorporate the feature into your own apps. And in that time, our list of GLONASS-support devices has increased from 8 to 21. Read on to get the full list and a general recap of GLONASS technology.

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Our friends at App Promo have just opened up their 2nd Annual Developer Survey, which looks at how developers are performing with their apps from a discovery and financial perspective. The study aims to gather data to illustrate trends and insights that represent the developer community at large, and which will be used to create an infographic and white paper at the end of May this year. The survey runs from now to May 5, 2013. As an incentive for completing the survey, App Promo is also giving away the chance to win an App Store Optimisation package worth $1,500. So get started on the App Promo survey right away!

Click the Read more link below to read all of our App Promo developer tips.

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Designing and implementing an efficient network communication in your Android application is not an easy task. This is something Sony research engineer Erik Hellman has put a lot of thought and work into, and he shared some of his best hints and tips regarding this at his presentation at Droidcon London 2012. Check out the video and the presentation after the jump.

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One of the unique features you’ll find with recent Xperia™ smartphones is a “blinds” effect that’s part of the lockscreen display – touch your finger anywhere on the screen, and the window shreds into horizontal blind slats. The BlindsView feature is also available on Xperia™ smartphones running the Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 update (at the moment, Xperia™ TL). You can easily incorporate this graphical UI effect to your own standalone apps using our BlindsView tutorial from Johan Henricson, software project manager at Sony. You’ll also be able to download a separate BlindsView code example kit as part of this tutorial.

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If you’re a developer based in the US or Canada, and are eager to start testing your apps to ensure they work on the latest Xperia™ smartphones, you’re in luck! We’ve just added Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, and Xperia T to our Device Loaner Programme. And tablets and mobile accessories are also available, including the Xperia Tablet S and Sony SmartWatch. With the Device Loaner Programme, you can freely borrow a physical Xperia™ smartphone, tablet, or accessory device for up to 30 days, to ensure that your app works properly with Sony products. Read more about the programme after the jump.

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The battery life of smartphones and tablets is extremely important for many users, and in order to provide end users with good battery performance, device manufacturers have a joint responsibility together with all of you app developers. The power-save feature STAMINA mode, available on our latest Xperia™ devices including Xperia Z, is a clever way for us to improve the battery life for our users. And as an app developer, there are several things you can do to make your app more power efficient. Read on for five of our best tips, that will also ensure your app runs well with STAMINA mode turned on.

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With Sony’s power management setting called Battery STAMINA Mode, you can extend the standby time of your Xperia™ device by more than four times. With Battery STAMINA Mode turned on, the background activities of most applications are reduced when you turn off the screen. Read more on how it works after the jump!

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When you develop an app, there are a few things you can do to make it use network and power resources as efficiently as possible. And by doing so, you will also provide a clearly enhanced user experience. Håkan Jonson, a research engineer at Sony Mobile’s Technology office, created a tutorial a while back that will help you develop energy and network efficient apps. In his tutorial, you will find useful and hands-on tips, as well as code examples that will help you improve your app.

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The new Xperia Tablet Z and its smartphone equivalent, Xperia Z, are the latest Sony products that include Small Apps and IR remote sensor functionality. If you’re ready to start developing your own Small Apps or your own IR remote sensor-enabled apps, you’ll want to do so using the new Sony Add-on SDK. Read on for a quick look at how you can get your development started right away!

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You’ve all been able to develop app extensions for SmartWatch and Smart Wireless Headset pro for a while with the old Smart Extension SDK, but now we have replaced this with the new Sony Add-on SDK. So far, hundreds of apps have been created or extended to work with these devices. Read on for a walkthrough of the most useful facts and tips, for those of you looking to develop an app for SmartWatch and Smart Wireless Headset pro with the Sony Add-on SDK (and learn more about the SmartWatch update being released today!).

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