At the start of the year, we reported on a number of Sony Xperia smartphones and accessories supporting NFC (Near Field Communication). In that article, we also looked at NFC technology in more detail, provided some use cases, and explained how we work with NFC. And in that time, we’ve introduced even more NFC-supported smartphones. Read on to get the full list and a general recap of what NFC is all about.
If you’re currently working on an app where image scaling is needed, such as when you’re developing a SmartWatch extension for your application, don’t forget that we have a handy tutorial to explain how to get images scaled correctly. Andreas Agvard, a Senior Software Engineer at Sony, has created an image scaling code example that you can download, compile, and run. Read more after the jump.
Are you a Google+ user? Do you want to stay up to date with the latest developer and tech news, tips and updates from the world of Sony & Android? We’ve created a dedicated Developer Circle to share exclusive content, host Q&A sessions and offer help and advice to the +SonyXperia Google+ fans. Once you’ve joined the circle, the Developer World team will be on hand to answer any questions or queries you may have. Read more about how to join the circle after the jump.
Supporting the open developer community is as always important to us, and our latest contribution available is a binary blob for CyanogenMod (CM) that fixes an audio lib issue recently reported by the community. This patch is now available on a FreeXperia git repository. Read on to learn what it does, and how Oskar Anderö (in the picture), helped CM with this binary blob. Oskar is a software developer at Sony.
![Binary blob contributed to CyanogenMod open source GitHub [open source]](http://developer-static.se-mc.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/oskar_andero-220x128.jpg)
A few weeks ago, we challenged all you developers out there to create an app that makes use of the Small Apps multi-tasking functionality in the Xperia™ Tablet S. We received a lot of interesting submissions that deserve mention, such as Muhammad Hakim A’s Al Mishbah Small App and Victor Kropp’s Board Game Dice Roller Small App. But one Small App stood out above the rest – tebaokoshi’s Mini camera . This simple, yet elegant Small App uses the tablet’s camera functionality, and has some handy options. We reached out to tebaokoshi to share the good news, and to learn more about how the Mini camera Small App was developed. Read more after the jump.
Today, we release a beta version of our new flash tool for Xperia devices, which enables you to put on standard Sony software* on a Sony Xperia™ smartphone which has the boot loader unlocked. This functionality has often been requested by the open Android™ community, and now we’re glad to support it. Please note that the phone still stays unlocked, and that the warranty may still be voided. As this is a beta version, only a limited number of phone models are supported to begin with. Read on for instructions and more information, and to find out how provide us feedback – we are really eager to hear what you think!
![New flash tool from Sony for unlocked Xperia™ smartphones [video + beta download]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/PKSyZ2amVNY/0.jpg)
Today, we’ve just announced Xperia E, a new addition to the Xperia™ smartphone range. This affordable smartphone comes with HD voice, data usage monitoring, and battery management. It also comes in a dual SIM version called Xperia™ E dual. Both these versions are powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, have a 3.5” HVGA screen, and will be available from Q1 2013. Also, Xperia™ E launches with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), while Xperia™ E dual launches initially on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) but will be upgraded to Android 4.1. Read more about the features of Xperia E and Xperia™ E dual after the jump.
![Introducing Xperia™ E: HD Voice, dual SIM*, data usage monitoring and battery power management [video]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/061JdTi3hww/0.jpg)
Yesterday, we published the Sony add-on SDK on Developer World, and today, we thought we should highlight how you can create new innovative IR remote use cases for your app on the Xperia™ Tablet S, such as an app that could switch the channels on TV, based on specific genres (sitcoms) or interests (sports). Or that you can create a new app, such as a cool TV remote, using the IR remote functionality of the Xperia™ Tablet S. With the open sourced IR remote sensor API for the Xperia™ Tablet S, all this is possible. Read on to learn more and download the IR remote sensor code examples and documentation kit.
![Create IR remote-enabled apps for Xperia™ Tablet S [code]](http://developer-static.se-mc.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/11/IRRemoteSensor_660x384-220x128.jpg)
Now we’ve gathered all Xperia™ developer tools at Developer World, as we now make the free Sony add-on SDK available for download from this site. The Sony add-on SDK enables you to easily develop apps that make use of the special features included in Sony tablets. For instance, you can develop Small Apps, which are miniature apps that run on top of other applications in the Sony Xperia Tablet S. You can also develop apps that make use of the IR remote sensor features in the Sony Xperia Tablet S, such as a TV remote app that switch the channels on TV, based on specific genres (sitcoms) or interests (sports). Head over to the Sony Add-on SDK section to learn more and get code examples, emulators and documentation. Happy coding!
![Download the Sony add-on SDK Add from Developer World [SDK]](http://developer-static.se-mc.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/sony_add-on_sdk_overview_page_660x3841-220x128.jpg)
Today, Sony contributes three new plugins to the Jenkins software tool: Build Failure Analyzer plugin, Metadata plugin and External Resource Dispatcher plugin. Jenkins is a software development tool that is used for building and testing software continuously during the development. At Sony, we are heavy users of Jenkins, and we like to contribute to making it even more useful for everyone else using it. And by making these plugins available, we can get valuable feedback from the Jenkins community. Learn more after the jump, as Robert Sandell and Tomas Westling from our software tools department explains more!
