By Erik Starck | Published: December 16th, 2009
We just released the X10 add-on for the Android SDK. Fetch it here. Read more info about the release here.
The add-on contains:
* Sony Ericsson splash screen
* X10 colour backgrounds
* A “skin” of the X10 which is a simple graphic of the front of the phone
* A hardware.ini file to set the operating parameters for screen, camera, audio and so on.
While you’re at it, download the Web-SDK for Android as well.
By Erik Starck | Published: November 26th, 2009
A guest post from Christian Nord at our CTO office. The topic is BONDI.
What is BONDI, you might ask? From the BONDI Primer we learn that:
BONDI is a framework for delivering Web based applications to mass market devices. BONDI builds upon existing work in the Web and widget space, adding device APIs and a robust security model
Over to Christian:
First, BONDI is a project initiated by OMTP with the aim of acting as a catalyst to drive the standardization of a small set of key interfaces from web services to mobile devices and also to put in place a well understood and user controlled security policy with which to protect the user.
To be able to establish trust there has to be some sort of foundation that you can build on. It most likely comes down to your reputation as a company or person.
To be able to continue to provide that same level of trust you must never fail to deliver on your promise. In this particular case it is the delivery of web widgets (as per the W3C definition ). In particular widgets that can access potentially sensitive information on the device you carry around every day, your mobile.
Letting a widget get access to this information can be very valuable for you, it may help the application to limit searches to your current location, it may offer enriched information to the contacts you carry around in your address book and so on, you get the point.
So, who would you trust?
Many mobile operators of this world thinks that you trust them so in a move to be helpful they want to control the policy for how widgets gets access to information on your device. This is where BONDI may be a potential answer, it provides a standard way of defining this policy set that will control the widgets provided through your operator.
One of the reasons that the operators wants to inject BONDI into the equation is that they can rely on the fact that they will continue to deliver on their promise. The promise being that widgets will only be able to act in a way that is acceptable by the operator.
The question then is do you trust the operator to handle this for you?
The latest BONDI specs can be downloaded here.
By Erik Starck | Published: November 5th, 2009
Finally we were able to unveil the beauty of XPERIA X10, our first phone based on the Google Android OS. We’re very happy to join the incredible success of the Android OS. This will be great!
Just to sum things up if you want to know more about developing for the X10:
As usual you should follow us on Twitter and also check out our Sony Ericsson Developer World Facebook Page.
Oh, one more thing: the screen supports 65536 colors. Seems to be some confusion there.
Erik Starck
Community Manager, Developer World
By Erik Starck | Published: October 29th, 2009
The security framework around Java ME is a topic for much debate. Believe me when I say, Sony Ericsson is well aware of the pain involved with signing and security prompts for midlets. This is something that the Head of Developer World, Simon Walker makes clear in our official announcement about a change in our signing policy for application submissions to our application store.
To sum it up, here’s the revised certification criteria:
* Applications can be unsigned at submission
* Applications that don’t require any permissions can be unsigned when deployed to the sales channels (NEW!)
* All Java applications must pass the Unified Testing Criteria .
* Applications that require permissions should be signed through JavaVerified or with Thawte Premium Server CA (NEW!) or Verisign Class 3 third-party certificates. (NEW!)
As always comments are welcome! You can also make your voice heard using this poll.
Erik Starck
Community Manager, Developer World
By Erik Starck | Published: October 27th, 2009
Albin Olofsson will be posting short videoclips from SEE2009 on our Youtube Channel. Here’s the first one:
If you’re there, find Albin and say hi. You might end up on Youtube if you do, though. 
By Erik Starck | Published: October 23rd, 2009
Srikar Kasarla, Partner Manager
Srikar Kasarla is working as a Partner Manager in the Content & Services team here at Sony Ericsson. At the Symbian Exchange Exposition in London next week he will be talking about “Shortening the path from code to cash” . I grabbed him in the corridors of the Sony Ericsson Lund office and asked him a few questions about his talk.
Developer World: So, what will you talk about?
Srikar Kasarla: I will be talking about open source as the future for mobile development and what new business models this shift opens up for.
DW: What kind of business models?
SK: We’re seeing a growth in mobile advertising and service subscriptions for example.
DW: Sounds like mobile is moving in the direction of the web. What benefits are there to working with the Symbian platform in this environment?
SK: One big benefit is the fact that you have multiple application stores compared to other platforms. This competition is very good for the developers. It also makes it possible to target different markets. Another benefit is that different application stores can have different philosophies behind how they accept application submissions. Sony Ericsson has chosen Quality over Quantity, with a fast approval process and free submissions.
DW: OK, that’s certainly sounds like a short path between code and cash?
SK: Yes, we are working hard to make sure applications are reviewed as soon as possible after submission. But we welcome feedback from developers on how to make things even better so I’m looking forward to SEE to meet the people behind the code.
Don’t miss Srikars talk if you’re attending SEE09: “Shortening the path from code to cash“, it’s the 27th of October at 16:30-17:00.
By Erik Starck | Published: October 16th, 2009
More OpenGL ES goodies in this video interview with Gordon MacLachlan from Imagination Technologies. The interview is done by Albin Olofsson, Tools Manager at the Sony Ericsson Developer World.
The interview includes:
Enjoy:
By Erik Starck | Published: October 16th, 2009
The good folks over at symbian.org just published a blog post on their blog about our presence at the SEE 09. Some quotes:
Sony Ericsson will be showing the new Satio™ phone (above – which is now available for retail); running speed-meeting sessions for developers and be hosting a workshop entitled Shortening the path from ‘Code to Cash’, as well as taking part in the Wednesday panel discussion ‘Open Innovation, The Collaborative Evolution of Symbian’.
More here.
Erik Starck
Community Manager, Developer World
By Erik Starck | Published: September 29th, 2009
“Location, location, location” is a well known mantra for real estate agents. Context awareness is also a key success factor for mbile applications. Tomi Ahonen calls the mobile phone “the seventh mass media” and highlights seven unique properties the mobile has:
1 – The mobile phone is the first personal mass media
2 – The mobile is permanently carried media
3 – The mobile is the only always-on mass media
4 – Mobile is the only mass media with a built-in payment mechanism
5 – Mobile is only media available at the point of creative inspiration
6 – Mobile is only media with accurate audience measurement
7 – Mobile captures the social context of media consumption
In order to fully maximize the value of these unique properties you need location awareness. With the Sony Ericsson JP8.5, available in Sony Ericsson Yari and Sony Ericsson Aino, we’re adding more and better support for location based services.
For example:
Consider this blog post an open call to our developer community to be as creative and innovative as we know you can be and come up with location based applications like something we’ve never seen before. As usual, you can submit your application over at the app store submit site. We’re looking forward to your contribution!
Erik Starck
Community Manager, Developer World
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sonyericssondev!
By Erik Starck | Published: September 3rd, 2009
The Sony Ericsson Satio™, which runs S60 5th Edition Symbian™ OS applications unmodified, has support for OpenGL ES 2.0. In other words: stunning 3D graphics. Tools Product Manager Albin Olofsson recorded a short demo video to show you what can be done with this device:
Is it a smartphone? Does it meet expectations? What do you think? Tell us!
Want to know more about developing for Satio™? Visit Sony Ericsson Developer World and follow us on Twitter.
Updated: An interview with Mike Hopkins at Imagination Technologies about Sony Ericsson Satio™ OpenGL® ES 2.0 Support is now published on Developer World main site.