Imaging and SensorCore SDKs for Lumia now available
Developers! Unleash your potential and create amazing apps for Windows Phone owners everywhere with the latest tools.
Whether you’re into developing photography apps, or interested in having your phone know your app users’ moves, the Imaging SDK 1.2 and SensorCore SDK Beta will be your new best friends.
Nokia Imaging SDK 1.2
Announced at Build 2014 as a beta, the fully fledged Imaging SDK 1.2, which is based on the same technology that powers apps like Creative Studio, Storyteller and Cinemagraph, is now available to download.
With each Lumia smartphone packing hardware innovation, this SDK provides you with the right tools to make use of them.
The latest release brings support for not only Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1, but also any Windows Phone 8.0 and Windows 8.1 device from tablets to desktop PCs. With Universal apps, developers can now address the installed base of the Windows family with a single project, reusing a lot of their code across platforms. The Nokia Imaging SDK 1.2 is fully compatible with Universal apps and Windows Runtime languages, providing developers with flexibility to use the languages they prefer.
With support for animated GIFs and Image Aligner, it’s now possible for you to create moving-images apps, too.
Additionally, the new Local Blending API makes it easier to merge and position images of different sizes on top of each other, allowing for more interesting creations.
Ready to create amazing photo apps? Head to Nokia Developer.
Lumia SensorCore SDK Beta
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Some of the latest breeds of Lumia smartphones have the ability to collect more data about you, such as your physical activities.
The new Lumia 630, Lumia 635 and Lumia 930 will all come equipped with this new piece of hardware, called SensorCore. The technology will also be activated via the Lumia Cyan software update on Lumia 1520 and Lumia Icon.
As the name suggests, this real-time hardware sensor core can be used to store your movements, such as being idle, walking, or running, and make it available to apps like Bing Health & Fitness – even while the phone is ‘asleep’ in your pocket.
Bing Health & Fitness is the first app to use SensorCore but the new SensorCore SDK beta opens up the possibility for other app developers to get in on the action. What’s more, SensorCore can be combined with GPS for the perfect training partner that just magically knows when you start running.
Worried about battery drain? Fear not. SensorCore is designed specifically to consume almost no power so it barely makes a dent in your battery indicator, unlike traditional sensor technologies.
Interested in creating context-aware apps on Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia devices? Head to Nokia Developer to learn more and download the SensorCore SDK Beta.
To test your own app development skills, there are two new Challenges on DVLUP.com that invite you to make the most of the Lumia SensorCore SDK beta. There is one for new apps using SensorCore, and one for app updates, too.
What ideas do you have for using SDKs? Share them with us below.