Sony Ericsson offers SDK for XPERIA panel interface
updated 07:50 am EDT, Wed September 3, 2008
Sony Ericsson X1 Panel SDK
Sony Ericsson this morning introduced an software development kit just for the XPERIA X1, giving developers an opportunity to write apps for the phone's custom panel interface. The SDK will allow programmers to write Windows Mobile 6.1 apps that integrate directly with the panels at the top level and display live information without having the user enter the app itself. Sony Ericsson suggests this could be useful for at-a-glance looks at instant messaging or social networking as well as media catalogs.
The kit will be available shortly and should be exposed to the user through an element on the X1's interface that lets users download more panels through a specialized online location similar to Mac OS X's site for Dashboard widgets. Sony Ericsson has released a video [Windows Media video support required] to explain the interface and the expanded panel support, but hasn't said when it expects third-party panels to launch; company officials maintain that the first XPERIA phone itself will release in the fall and thus give little time for new software.
