Everything for the Ultrabook developer

added April 15, 2013

 

So one of the first questions raised by application developers, is typically how can I get started with app development on Ultrabook - well here are some excellent pointers.

Some months in a Contest for Ultrabooks, several quality apps were submitted with some serious awards. As part of the judging, there was a clear emphasis on both showing off hardware sensor capabilities and coming up with something innovative, participants were requested to write up an article that teaches others what was learned about writing applications for the Ultrabook, i.e. how was the app developed with the tools and sensors available on the platform.

Now with that out of the way, here’s a quick look at two specific apps and their features:

Some game developers utilized the lesser known multi-platform App Game Kit (AGK) that is available in C++ and a proprietary Tier 1 or Tier 2 language that caters from beginners to expert C++ developers. The AGK exports compiled code to a number of platforms such as Windows, iOS, Android, etc. In addition to becoming familiar with the AGK, Ultrabook app game developers must also understand how to best utilize the currently available eight sensors on the UltraBook (Near Field Communication, Geolocation, Compass, Gyrometer, Inclinometer, Orientation, Light Sensor & Multitouch), and also possibly develop simulators for these sensors to validate their app.

Mapping - How can an app take full advantage of the larger & faster storage model (SSD) on the Ultrabook (vs. mobile handhelds) as well as available sensors that can truly put these platforms to test that’s usually reserved for games. Well it has a solution, all by using the subset of the 300GB OpenStreetMap database it is possible to develop a map viewer with similar features to Google/Bing maps while running on an Ubuntu server in VMware.

 

 

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