Free Sample Connects Microsoft Surface Apps to Mobile Devices

A new resource available free of charge from Microsoft is designed to make it simple for developers building on top of Microsoft Surface to connect their applications to Bluetooth-enabled devices. The Microsoft Surface Bluetooth Connect Code Sample can be downloaded from the MSDN Code Gallery and help devs integrate Bluetooth connectivity in their Microsoft Surface applications, according to Eric Havir, Sr. manager, Digital Communications at Microsoft/Surface.

Just have a look at the video embedded at the bottom of the screen in order to get an idea of what capabilities can be added to a Microsoft Surface app with the new code sample. “It can be used to send content to Bluetooth equipped mobile devices – without the need for client-side applications,” Havir stated.

“The sample demonstrates sharing pictures, contacts and ringtones to a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone; with a whole range of additional possibilities enabling enhanced assisted sales, gaming, education, and communication scenarios,” he added.

It is important to note that the Microsoft Surface Bluetooth Connect Code Sample is designed for use with Bluetooth-capable mobile devices that support the Object Exchange Protocol (OBEX). “This code sample is designed for use with the Microsoft Surface 1.0 SP1 SDK and makes use of the .NET Bluetooth library binary file available from http://32feet.net/default.aspx. The sample code is provided ‘as-is’ and is not supported,” Havir noted.

Microsoft Surface SDK 1.0 Service Pack 1 is available directly from the Redmond company, but developers will have to pay for it, as it comes with a tabletop computing unit that isn’t exactly cheap. An alternative would be to access the Microsoft Surface SDK 1.0 SP1 Workstation Edition, offered free of charge, but that doesn’t provide access to a Surface unit. Still, developers can leverage the resources available in order to build applications that take advantage of the full capabilities Microsoft Surface has to offer, including content transfer via Bluetooth.

Microsoft Surface SDK 1.0 SP1 Workstation Edition is available for download here.