14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung’s Galaxy Note was made available for purchase as a niche smartphone, yet it has already managed to conquer the hearts of millions of users.
Its successor, the recently released Galaxy Note II, is expected to prove even more popular, mainly courtesy of a larger display and its powerful quad-core application processor.
However, this is not all there is appealing about the new device, as the updated S Pen features that Samsung packed it with also play an important role in its successful performance on the market.
The S Pen feature was made available for application developers to integrate inside their applications, courtesy of an SDK that has just got updated.
The latest version of the development kit, namely 2.2, comes with support for additional UX scenarios, all available courtesy of a combination between Hovering, Side Button and Pen Gesture.
Thus, an update to the SPenEventLibrary provides support for S Pen recognition without a physical contact (the pen is only hovering over the screen).
Moreover, following the update, the S Pen can call Hover Pointer Icon (such as Pen, Text, Color Picker, Color filing) with preset.
Samsung has already sent out info on the availability of the new tool version, informing developers on the newly included features in S Pen SDK 2.2.
Other changes in the development kit include: Context Awareness: Launch pre-defined features while the S Pen/Earphone is used. - The package information of the apps used can be recognized while the S Pen is detached or the Earphone is attached to the device. - A newly added SPenDetachmentListener, recognizes when the S Pen is detached. Note: This listener does not support the original GALAXY Note. Easier & Expanded Drawing: Advanced features for your creative apps - ‘Calligraphy Brush’ has been added to pen input; 5 brushes in total. - Color filling features enable users to fill with the color selected at SettingView. - Improved SettingView function and UI; More Pen presets, New Fonts, Mini SettingView - Special Effects; 33 types of Image Effects including the Scratch Effect - Images from SCanvasView can be cut/copied/pasted using Clipboard
Samsung also reminded developers that they can still enter the Samsung Smart App Challenge, which is the largest app competition from the company ever, and which has its own ‘Best S Pen Apps’ category (20 apps with the best S Pen functionality will be awarded $200,000 in cash prizes).
The new Samsung S Pen SDK 2.2 is available for download from Softpedia as well, via this link.