The Ericsson Application Awards is a yearly, global competition that provides an opportunity for Android™ application developers to gain visibility and reach out to customers via Ericsson’s distribution channels. The competition is open to students and small companies, and is sponsored in cooperation with Sony. This year, the theme of the competition was “Apps for the Networked Society,” which focused on innovation connecting people, things and places to empower society. Check out the Ericsson Application Awards website for more information about the competition and the four finalists, along with information about the live webcast from the prize ceremony. And why not submit your own app next year?

After releasing the ICS beta ROM for three other Xperia™ smartphones a while back, we got a lot of requests from Xperia™ PLAY users that wanted to try out ICS. When it comes to Xperia™ PLAY, we do know that some games will need to be optimised to work fine with ICS. Of course, big parts of the work with games are already initiated, and we work close with several game partners on this. However, we would still like to get additional input from you, to get your opinion on how the content and games work on your Xperia PLAY.

We are especially interested in how the gaming experience works on ICS beta for Xperia™ PLAY, what games that work well and if there is any unexpected behaviour. Please let us know what you think once you’ve tried it out. You can submit your feedback either through the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ PLAY, the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ PLAY thread on the XDA forum, or in the comments to this blog post. If possible, please describe your experience of different games using the following format:

Game title:
What was your general impression?
Did the buttons work properly?
Did the touch pads work properly?
Did you experience any lagging?
Any other feedback?

Important information
Even though a lot of the basic functionality of this ICS beta ROM is working, you should only download and install the beta version if you are an advanced developer. This is not the final software, and the stability of the software may not be ideal as it has not been finally tested and bugfixed.

Even if you’re an advanced developer, there are a few things to pay close attention to before you download and install the beta ROM:

• You should be an advanced developer with extensive knowledge in how to install, and switch between different ROMs. If you are a consumer without these developer skills, then we strongly recommend you do not try this, as you may damage your phone.
• You must be using Xperia™ PLAY, running the latest Xperia™ software release (which is 4.0.2.A.0.42). For an ICS beta ROM for Xperia™ Arc S, Xperia™ Neo V and Xperia™ ray, check out the previously released ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia™ smartphones.
• You must unlock your phone using our Unlock boot loader service, and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply. Please note that you may void the warranty of your phone, any warranty from your operator or both if you unlock the boot loader of your phone. Sony Mobile can then no longer guarantee the full functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any unusable functions or loss of personal data associated to the beta ROM being flashed to the phone. Please pay special attention to the following legal statement before downloading (the full statement is available on the download link):

“You must acknowledge that the software is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.”

• Also, if you unlock the boot loader, you will not be able to download and install the final Ice Cream Sandwich software upgrade for Xperia™ phones. For additional information on limitations and warranty, please see our Unlock boot loader service page.
• You should have read through and acknowledged the limitations of the software described below.
• You must read and accept the end user license agreement on the download link, before you can download the beta ROM zip file.

Please note that the Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps (for example Gmail, Google Maps and Face Unlock) and Wi-Fi™ are not included in the beta release due to that they are still waiting for the certification and type approval to be finalised.

Download and install
Follow the instructions below to download and install the alpha ROM. Please note that it only works with Xperia™ PLAY.

1. Make sure your phone is running the latest software release, which is build number 4.0.2.A.0.42.  If you can’t upgrade to this build number, it is not possible to try the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ phones.
2. Go to unlockbootloader.sonymobile.com and unlock the boot loader of your phone. To do this, you must read through and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply.
3. Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ PLAY.
4. Extract the downloaded zip file to your Android Fastboot directory. For example: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\Xperia_PLAY_ICS_beta.
5. Open a command prompt and go to your Fastboot directory: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\
6. Flash the three beta ROM files one at a time using Fastboot. Use these three commands:
   •  fastboot flash boot ..\Fastboot\Xperia_PLAY_ICS_beta\boot.img
   •  fastboot flash userdata ..\Fastboot\Xperia_PLAY_ICS_beta\userdata.img
   •  fastboot flash system ..\Fastboot\Xperia_PLAY_ICS_beta\system.img
7. Once done, please reboot your phone.

So feel free to go ahead and test this version and let us know what you think. Your comments are really important to us!

More information

• Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ PLAY.
• Give us your feedback in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia PLAY.
• Discuss this software in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia PLAY thread on the XDA forum.
• Unlock your Xperia™ phone with our Unlock boot loader service.
• Check out the ICS beta ROM for Xperia™ Arc S, Xperia™ Neo V and Xperia™ ray.
• Read what happens from from source code release to software upgrade.

The Resource Power Manager (RPM) is a hardware block required for managing shared resources in order to optimise power consumption. RPM communicates with processors and hardware accelerators in each subsystem to process and coordinate shared resource requests. Since the RPM.bin file is a proprietary file provided by Qualcomm, you will need to accept an end user license agreement before you can download it. The script (mkelf.py) is released under the 3 –clause BSD open source license.

How to use the flash tools
Download RPM_firmware_for_Xperia_smartphones_20120319.zip and image_generation_script_for_Xperia_smartphones.zip, to somewhere on your computer. Then perform the following steps:

1. Create the kernel image by executing the following command in the command prompt:

python mkelf.py -o kernel.elf zImage@0x40208000 ramdisk.img@0x41200000,ramdisk RPM.bin@0x20000,rpm

2. Flash and reboot your phone with the following commands:

fastboot -i 0x0fce flash boot kernel.elf

fastboot -i 0x0fce reboot

So, are you eager to start developing your own ROM for Xperia S? Check out our open source archives for Sony Xperia™ phones, and feel free to drop us a comment below if you have any questions!

More information

• Download the open source archive for the Xperia S.
• Download the image generation script.
• Download the RPM firmware.
• Learn how to build a Linux kernel.
• Check out the open source archives for Sony Xperia phones.
• Find out more about the Xperia S.
• Learn about the Sony Xperia open initiatives.

This week at GDC, we’re showcasing at our booth many of our great Stand out partners – Be-Rad Entertainment, Bertil Hörberg, Blyts, Deemedya, Digital Leisure, FDG-Entertainment, GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc, Lantansia, Level Eight AB, Mediocre Games, OrangePixel, Red Fly Studio, Inc, Rubicon Development. Also come check out the great video that highlights their respective titles – Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!, Helium Boy, Greedy Spiders, Trial Xtreme 2, Dragon’s Lair, Beyond Ynth, Princess Punt, EnbornX, MEGASTUNT Mayhem Pro, Sprinkle, Neoteria, Inertia: Escape Velocity, and Great Little War Game.

You can read more about these development studios and their Xperia™-optimised games below:

Be-Rad Entertainment

Be-Rad Entertainment is an indie game development studio run by Bradley Johnson, who started his own company in 2010. After having worked for 5 years as a gameplay scripter and programmer at Crystal Dynamics, Brad has branched out and made mobile games on his own, including Xperia™ PLAY hits Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! and Lame Castle.

Bertil Hörberg

Bertil Hörberg is the technical director and co-founder at Might & Delight, a Stockholm-based studio that makes video games. Bertil’s 3D platform game Helium Boy is fully optimised for Xperia™ PLAY.

Blyts

From Buenos Aires, Argentina, comes Blyts, a young and modern company that is in constant innovation creating applications for mobile. Their puzzle game, Greedy Spiders, has been optimised for Xperia™ PLAY devices.

Deemedya

Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, digital media company Deemedya is an international developer, publisher and distributor of mobile content. They take traditional, mainstream brands, companies, products and activities into the new world of mobile and social media. Deemedya’s games optimised for Xperia™ smartphones include Further Beyond Fighting, Trial Xtreme and Trial Xtreme 2.

Digital Leisure

Digital Leisure is a Canadian publisher of software. The company formed in 1997 with the vision to acquire, remaster, and publish numerous classic video-based arcade games, including Dragon’s Lair. This classic game first wowed arcade gamers back in 1983, and now it’s wowing Xperia™ PLAY owners, with an optimised version for the gaming smartphone.

FDG-Entertainment

FDG-Entertainment is a development studio located in Munich, Germany. Their optimised games for Xperia™ PLAY include Beyond Ynth and Beyond Ynth Christmas Edition.

GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc

GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc specialises in the planning, development, operation, and distribution of online games, mobile games, flash games, and consumer games in Japan. Their unique puzzle game Princess Punt blends strategy and skilled precision, and is optimised for Xperia™ PLAY.

Lantansia

Lantansia is a game creation group from Hong Kong. Their retro-themed shooter, EnbornX, has come fully optimsed to Xperia™ PLAY.

Level Eight AB

Eight years ago in Umeå, Sweden, eight enterprising gamers decided to found a new game company called Level Eight. They’ve optimised their racing game, MEGASTUNT Mayhem Pro, for Xperia™ PLAY.

Mediocre Games

Mediocre is not just a name – it’s a concept. Mediocre Games was founded by two guys who don’t really play video games, but thrive on creating different games without compromise. If water and physics is your thing, then the Xperia™ PLAY-optimised puzzle game Sprinkle is perfect for you.

OrangePixel

OrangePixel is a Dutch independent game developer with a love for retro games and gameplay. Neoteria is their classic shoot ‘em up game optimised for Xperia™ PLAY.

Red Fly Studio, Inc

Located in Austin, Texas, Red Fly Studio, Inc was founded by ten-year veterans of the gaming industry with experience on a wide variety of titles. Their one-of-a-kind physics platformer game, Inertia: Escape Velocity, is soon coming to the Xperia™ PLAY fully optimised.

Rubicon Development

Rubicon Development is a UK-based independent game developer focusing on developing their own games and IP, and bringing them direct to mobile platforms. As the name implies, Great Little War Game is their hit turn-based strategy game, and they’ve optimised it for Xperia™ PLAY.

For more details on Sony Mobile’s activities at GDC, check out the GDC listing on our Developer World Event Calendar.

About the Stand out from crowd program

With the launch of our PlayStation ® Certified Android™ smartphones, including Xperia™ PLAY and Xperia™ ion, Sony is looking for games developers who are mobile innovators and ready to stand out from the crowd. We provide you with the best platform to launch and take your games to the next level. In return, you get access to a targeted audience looking to purchase the best games available, supported on a promotional platform across all markets around the world that uses digital, PR and retail to shout about your games.

Here’s how the Stand out from the program can help you:

• Become part of Sony’s marketing campaigns.
• Take the great unique gaming controls into account.
• Become visible in the Game recommender app in Sony Xperia™ smartphones.
• Get pushed in global press activities – present in 140 markets.
• Get promoted in Sony social media activities (we have 4 million fans on Facebook!).

So are you ready to stand out at our next event? Go to our Stand out from the crowd homepage to get started.

More information

• Watch the Standout video on YouTube.
• Get programme information, speaker info, and full agenda for GDC.
• Get in the developer spotlight through the Stand out from the crowd programme.

The FM radio module for 2011 Xperia™ phones was originally built on Texas Instrument’s (TI) FM chip, with some adaption to improve FM radio handling on chip level. To make it easy for community developers to close the gap between the TI open source FM radio solution and our implementation, we now release our FM radio module as open source under the apache 2 license. We hope this will enable more ROMs to utilise the FM radio. Download the FM radio module for the 2011 Xperia™ phones to learn more.

We have also updated the open sourced sensor HAL for the 2011 Xperia™ phones. This means we have added support for how to configure the three-axis magnetometer sensor. Get started by downloading the sensor HAL for the 2011 Xperia™ phones.

Our ambition is to support the open dev community as much as we can, and we hope you find the FM radio and the updated sensor HAL useful. What else do you wish to see open sourced? Let us know in the comments below!

More information

• Download the FM radio for the 2011 Xperia phones.
• Download the sensor HAL for the 2011 Xperia phones.
• Read our blog post about open sourcing our sensor HAL.
• Check out our other open developer community initiatives.
• Learn about our open sourced WebGL implementation.
• Find out about our open sourced bug report analysis tool ChkBugReport.
• Learn more about how to unlock the boot loader for Xperia phones.
• Read more about how we are supporting the open developer community.
• Download camera libraries  for the 2011 Xperia phones.

Developing mobile web apps have many advantages. It’s a fast and easy way to reach a large audience without the need to develop versions for different operating systems, and a mobile app can be easily accessed via links and search engines. Also, updates for new features are instant and can reach 100% of your user base.

 We have already shown our support for web technologies by being the first mobile phone manufacturer to support WebGL in our browser. A few weeks ago, we also published our WebGL implementation as open source. And now we’ve joined the W3C Core Mobile Web Platform Community Group (coremob), that was announced by Facebook at MWC 2012.

The purpose of the coremob group is to support the community in the development of modern mobile web applications. This is done by accelerating the improvement and standardisation of mobile web technologies, in order to reduce the fragmentation of mobile web browsers.

Ringmark, Facebook’s mobile web browser test suite
Facebook has developed a test suite  for mobile web browsers, called Ringmark, which is soon going to be open-sourced and donated to the coremob group. Ringmark provides an easy method to check web browser capabilities, by simply visiting a URL on your mobile web browser.  The structure of Ringmark  is introduced on Facebook’s HTML5 blog:

“Ring Zero represents the base functionality that most mobile phones have today. Ring One represents what functionality is needed to unlock the most common apps that developers want to build; specifically, 2D games, music and video apps, and camera apps.”

Sony’s 2011 Xperia phones are all capable enough to pass Ring Zero already, and we are working hard to improve our degree of compliance. If you’re interested, you can test the capabilities of the web browser on your phone, by going to rng.io!

It’s crucial, but not sufficient, to have better mobile browsers to ensure success for mobile web apps. A ubiquitous distribution solution is also required, and Facebook’s platform for mobile is one of the best available discovery solutions for mobile web developers. Facebook’s platform is a system of tools and features that bring social discovery to mobile apps and games.

Get to know the Facebook Mobile Platform
Facebook’s Mobile Platform provides many valuable features for developers that want to improve the discovery, distribution, and engagement of their applications. The platform has gained momentum in a short time, sending more than 60 million visitors to mobile apps and games every month. One important part is the Open Graph protocol, which  makes it easy for users to share back to their Timeline and spread the word about your app through users and their friend’s News Feeds. In addition, a range of SDKs and APIs allow developers to create rich social experiences for their mobile users.

There is also support for accepting payments for digital goods or services within your app in the form of Facebook Credits. Facebook announced integration of the mobile payments solution with a group of mobile operators, providing a seamless three-step carrier-billing flow for mobile web apps using Facebook Credits.

To get started developing web apps for Facebook on a range of different platforms, check out Facebook’s Mobile Web Tutorial  and the Facebook Android™ SDK . You can also register your web app  to start using the Facebook mobile platform today.

 Make use of new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) features to enhance the web user experience
Another interesting addition of tools to enhance future web experiences is included in ICS (Android 4.0). It introduces several new features and APIs, which open up new possibilities for developers. Below we have listed a few features that are especially useful when developing your mobile web apps and games. They will all be supported by Xperia™ phones running ICS, and to try them out right away you can install the ICS beta ROM we released a couple of weeks ago.

• Device orientation – one of the most exciting new features is that it will be possible to use a new Device orientation API. With this JavaScript API, it will be possible to utilise data from accelerometers, gyroscopes or compasses in the smartphone. The device orientation gives a completely new dimension on how to develop applications. Previously, the application developer was limited to using touch events to let the end user interact with the application. But, with the device orientation API, it will be possible to control the application based on the orientation and rotation of the device. Check out device orientation in the demo video above, or try it out yourself from your smartphone!
• Multi touch – Once ICS is available, it will be possible to start to develop web applications that are using multi touch events. This should be good news to all game developers, since it opens for faster interaction and more advanced user interfaces.
• Camera capture – The Camera capture API leverage on the HTML input element, where a new capture attribute is introduced. This will enable the possibility for web applications to capture photos from the built in camera.
• HTML5 video – HTML5 video is introduced in ICS. This feature enables playback of video in the web browser. It’s strongly recommended for developers that are rendering video to start using the HTML 5 video element instead of Adobe Flash, since Adobe announced they’re stopping the investment in Adobe Flash for Android.
• CSS 3D transforms – CSS 3D transforms is an exciting feature that makes it possible to make transformations of objects in 3D space. This can also be done with WebGL, which is a 3D-rendering technology for web browsers, but if you feel that learning WebGL takes too much time, this is an easy way to enhance the rendering. For smartphones, this is a very useful feature since 3D transformation is an excellent mechanism to make more information visible for the end user on a small screen without overloading the end user with information.

Join us at Facebook’s Mobile Hack Roadshow
This week, Facebook has started a Mobile Hack Roadshow that will bring their popular mobile hack events to developers in Europe and Asia. At the events, developers will get the chance to meet Facebook engineers and learn more about mobile apps. We from Developer World will join them in most locations, and we hope to meet you there!

So what do you think, will web apps be the future of mobile applications? Have these new features and tools inspired you to start developing for the mobile web? Or are you already a mobile web developer? Drop us a comment and let us know your opinion!

More information

• Read our blog post about introducing support for WebGL in Xperia phones.
• Check out our WebGL open source project.
• Visit the W3C Core Mobile Web Platform Community Group (coremob) web site.
• Read Facebook’s mobile web announcement from MWC.
• Check out Facebook’s blog post about Ringmark.
• Test the compliance of your mobile web browser at Rng.io.
• Dive into Facebook’s guide to mobile web development.
• Read HTML5 Rocks’ tutorial on the device orientation API.
• Learn how to use multi touch at HTML5 Rocks.
• Have a look at the Camera Capture API.
• Check out a demo of CSS 3D transforms.

While the ICS alpha ROM was an early preview, the ICS beta ROM have passed some certifications such as Modem type approval, and important functions like FM radio and GSM are turned on. However, additional certification and approval is needed before an official upgrade can be released. As previously communicated, we will upgrade all 2011 Xperia™ smartphones running on Android to ICS. Read more to find out what’s included in the beta ROM, and what other limitations apply.

Since we released the ICS alpha ROM, we have received many comments and suggestions on our ICS implementation. We are very grateful for all of this feedback, and we can guarantee you that we’ve read every single comment with great interest. Your opinion is important to us, and we have evaluated all suggestions in relation to all the other parameters we are taking into consideration.

In the ICS beta we are now releasing, we have kept elements that we know are valued by users. On top of that we will bring Ice Cream Sandwich elements to provide a unique experience. A number of things are updated compared to the previous ICS alpha: 

• Updated UI – We hope you will be happy to see that we have added a number of UI elements from ICS, as well as some new UI features already introduced in the Xperia™ S we announced in January.
• Lockscreen and Face Unlock – We have added a shortcut to the camera directly from the lockscreen. Also, when you’re listening to music you can control the music player without unlocking the phone by using the music control icons on the lockscreen. In the coming final ICS upgrade, we will also include the face unlock app from Google for all phones that has a front-facing camera. The Face Unlock feature uses the front-facing camera in combination with advanced object recognition algorithms to provide a new way to unlock the phone. However, since Face Unlock is a Google Mobile Services (GMS) app, it is not included in this ICS beta ROM.
• Connectivity turned on – Since we published the ICS alpha ROM, the GSM modem and FM radio have passed the certification and type approval, and they are therefore turned on in this ICS beta release. 
• Updated email client – The UI has been updated, and simplified email management has been added.
• Quick dial – We have added a quick and easy way for you to make phone calls. See how it works in the ISC beta ROM demo video.

Please note that the Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps (for example Gmail, Google Maps and Face Unlock), Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ are not included in the beta release due to that they are still waiting for the certification and type approval to be finalised.

For your benefit, we will release open source archives for this ICS beta for Xperia™ phones shortly.

Important information
Even though a lot of the basic functionality of this ICS beta ROM is working, you should only download and install the beta version if you are an advanced developer. This is not the final software, and the stability of the software may not be ideal as it has not been finally tested and bugfixed.
Even if you’re an advanced developer, there are a few things to pay close attention to before you download and install the beta ROM:

• You should be an advanced developer with extensive knowledge in how to install, and switch between different ROMs. If you are a consumer without these developer skills, then we strongly recommend you do not try this, as you may damage your phone.
• You must be using Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ neo V or Xperia™ ray, running the latest Xperia™ software release (which is 4.0.2.A.0.42). Please note that you can’t use the original Xperia™ arc or Xperia™ neo, as they have different partition layouts.
• You must unlock your phone using our Unlock boot loader service, and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply. Please note that you may void the warranty of your phone, any warranty from your operator or both if you unlock the boot loader of your phone. Sony Ericsson can then no longer guarantee the full functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any unusable functions or loss of personal data associated to the beta ROM being flashed to the phone. Please pay special attention to the following legal statement before downloading (the full statement is available on the download link):

“You must acknowledge that the software is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.”

• Also, if you unlock the boot loader, you will not be able to download and install the final Ice Cream Sandwich software upgrade for Xperia™ phones. For additional information on limitations and warranty, please see our Unlock boot loader service page.
• You should have read through and acknowledged the limitations of the software described below.
• You must read and accept the end user license agreement on the download link, before you can download the beta ROM zip file.

Download and install
Follow the instructions below to download and install the alpha ROM. Please note that it only works with Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ neo V and Xperia™ ray.

1. Make sure your phone is running the latest software release, which is build number 4.0.2.A.0.42.  If you can’t upgrade to this build number, it is not possible to try the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ phones.
2. Go to unlockbootloader.sonymobile.com and unlock the boot loader of your phone. To do this, you must read through and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply. 
3. Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ arc S, the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ neo V or the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ ray depending on your phone model.
4. Extract the downloaded zip file to your Android Fastboot directory. For example: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta.
5. Open a command prompt and go to your Fastboot directory: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\
6. Flash the three beta ROM files one at a time using Fastboot. Use these three commands (replace the folder name if you are using Xperia™ neo V or Xperia™ ray):
   •  fastboot flash boot ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\boot.img
   •  fastboot flash userdata ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\userdata.img
   •  fastboot flash system ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\system.img
7. Once done, please reboot your phone.

 Please let us know what you think about this beta ROM
Another ambition with this release is to work with all of the talented developers in the open community to get feedback on this beta ROM. If you download and install the beta ROM, please try out the software and go to our Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ phones, to send us your feedback. It is very much appreciated – the summary of this survey will be used for future product and software strategies short term and long term. Your voice counts!

 If you want to discuss this beta ROM initiative, please check out the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ thread on the XDA forum . Here you can discuss with other developers, and ask questions to us. We will monitor this thread and reply to any questions as soon as we can.  If you have any additional ideas on what you would like us to do, feel free to drop us a comment below.

Again, thanks for all the feedback. We can’t stress enough how important it is to us!

More information

• Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ arc S.
• Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ neo V.
• Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ ray.
• Give us your feedback in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ phones. 
• Discuss the beta ROM in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ thread on the XDA forum.
• Watch the Sony Xperia™ Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM demo video.
• Learn what happens from the Ice Cream Sandwich source code release until the final software upgrade.
• Read about our unlock boot loader initiative.
• Check out our Unlock boot loader website.

Mobile World Congress runs from February 27 to March 1, and will be held at Fira de Barcelona in Spain.  The event includes a world-class thought-leadership conference featuring visionary keynotes and panel discussions, as well as a cutting-edge product and technology exhibition. Check out the Sony and Google booths to get to see demos of the latest Xperia™ smartphones, accessories and mobile games. Feel free to stop by and say hi, ask technical questions, or set up a 1-on-1 meeting with anyone from our team. And if you’re interested in coming to an exclusive event at the Sony booth on the 27^th of February, get the details in our VIP partner and developer event blog post.  See you there!

More information

• Learn more about Mobile World Congress 2012.
• Read about and sign up for the VIP partner and developer event at MWC.
• Stay connected with us and all our MWC news through Twitter (@SonyEricssonDev).

The selected ones will join invited partners and developers to meet executives, marketing managers and representatives from the Developer Program over some snacks and refreshments. The get-together will provide a unique chance to find out what’s new and what’s next in our Xperia™ smartphone portfolio. The event takes place on Monday 27th of February, 19.00.

If you would like to take the opportunity, all you have to do is give us your motivation and basic information in the VIP partner and developer event survey. Please motivate why you want to be selected to attend the event. Describe yourself, your company, and how you see that you could help making our Xperia™ products even more attractive. We will select the ten most interesting entries and invite them to the event.

Important information:

• Tickets to the MWC or travel arrangements are not included. Only fill out the survey if you already have arranged to attend MWC.
• Latest date to fill out the survey is February 20^th.
• We only accept entries submitted via the VIP partner and developer event survey. Comments to this blog post are not considered entries.
• Details about the event will be sent to the ten entries selected to participate.

Drop us a comment below if you have any questions!

More information:

• Check out the MWC 2012 website.
• Fill out the VIP partner and developer event survey to apply for a seat.

In the good feedback we received on our previous open initiatives, we have seen a lot of requests for us to open source these files. And now, we’re happy to provide that opportunity. This is not part of open source archives that we are required to publish, it simply something we want to do for the community.

Read more after the jump!

If you read our blog post called Ice Cream Sandwich – from source code release to software upgrade, you’re probably familiar with the concept HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). The sensor HAL we are now releasing as open source contains source code files, and “make” files that describes how the sensors of the Sony Ericsson 2011 phones are configured. Using this, you can enable and disable multiple sets of sensors for each device, and in some cases also second-source sensors, when you are compiling.

The sensor HAL also makes it possible to configure the sensors, so that you can mount the “sensor chip” in different ways without having to change the code. Get started by downloading the sensor HAL for the 2011 Xperia™ phones. Then you can choose to either adapt the sensor HAL to your ROM, or use our sensor HAL more pretty much off-the-shelf. For additional information about the files included in the sensor HAL zip, check out the README.txt file included in the zip.

Working with all of you folks in the open dev community is important to us, and we hope you will find this latest addition of open sourced assets useful. What else is on your open source wish list? Write a comment and let us know.

More information:

• Download the sensor HAL for the 2011 Xperia phones.
• Check out our other open developer community initiatives.
• Learn about our open sourced WebGL  implementation.
• Find out about our open sourced bug report analysis tool ChkBugReport.
• Learn more about how to unlock the boot loader for Xperia phones.
• Read more about how we are supporting the open developer community.
• Download camera libraries for Xperia phones.