Samsung Developer’s Conference 2013 started with a keynote from the President of Samsung Telecommunications America, Gregory Lee, and from there it took off and Samsung pulled out all of the stops to highlight where they are headed in 2014 and beyond. Discussions included Mobile SDK to KNOX Enterprise SDK and everything in between.
Curtis Sasaki, Senior Vice President and Head of Media Solution Center America, talked about how Samsung created a new category with their Note series and in conjunction with that, an integrated Pen experience. Discussed were the many Mobile SDKs and Smart TV SDK 5.0 Multiscreen, Gaming SDKs, and the KNOX Enterprise SDK. Demonstrations of “cool” services, such as Trulia, Twitter, and Air Hockey using the new features of the Mobile SDK and Service SDK were presented.
There are ten components to the Samsung SDK and a few things discussed about some of them:
- Pen – Recognition, Selection Tool, Air View, and Air Hovering
- Media Control
- Professional Audio
- Gesture
- Look – (Writing Buddy) – Converts handwriting to text.
- Visual View
- Multi-Window – Runs multiple and resizable windows at the same time.
- Image Filter
- Chord – Allows for peer-to-peer connection across multiple devices for mobile collaboration.
- Motion
From Mobile SDKs they moved on to Service SDKs and explained the four major components that make up Service SDKs:
- ChatOn – Samsung branded messaging service for Android and iPhone users.
- Samsung AdHub – a cross-platform in-app advertising solution.
- In-App Purchase 2.0 – a payment service that allows additional content within Android Apps sold on Samsung Apps.
- Samsung Wallet 2.0 – Supports 5 categories and 8 templates
Next on stage was Eric Edward Anderson, Vice President of Samsung Electronics America, where he discussed the evolution of Smart TV from 2007 – 2013. The Samsung Smart Hub is a five-panel representation of your main selections, the heart of the system if you will:
- On TV
- Movies and TV shows
- Photos, Videos, and Music
- Social
- Applications
Juan Pablo Gnecco, Senior Director of Samsung Media Solutions Center America, asked and answered what the next big thing is for developers and he said Smart TV, and because of its development it can embrace any of the mobile devices. Samsung’s Multiscreen SDK was based on two principles:
- Glass to Glass – one touch launching of an application from users mobile device to the TV…when you swipe your mobile screen it seamlessly shares content from screen to screen.
- Make it developer friendly:
- Cross Platform Solution – Developers’ existing apps can be brought over to another platform as easily as possible.
- Leveraging Existing Content – With the Samsung Multiscreen SDK you can, as an example, Tweet and share content while still watching TV or listen to Pandora in the background while watching TV or a video.
Kyuho Kim, Senior Vice President from / Media Solution Center and David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies were next to tell about the Multiscreen Gaming Platform and Samsung Unity Partnership. They talked about how gaming has taken off more than anybody could have predicted and it will continue to expand.
There is no need for gaming consoles anymore – now you can use your smartphone as part of the controller or gamepad, play your games, and then pop out your phone and take it with you by using the Samsung Mobile Console Service.
Now it was time to go from fun and games, to get serious so Injong Rhee, Senior Vice President at Samsung Electronics spoke about Samsung KNOX, their secure Android platform for the Enterprise IT platform. He talked about with the increased use of cellphones in businesses how KNOX can add security without compromising the employees’ privacy.
David Eun, EVP of the Open Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics took the stage to discuss the future of innovation and how to accelerate Samsung’s efforts – they listed four tools to drive this innovation:
- Investment: Identify compelling early-stage startups with potential for strategic partnership or acquisition
- Partnerships: Build relationships with leading companies to create prototypes and develop unique customer experiences
- Acquisitions: Acquire top talent and early stage companies to help drive innovative product development.
- Accelerators: Create internal startups and provide support through capital and access to Samsung leadership, market insights, and distribution.
It was a full day in which Samsung hopes that developers will use the many tools and innovations that Samsung presented to them during the conference, and offered them help every step of the way.