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Ideaworks Labs' Johnstone on getting developers onto Samsung Apps fast

First mover advantage with Airplay

Ideaworks Labs' Johnstone on getting developers onto Samsung Apps fast
With Samsung's predictions for its new bada OS continuing to rise - apparently the company expects to have shipped around 15 million devices in 2010 and over 50 million by the end of 2011 - it's no surprise it's keen to get developers making games and apps for the platform.

That's the reason it's linked up with UK mobile middleware company Ideaworks Labs, which is now supporting bada and the Samsung Apps application store within its Airplay development environment.

"We're lowering the barriers of entry for developers and enabling them to add another string to their bow," explains Bryce Johnstone, Ideaworks' head of marketing.

"Samsung is very bullish on bada. There are going to be a lot of devices out there for developers to target, and this is an early opportunity to get your content onto Samsung Apps."

Going cross-platform

As part of the deal, Ideaworks Labs is working closely with Samsung in terms of getting early builds of the bada SDK for integration within the Airplay SDK. Airplay 4.2 will contain the full release of the bada SDK.

The companies are also collaborating on events such as developer days, and Samsung approved developers will get free access to Airplay for bada development, although support for other platforms will be under the usual Airplay commercial terms.

Developers can check out what Ideaworks is labelling its Premiere Apps Program here.

"We'll manage you through the process of getting up and running on bada, and then it's just a case of going through SamungApps certification and you're live," Johnstone says.
Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.