Out and About with Linux on Galaxy

At last, developers themselves are able to experience a truly mobile development environment.

Linux on Galaxy, an app demonstrated during SDC 2017 in San Francisco, is designed to free developers from their desks by providing a Linux OS environment for their Galaxy smartphone: anywhere, anytime, on-the-move. Smartphones with Linux on Galaxy are capable of having multiple operating systems running at the same time, so developers have the ability to work with their Linux-based distributions of choice on their mobile device, without restrictions. As well as using the Android OS, they can open the app to run any software they require in a Linux OS environment, giving developers the flexibility to choose.

What’s more, Linux on Galaxy is DeX-enabled, meaning that developers can seamlessly move from smartphone to desktop whenever they want to work on a larger screen with a keyboard and mouse.** Currently in its trial stage, Linux on Galaxy is already causing a buzz amongst developers.

Even More Entertainment

Samsung DeX complements the conventional mobile experience. In the world of entertainment, Samsung DeX now offers support for even more mobile games and video streaming services, so users can watch the action come to life on a larger screen.

Samsung’s partnerships with major video game developers such as Super Evil Megacorp’s Vainglory, Game Insight’s Survival Arena, Eric Froemling’s BombSquad and Netmarble’s Lineage 2 Revolution present popular mobile games on the immersive desktop setting through the Samsung Game Launcher app, with a keyboard and mouse for easier gameplay. This allows players to move from mobile to desktop, and back again, without disrupting their gaming experience. In addition, new titles – including Lineage 2 Revolution and Nexon’s AxE – are beginning to support Vulkan API in increasing numbers. The upcoming “mobile title” Square Enix FINAL FANTASY XV POCKET EDITION has been optimized for both Vulkan and DeX, pushing the boundaries of mobile gaming.

With Twitch, users of the video streaming service are provided with a better multitasking experience and can resize the window and play video while running other apps via Samsung DeX.

Powering Productivity

The service doesn’t just enhance mobile entertainment– it also heightens user productivity. Samsung DeX transforms the docked Samsung smartphone into a desktop-like workstation, increasing output for professionals on-the-go.

Users can enjoy an improved email experience—with email clients such as Samsung Email, Samsung Focus, Nine Email and MS Outlook—via an optimized interface with a desktop-like, three-column layout, flexible split view and multi composer.

Likewise, Samsung DeX enables a better collaboration with video conferencing from even more services such as Zoom, BlueJeans and GoToMeeting. Video conferencing has been made simpler with a seamless docking-undocking experience, support for screen and document sharing, and multitasking capabilities that allow the user to stay in the call while taking notes or sending email.

With the Galaxy Note8, the new All Apps user interface offers users a full view of up to 36 of their mobile apps at once, which is an increase from previous view of 25 apps. The enhanced UI makes app access and search more convenient, allowing users to identify and utilize apps faster.

As Samsung continues to expand its partner ecosystem with third-party developers and strives to broaden the use of Linux on its smartphone, the service’s ecosystem will continue to grow organically, offering a wider range of Samsung DeX-optimized apps, features and experiences for Galaxy users across business and entertainment.

* Samsung DeX is compatible with the Galaxy Note8 as well as the Galaxy S8 and S8+

**To find out when Linux on Galaxy will become available please sign up at: http://seap.samsung.com/linux-on-galaxy

Since announcing its collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms last November, Samsung has steadily released preview versions of Tizen .NET to help developers build better apps.

The second preview brought support for TV application development, to go along with the mobile support introduced in the first, and improved Visual Studio Tools for Tizen with several new features, including a Project Wizard, Manifest Editor, Emulator Manager, Emulator Control Panel and Certificate Manager.

The third preview allows you to create self-contained applications that will run on Tizen devices without pre-installed .NET runtime. Visual Studio Tools for Tizen also features two new tools: Log Viewer and Device Manager. The former helps developers debug their application by capturing all the events logged by the platform and the application; the latter provides information about connected Tizen devices and emulators for application debugging, and improves tools that were introduced in previous previews.

From left to right: Log Viewer, Device Manager

The third preview enables a large number of Tizen’s multimedia features such as Camera, Wave Player, Tone Player, Media Streaming and Screen Mirroring. Developers also have access to other Tizen platform-specific features such as Messages, Bluetooth, Voice Control, Input Method and FIDO (Fast IDentity Online).

In addition, Tizen.Xamarin.Forms.Extension allows developers to enhance their applications with rich UI components such as buttons, popups, grids and calendar views.

The next preview release of Tizen .NET will coincide with Tizen Public Milestone 1 in May. Samsung will begin shipping Tizen devices with .NET capabilities later in 2017.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here:
http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here:
https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here:
https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here:
https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

Learn more about the previous preview of Tizen .NET here:

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-joins-the-microsoft-net-community-enabling-c-developers-to-build-applications-for-samsung-tizen-devices

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsungs-second-tizen-net-developer-preview-introduces-new-design-tools-and-support-for-tv-apps

Samsung Electronics today released the second preview of Tizen .NET, an application framework for Tizen app developers.

Last November, Samsung announced a collaboration with Microsoft on .NET open-source projects such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms, and released the first preview of Tizen .NET. An official version will be released in the second half of 2017.

The second preview supports TV application development in addition to the mobile support introduced in the first preview. Visual Studio Tools for Tizen has also been improved with several new features, including project creation wizards, manifest editors, emulator managers, an emulator control panel and a certificate manager. Tizen .NET developers can now apply their skills with C#, standard APIs, Xamarin.Forms and Visual Studio to build both mobile and TV applications.

“Samsung is excited to release the second preview of Tizen .NET, and will release newer versions of previews every two months until the official version is shipped later this year,” said Hong-Seok Kim, the Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Software R&D Center. “We are fully committed to delighting Tizen developers with .NET.”

Tizen is an open-source operating system based on Linux that is hosted by the Linux Foundation and open to all developers. The operating system powers 50 million Samsung devices, including Smart TVs, mobile phones, wearables and other IoT devices.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here: http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here: https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here: https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here: https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

Learn more about the first preview of Tizen .NET here: https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-joins-the-microsoft-net-community-enabling-c-developers-to-build-applications-for-samsung-tizen-devices

Samsung Electronics today announced a collaboration with Microsoft on open source projects, such as .NET Core and Xamarin.Forms, to enable .NET support for Tizen. Tizen is an open source operating system based on Linux, hosted by the Linux Foundation, and open to all developers. The operating system powers 50 million Samsung devices.

Today, Samsung is releasing the first preview of Visual Studio Tools for Tizen, which will enable .NET developers to easily build Tizen applications for Smart TVs, wearables such as the Gear S3, smartphones, and IoT devices. Source code will also be contributed to Tizen and .NET open source projects.

The first preview supports mobile application development with device emulators and an extension to Visual Studio with full IntelliSense and debugging capabilities. Support for Smart TVs, wearables, and other IoT devices will be added in future releases. Tizen’s .NET support will be officially released and shipping on Samsung devices, including Smart TVs, in 2017.

“Samsung is excited to be a part of the .NET community. .NET has an extensive developer base and great potential,” said Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of Software R&D Center Seung-hwan Cho. “Through thoughtful and progressive collaboration with Microsoft, Samsung is expecting to create unique development experiences for both Tizen and C# developers, enriching the Tizen ecosystem.”

Since joining the .NET Foundation Technical Steering Group in June, Samsung has been contributing ARM support to .NET Core. Samsung is also contributing to Xamarin.Forms, enabling it on a variety of Tizen devices as the common UI and controls.

Learn more about Visual Studio Tools for Tizen here:

http://developer.tizen.org/development/preview

Learn more about the Tizen open source project here:

https://source.tizen.org

Learn more about the .NET Core open source project here:

https://github.com/dotnet/core

Learn more about the Xamarin.Forms open source project here:

https://github.com/xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

Such developments include those born at Samsung Electronics’ C-Lab, an innovation program that helps company employees to nurture their own creative business ideas. Representative teams will introduce for the first time their secret project prototypes in hopes of getting constructive feedback from SDC attendees to develop their products further.

The projects include LiCon, an app that controls various smart devices via a smartphone camera; Ahead, a communication device for people who wear helmets; AMe, a wearable lifelogging camera that produces 360-degree VR videos; ItsyWatch, a wearable that helps children form good habits; and Entrim 4D+, a VR accessory that lets users feel the movements of the on-screen action.

The projects will be showcased at the Moscone West Center from April 27 to 28 in San Francisco.

LiCon: An App That Recognizes and Controls IoT Connected Devices Via a Smartphone Camera

The fast-evolving Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to become a revolution in modern day living. However, since so many gadgets are controlled and operated by their own individual apps, accessing them can be a major inconvenience. Which is exactly what the team behind LiCon hopes to change.

With the LiCon app, the smartphone camera becomes a tool to recognize and control IoT connected devices.

For instance, when a user takes a picture of an IoT connected device such as an air conditioner or robot vacuum cleaner, the smartphone utilizes vision-based recognition to identify the product. Then, within seconds, a controller interface is displayed, which lets users adjust the temperature or turn off the power with just a few taps.

Additionally, users can also quickly launch product-specific applications by taking a photograph of their connected device. As such, users can easily perform tasks or access information in a simple way, without having to swipe through endless screens of icons to locate each individual device application.

As users take pictures of their IoT connected devices, and subsequently add their own images to LiCon’s ever-expanding database through the cloud sever, LiCon, powered by deep-learning technology, grows even smarter and can recognize devices more easily.

Considering how effortless it is to take a picture, LiCon not only saves time, but also makes the Internet of Things accessible to just about anyone.

Ahead: A Communication Tool for Your Helmet

From ski slopes to construction sites to race tracks, helmets are vitally important for maintaining safety in dangerous environments. While essential, they can sometimes make simple tasks, such as making a phone call or listening to music, not only bothersome, but also risky.

Ahead, a communication device born in the C-Lab, could very well change all of this.

Ahead is a small triangular gadget that can be attached to any helmet via its super-strength magnets. It enables users to make and take calls, listen to music and receive voice notifications through Bluetooth.

The Push to Talk (PTT) version of the device enables communication among multiple users at the same time via a two-way radio connection.

The gadget, which is available in a variety of colors, boasts three buttons which are used to control volume, change music tracks and answer calls, and can also be used to make calls with a speed dial function that is configured through the Ahead app.

Unlike headphones or earbuds, Ahead utilizes oscillators to create a surround sound effect without blocking out background noise, thus ensuring a safe environment. Two microphones help to make certain that the same background noise does not disrupt phone calls or communication.

Ahead has numerous potential use cases, from improving coaching on the field, to enhancing communication on construction sites, to making a motorcycle ride along the highway more enjoyable.

AMe: A Necklace-Like Wearable That Captures Candid Moments in 360 Degrees

When lifelogging—or registering daily life with technical tools and services—first emerged, pioneers had to tote around a variety of tools and devices to capture the moments of their lives as data, photos and videos. Yet, with social networks centered on status updates and photo sharing, the practice of recording and tracking life has since gone mainstream.

Now, lifelogging could very well transform yet again with the unveiling of AMe.

AMe (short for “Around Me”) is a wearable device that is worn like a necklace and boasts three small individual cameras that record 360-degree video footage in 4K. Captured video, which presents the user’s surroundings in a first-person perspective, is then stitched together and managed via the AMe app. Users also have the option to geotag or share their videos on social media channels directly from the app.

This no-hands camera rig offers a unique convenience, as it does not need to be mounted, and allows for a more candid filming environment, since it resembles an accessory more than an invasive camera. Along the same vein, the AMe team has made the prototype available in an array of colors, including black, white and rose gold to fit just about anyone’s style.

ItsyWatch: A Gamified Smartwatch App That Helps Kids Form Good Habits

Most wearables for kids on the market today were designed with a focus on safety and contribute more to parents’ peace of mind than anything else. As a result, kids aren’t all that eager to wear them because they aren’t, well, fun.

But, ItsyWatch is bringing something new to the table. This gamified smartwatch app (the prototype utilizes Samsung’s Tizen-powered Gear S2 smartwatch) displays adorable cartoon characters that add fun to everyday activities, such as exercising, eating and brushing one’s teeth.

Engaging in the instructed activity then enables the interactive character to grow. Positive feedback offered by the characters keeps kids interested and motivated to continue participating in the “game.”

To add to the fun value, children can also use the app to send voice messages to their friends and family members.

But kids aren’t the only ones benefiting from the app. Parents can track kids’ activities to analyze their health and well-being.

Besides consulting child education specialists, the ItsyWatch team—all of whom are parents themselves—considered their own children’s needs during the development process. As such, the smartwatch app and its functions are based on real-life people and experiences.

In addition to showcasing their product, the ItsyWatch team will also lead a technical session entitled “Developing Hybrid Gear App and Extensions” at SDC on April 28 to demonstrate potential use cases of the Gear S2 and Tizen platform.

Entrim 4D+: A Device That Lets You Feel VR

In an effort to increase the fun and decrease the motion sickness that come along with virtual reality, the C-Lab created Entrim 4D. Using a combination of algorithms and Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS), a safe and simple technique that sends specific electric messages to a nerve in the ear, the VR accessory synchronizes your body with changing movements in VR content.

After showcasing the prototype at South by Southwest, the minds behind the device have further developed the product—now called Entrim 4D+—based on feedback they received from event attendees.

Whereas before, the VR accessory allowed users to feel only left and right movements, the device now allows them to feel forward, backward and 3D rotating motions, too, making the VR experience feel more real than ever before.

For the global developers’ community, the Samsung Developer Conference 2016 (SDC 2016) offers a unique opportunity to connect with Samsung Electronics, meet fellow developers and take in a broad array of exciting new technology.

The event will be held April 27 to April 28 at the Moscone West Center, San Francisco, and will comprise keynote speeches and presentations from a range of tech industry leaders. Attendees can also expect a wide range of sessions whereby developers can exchange ideas and partake in new experiences.

The list of speakers at SDC 2016 includes:

• DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, who will address Samsung’s vision for “Connecting the Future,” and opportunities for developers.

• Injong Rhee, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D, Software and Services, Mobile Communication Business at Samsung Electronics, on strategy for mobile service platforms and partnerships.

• Sang Kim, Vice President, Content and Services, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, who will talk on matters relating to new business opportunities with Samsung Smart TV in 2016.

• Curtis Sasaki, Vice President, Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics, who will speak about the strategy for Samsung’s Internet of Things technology, platform and ecosystem.

• Genevieve Bell, Vice President at Intel, Monique Morrow, Chief Technology Officer at Cisco, Maureen Fan, CEO and Co-Founder at Baobab Studios and Diane Tavenner, Co-Founder & CEO at Summit Public Schools, will have a panel discussion entitled: “From Disruption to Transformation,” highlighting impactful innovation in the modern industry.

• John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity Technologies and David Kenny, General Manager of IBM Watson, and Eric Consolazio, Vice President at Cigna will share their vision as keynote speakers and experience on how to innovate the future.

More than 100 industry leaders and over 70 sessions will educate, innovate and inspire attendees to create new disruptive content and services, including interactive workshops and hands-on device experiences. Developers will be particularly keen to enjoy some sought-after hands-on time with Samsung’s cutting edge technology and software development kits (SDKs).

Some of the areas of technology on the SDC 2016 agenda include: Internet of Things(IoT), Tizen, Smart TV, Enterprise, VR, Mobiles, Wearables, Games and Entertainment, Health and Medical and Business opportunities.

On April 26, the day before the conference officially begins, experts will conduct a series of interactive, hands-on workshops, covering best development practices for a variety of technologies.

For registration details and more, visit the event’s official website at http://www.sdc2016.com

This year, Samsung Electronics—in cooperation with Unity—is presenting an important development, bringing the popular and powerful Unity 3D game engine to Tizen. Visitors to the exhibition were able to try out the Tizen Unity demo for the Z1 and Z3 smartphones, as well as for Samsung Smart TV.

Through this powerful new tool, developers will be better able to create engaging, innovative games for the latest Tizen-powered devices.

Check out these photos of the Unity 3D game engine for Tizen in use at GDC 2016.

Samsung staff demonstrates the benefits of the Unity engine for app development on the Tizen platform at GDC 2016.

The Samsung TV Games and Samsung Mobile Z display booth at GDC 2016.

Images of a Unity-based car racing demo app being played on the Tizen platform.

Samsung Electronics announced that registration for the Samsung Developer Conference 2016 (SDC 2016), which will be held from April 27 to April 28 at San Francisco’s Moscone West Center, is now open.

Centered around the theme of “Connecting the Future Everywhere You Look”, the this year’s SDC will offer more than 60 technical sessions, interactive workshops, keynotes and hands-on device experiences across 10 different topics, including: The Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), Mobile, Wearables,  Business Opportunities, Enterprise, Smart TV, Games & Entertainment, Tizen and Health & Medical.

“We have been working to share our vision for technology, connection and collaboration with the global development community, by hosting the Samsung Developer Conference, since 2013.” said Seung-hwan Cho, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of Software R&D Center at Samsung Electronics. “SDC 2016 will  offer the perfect chance for attendees to connect with Samsung in person, sharpen their skills, and meet other developers and partners from the Samsung ecosystem. There will also be new, unique technologies and demos that are simply not available anywhere else.”

SDC 2016 will showcase the latest IoT technologies including Samsung’s ‘ARTIK’ and the open source software framework ‘IoTivity’ of OIC*, along with the company’s ‘Tizen’ platform for Smart TVs, wearables such as the Gear S2, and more. Samsung will also unveil the latest plans and technology for its service ecosystem, and key partnership strategies for the likes of ‘Samsung Pay’, ‘S-Health’, gaming, and the enterprise security solution, ‘KNOX’.

The conference’s keynote speakers will introduce brand new products and reveal Samsung’s new initiatives to further support the worldwide developer community.

SDC 2016’s current speaker lineup includes:

• Injong Rhee, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D, Software and Services, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics
• John Pleasants, Executive Vice President, Media Solutions Center America, Samsung Electronics America
• Pranav Mistry, Vice President, Head of Think Tank Team , Samsung Research America
• Genevieve Bell, Intel Fellow and Vice President, Corporate Strategy Office, Intel Corporation

Early bird registration is available until March 29 on the official SDC 2016 website (http://www.sdc2016.com), where attendees can also find more information about the conference schedule, key visitor information, planned sessions, speakers and technology showcases. Full two-day conference passes are available at early bird rate along with academic, alumni and group booking discounts.

*Open Interconnect Consortium
The Open Interconnect Consortium, a Delaware non-profit corporation, is being founded by leading technology companies with the goal of defining the connectivity requirements and ensuring interoperability of the billions of devices that will make up the emerging Internet of Things (IoT).

Samsung kicked off the Samsung Open Source Conference (SOSCON), a two-day event to promote an open source ecosystem, on October 27 at the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Korea. The conference, which was established in 2014 and has grown significantly in just one year, aims to not only strengthen relationships with developers to lay the foundations for the creation of new services and devices, but also to foster public interest in open source projects.

Open source refers to programs for which the original source codes are made freely available to the public at no charge, enabling developers across all industries to modify and redistribute them. Openness and collaboration, two of the fundamental principles of this ecosystem, are also essential components of Samsung’s Internet of Things (IoT) as well as its objective to have all of its devices connected to the web by 2020, according to the president and CEO of Samsung Electronics BK Yoon.

As such, Samsung has invested heavily in nurturing the developer community, and has led initiatives to create engagement across various industries, with SOSCON being one of them.
In line with openness, the event was open to developers, and developers-to-be: elementary, middle and high school students with an interest in open source projects.

The State of Open Source

Brian Warner, Senior Open Source Strategist at Samsung Research America, got the event going by welcoming attendees and introducing SOSCON’s keynote speakers. Among them were open source leaders David Nalley, Vice President, Infrastructure at the Apache Software Foundation, and Jeong Kyu Shin, an open source project founder, who discussed the “multi-year journey” of open source, from its beginnings as communal code sharing to the highly structured and widely utilized ecosystem it is today.

Powered by peer-to-peer cooperation and communication, open source focuses on public benefit more so than any other factor. Young Yoon Kim, Vice President of Samsung Electronics Software R&D Center and board member of the Linux Foundation, demonstrated how Samsung is working to contribute to this community in his keynote speech.

Among these, Tizen, an open source, standards-based software platform for multiple device categories, is one of the projects that Samsung participates in developing. Additionally, IoTivity, an open source software framework enabling seamless device-to-device connectivity, is another the company is working hard to expand in coordination with other developers, in hopes of addressing the emerging needs of the IoT.

Collaboration for the Next Generation

Things got even more exciting when concert programmer Andrew Sorensen took the stage and treated the audience to a live coding musical performance, demonstrating that open source projects are influential across all industries. Sorensen performs at “algoraves,” events where people dance to music generated from algorithms programmed in real time. This growing community of tech-artists is often associated with open source software, which is used to circulate ideas throughout the scene.

The final keynote speaker was 10-year-old Hannah Kim. This pint-sized superfan of open source has been creating projects since the age of 3, utilizing circuits and light sensors to assemble her own dolls, toys and robots. In her speech, she credited her knowledge of programming to open source, as well as conferences which enabled her to communicate with other young future developers.

Kim also discussed how she created computer games, for which she chose Linux as her preferred operating system because “it can be used by anyone” and expressed her desire to be more like Linus Tovalds, the company’s founder and coordinator. At that, Tovalds himself was brought on stage to answer a few of Kim’s questions, which included why he chose a penguin for Linux’s logo, as well as his reasons for creating GIT, a widely used version control system for software development.

When asked about what the future of the Linux open source system might look like, Tovalds explained, “I don’t think I need to know. The only thing I need to do is ensure the process works and continue to support the people who participate and get interested people involved. I don’t know what it will be like, but I know it will be good.”

An Open, Ongoing Conversation

The remainder of the event consisted of a series of developer sessions that featured lecturers from renowned IT companies. In other sessions, participants were able to share ideas with teams from different open source projects at Samsung such as Tizen, IoTivity, Gear VR, IOT.js and Socializer.

Robust communication and information exchanges among participants were at the center of SOSCON’s community forum, while technology presentations covering over 40 open source topics including big data, cloud services and IoT were also conducted. In addition, there was a tutorial session open to children and teenagers to allow for hands-on experience with open source software development.

SOSCON showcased a number of ways that Samsung is invigorating the open source market, but also proved that anyone can participate in the conversation. Samsung plans to continue to convene SOSCON every year, thereby generating public interest and promoting collaboration and openness among the developers of today, as well as those of the next generation.

Organized in different cities across the world, TDS has become a regular event aimed to assist local app and platform developers interested in contributing to the growth of the Tizen ecosystem. The upcoming TDS in Bengaluru will feature keynote addresses, as well as technical content for app developers, platform designers, independent software developers (ISV), OEMs, hardware vendors and software vendors.

TDS offers an excellent opportunity to learn from the core Tizen developers and understand the technology behind the Tizen platform, app development and porting, as well as monetization through the Tizen Store. Tizen events are the best way to interact with the companies and developers working within the Tizen ecosystem.

Please check back on Samsung Tomorrow for news and updates about Tizen Developer Summit 2015 Bengaluru.