New unified SDK from Sony includes several innovative APIs

Today we are happy to announce our new Sony Add-on SDK, which unifies some of our most innovative APIs for Sony Xperia™ smartphones, tablets and Smart Accessories. With the Sony Add-on SDK, you can develop apps for SmartWatch and Smart Wireless Headset pro, or you can develop Small Apps and IR remote sensor enabled apps. You can also develop apps for the infinite button in the “WALKMAN” music player, which is available on most Sony Xperia™ devices. All of these options are available in one package to improve the overall ease of use and developer experience! Learn more about how you can get more visibility for your app after the jump.
The most useful APIs all in one package
The Sony Add-on SDK is a new add-on for the standard Android™ SDK, and it gathers a number of APIs that have been available through a number of different SDKs before. Going forward, we intend to add more innovative and useful APIs to the Sony Add-on SDK, to provide you with a consistent overview and experience when you’re developing apps and services for Sony’s Android™ devices. Basically, we aim to make the Sony Add-on SDK a foundation for our most important APIs going forward.
There are four main APIs (or group of APIs) available in the Sony Add-on SDK, by which you can:
Extend your app to make it work with SmartWatch and Smart Wireless Headset pro, by using the Smart Extension APIs.
Create Small Apps for Xperia™ Z and Xperia™ ZL, by using the Small App API.
Develop IR remote enabled apps for Xperia™ Tablet Z, Xperia™ Tablet S and Xperia™ ZL, by using the IR Remote API.
Create apps and services which connect to the Infinite button in the “WALKMAN” music player on Sony Xperia™ devices, by using the Music Infinite API.
Create innovative use cases and get visibility for your app
As a developer, you can use these APIs create innovative use cases and apps, which will make your app stand out from your competitors. In a lot of cases you will also get better visibility, as your app will be easily found by end users of the different devices and apps. If you, for example, develop an app extension for the Sony SmartWatch, end users will easily find your app from the Smart Connect  app (which is used by all SmartWatch users) where all the available SmartWatch enabled apps on Google Play™ are listed.
You can learn more about the benefits and visibility for your app in the different API pages available in the Sony Add-on SDK section on Developer World. In the Sony Add-on SDK documentation kit, there are practical instructions on how you make your app visible.
Supported devices
The APIs available in the Sony Add-on SDK support a number of different devices. The number of supported devices can, however, differ in between the APIs. Please see the Supported devices page in the Sony Add-on SDK section on Developer World for detailed information on what API is supported by what device. We will update this page on a regular basis, and add new devices as they are released.
How to get started
The Sony Add-on SDK comes with fully fledged code examples, an emulator and Javadocs. Additionally, you can also download a comprehensive Sony Add-on SDK documentation kit which will take you from A to Z when you are developing apps using these APIs.
To start developing now, check out the Install page available in the in the Sony Add-on SDK section on Developer World. Here you will find detailed instructions on how to download and install the Sony Add-on SDK from the Android SDK Manager, how to create and Android Virtual Device (AVD). Once you have installed the Sony Add-on SDK, created an AVD and downloaded the documentation kit, you are all set to start developing!
Also, remember to come back soon as we will publish a number of best practice tips shortly!
Questions
If you have a developer related question about the Sony Add-on SDK, and you can’t find an answer to your question in the Sony Add-on SDK documentation kit, then you can post your question on the Stack Overflow forum. We have a team of Sony developers that constantly monitors, contributes and replies to questions regarding our products and tools at Stack Overflow. This way, your question and our answer can be shared, viewed and used by many people.
So if you have a question, go to Stack Overflow, post a question and make sure you add the term “Sony” to your question. Then we should be able to catch your question, and support you in your development!