HTCDev Launches: 3D, Sense & Pen SDKs Plus Bootloader Tools

HTC has officially opened the doors to HTCDev.com, its new developer portal and the future home for all bootloader unlocking tools. Announced back in June, HTCDev consists of guidance and tutorials for coding for HTC smartphones, as well as the HTC OpenSense SDK framework. Among the tools available initially are the HTC S3D SDK, for use with the EVO 3D, and the HTC Pen SDK.

The S3D SDK will allow developers to access the dual-camera functionality on the EVO 3D, just like the phone itself can shoot 3D photos and video, as well as create content for display on the glasses-free 3D screen. Meanwhile, the Pen SDK is intended for use with HTC's Scribe active stylus, currently limited to the HTC Flyer but, our sources suggest, a lock-in for not just the HTC Puccini tablet expected in the near future, but models in the pipeline for 2012 too.

There'll also be full access to the kernel source code for each of HTC's Android devices, along with all the documentation you could hope for. The company confirmed earlier this month that it would be supplying future Android handsets with locked bootloaders and offering the unlock solution via the web, kicking off with the global HTC Sensation, followed by the T-Mobile Sensation, and then the EVO 3D.

Registration and support is free, and HTC is obviously hoping that developers get on board to create apps that will further distinguish its Android phones from those of rival OEMs. The company has already hinted that it has further ambitions with the direction it will take Sense in; recently it confirmed that it would acquire cloud sync and remote-access specialist Dashwire.