Sprint has enhanced its application developer Web site to offer more tools and resources for creating applications.

The introduction of the Sprint services framework includes access to more application programming interfaces. The framework provides a single Web 2.0 interface for developers to access the APIs directly from Sprint that offers developers capabilities across most of the carrier?s devices.

?Sprint is providing developers easy access to core enabling capabilities ? LBS, SMS, presence, geo-fencing ? through a single interface across most Sprint devices including mobile handsets and embedded devices, operating systems and development environments including Web pages and applications,? said Kristin Wallace, a spokeswoman for Sprint, Overland Park, KS. 

?This is a common framework that will allow Sprint to expose our core capabilities across the ecosystem to developers in a meaningful way that will enable rapid development and deployment,? she said. ?Sprint also is providing access to third-party value added services including analytics, bar coding and M2M prototyping to help make their apps richer.?

What?s in it for developers?
Through the Sprint services framework, developers can obtain in-depth information on each service capability including:

? Overview information

? Videos that showcase the service capabilities

? Interactive demonstrations that the developer can use in real time

? Customer testimonials highlighting how developers are using Sprint services framework

? Use cases highlighting the use of a combination of the service capabilities in the Sprint services framework

Developers also can use network services such as location based services, SMS, MMS, geo-fence and presence through the framework. They can experiment with the API?s through the Sprint Developer Sandbox and utilize developer guides, sample code and emulators that are available on the ADP Web site.

Integrate the API
Once the developer is ready to integrate the API into code for production use, they can simply purchase those services directly from the Web site.

In addition, Sprint is providing access to third-party value added services that developers can purchase to further optimize their applications or solutions.

The Ground Truth Applications Analytics tool can provide developers with the ability to access aggregate data on demographics. All developers who register with Sprint will have access to this analytics solution and will be able to measure all of their applications across the supported platforms with one easy tool.

Bango Analytics provides Sprint developers with a complete view of their mobile application business, across all mobile platforms and channels. Sprint developers can download Bango?s Software Development Kit, allowing them to get standardized and independent data about their app activity in real-time.

Bango Analytics also fully integrates with Bango Payment, enabling developers to relate application usage to revenues generated from end user payments and ads.

Location-based services
Sprint has partnered with AirSage to offer developers a new location based services option.

Developers can also work with AirSage directly to access additional value added services. AirSage provides comprehensive population location and movement information derived from wireless signaling data.

AirSage?s patented data collection and analysis platform processes over 3 billion device locations every day.

Sprint has also partnered with Location Labs, a provider of mobile location-as-a-service infrastructure and applications, to include its new Sparkle Technology on future smartphones.

This new smartphone location infrastructure and Web services API will help the Sprint ecosystem extend existing applications and create new services that leverage hybrid smartphone location and controls with geo-fencing and location, all delivered by Location Labs.

Bar code scanning
ScanLife offers a wide variety of developer tools that enable a complete mobile bar code solution. The ScanLife software development kit (SDK) converts virtually any camera phone into a bar code scanner to read standard 2D bar code formats including QR code, Datamatrix, EZcode and 1D formats such as UPC/EAN.

The ScanLife API?s can help generate, manage and track 2D codes to mobilize a wide variety of digital content.

In seconds, developers can create codes that link to application downloads, business listings and contact information.

?Previously developers had multiple touch points, depending on the various capabilities they wanted to incorporate into their apps,? Ms. Wallace said. ?For example, they had to interact with IT, network team and possibly third parties, depending on the APIs they wanted to access  ? each with their own processes and technical interfaces.

?With the Sprint services framework, Sprint is providing them with direct access to Sprint?s APIs,? she said. 

Mobile Marketer's Giselle Tsirulnik interviewed Mike Wehrs, the interm CEO of Scanbuy, New York, regarding the opening of its API to Sprint developers.  Here is what he said.

Can you give details of the Scanbuy developer program?
The ScanLife Innovation Exchange will give marketers and businesses a wide set of tools that can be used to deploy any number of mobile bar code products. 

That could include using our SDK's for iPhone and Android to build scanners into mobile apps or using individual API's to create, manage and track 2D codes from anywhere. 

A developer can use this to leverage just one piece of the ScanLife system, or they can literally build their very own code management platform.
 
What is the strategy behind it?
Mobile bar code technology is taking off with over 700 percent growth in 2010. We get requests from people all over the world to use the technology in ways that you could only imagine. The Innovation Exchange will give them the tools they need to easily customize virtually anything they need while linking into our core products which we have developed over the past 3 or 4 years. 

This should make mobile barcodes proliferate even faster.

How will it encourage more app development?
This will make it easier and faster for developers to add mobile bar coding into their existing apps or services. 

For example, an SMS platform can now add QR code management with meaningful analytics to their set of products in a matter of days. 

A retailer can enable their Android app to scan UPC codes and link to valuable content the shopper can use in the store.  The applications for this kind of integration are really limitless.

What challenges will it address for developers?
This is all about flexibility for developer and also about time to market for devices. 

We want the community to use these tools to create apps that make sense for them, rather than just
offering a single product that only works for a certain type of deployment.

This technology connects the physical world to digital content, but under hat there are literally thousands of application that we have yet to see.