Can You Feel the Differentiation? Haptics for Your App
Looking at the amount of new Apps that are published for Apple and Android each month, we can roughly estimate a new app comes out every 1-2 minutes. Obviously, this is a lot to compete with so developers need to keep differentiation on their mind. There are many different ways to differentiate, but one of the most overlooked differentiators is haptic feedback. Haptics also happens to be one of the simplest and effective features to add to your Android application.
Integrating Haptics into an App
Tactile Haptic feedback is the vibration a phone creates, and now Immersion has recently released an Android SDK specifically to take advantage of these vibrations. At the moment it is the only haptic specific SDK to really control all aspects of an Android phones vibrate ability.
How is it different then Google Vibrate API?
Through the Android Vibrator API the only functions that can be controlled are the Google () vibrate motor on/off control.
For example, if you have an application where a user receives a message and all you want is for the phone to vibrate for X number of seconds, then the built-in Google API is perfect for that. But if you want to know whom the message is coming from without looking at your phone, well this is where the Immersion SDK into play.
Imagine the enhancements haptics could create for a racing game. It starts out with a soft vibrate on the left side of the phone as the left tires slip off the pavement onto the gravel, then as the driver decides to take a shortcut through a dirt road, the phone then vibrates to its full potential. Haptics allows the user to become more engaged and adds another dimension on top of video and audio.
The Competitive Advantage
The Immersion SDK
Since Immersion’s SDK is relatively new, developers haven’t maximized it’s potential yet, with most sticking with the standard Google method. So if you’re a gaming developer like Gameloft, you could have quite an early advantage over other developer houses if you took all your titles and worked with Immersion to enable them with the best vibe effects available today. The goal Immersion had in creating the SDK for Android was to get Haptic apps that our OEM and Carrier partners would want to bundle with their mobile devices.
If you would like to try some of the HD Haptics on currently available apps in the Android Market, take a look at Solo (guitar sim) by Coding Caveman, Enzo's Pinball by Haptify and Deadly Chambers (shooter) from Battery Powered Games. In regard to the last title, this game has many weapon effects that unlock as you progress through the levels and each one feels different, something you simply can't do with the Google on/off vibe code.
The best Haptic experience will be with partners of Immersion who have Android handsets/tablets, including Samsung, LG, and Toshiba, but you should also try these titles on HTC and MOTO devices so you can see how the SDK solution plays in emulator mode as Immersions haptic technology compensates for differences in the motor types between these varying manufacturers.
You can also download the Immersion UHL (Universal Haptic Layer) Effect Preview app from the Android market that contains 124 pre-made UI and gaming effects that Gameloft could use for better vibe effects than what the Google API gives you.