Not too long ago, Sony unified all of its services (PSN, Music Unlimited Video Unlimited) into one entity called Sony Entertainment Network. Sony believes doing this will be beneficial to the ecosystem it has set up to deliver a variety of entertainment options to Sony devices. In an effort to make further use of that business model, Sony will release its PlayStation Suite software development kit for developers in November. This will enable game creators to make one game that will work across Sony’s gaming platforms.

As the world braces for more tablets and 3D smartphones, Kyocera is sitting in a world all its own. The Kyocera Echo doesn’t have a dual core processor or a 3D display, but it does have two screens. This hardware design is different from other smartphones on the market, and has the potential to carve out a niche market for itself. This would be impossible without developers, so Kyocera has started a developer community for the Echo.

It seems like every week, a new program has been created with Kinect controls. The enthusiast community has done a wonderful job of taking the peripheral, and applying it to many fascinating applications. Microsoft doesn’t mind these Kinect mods (they’re technically not hacks), and encouraged the public to really dig into the hardware to their heart’s content. Microsoft will take its support of third-party Kinect creations to another level this spring when it releases the official Kinect software development kit.

Apple has finally decided to release an iPhone software development kit (SDK), allowing companies to create applications for the phone. The beta version of the SDK is already in developer’s hands and the full version is expected to be released June 2008.

After Apple made the SDK’s announcement at a press conference last week (March 6, 2008), Apple’s VP for iPhone Software, Scott Forstall, demonstrated a space game (Touch Fighter) developed in only two weeks (“and only 10,000 lines of code”), promising touch controls and tilt-sensitive steering.

Perhaps an effort to help the expensive hardware more attractive to a larger audience, game companies have already been…