Chapter 7. Putting the Phone Gadgets to Good Use

It's time to have some fun. It's time to lift the lid and look at all of those lovely toys that are within the new breed of smartphones. It's time to play with the accelerometer, camera, compass, and geolocation. If it's a gadget, it's covered here.

Boy, the combination of a few gadgets has certainly focused the imagination of a new breed of developer. From a simple spirit-level app through to augmented reality apps and all manner of apps in between—even the most humble app, which uses a map view to show a location—will use a gadget to give a more immersive experience.

This chapter will delve into:

• The camera

• The accelerometer

• Geolocation

• Augmented reality

• Maps (not strictly a gadget, but it fits with geolocation)