SAN DIEGO – HTC is opening its acclaimed Sense user interface to Android developers, company CEO Peter Chou announced Thursday during a keynote address at Qualcomm’s Uplinq conference.

The company has launched a developer program, HTCdev, which will provide developers with a software development kit for HTC Sense 3.0.  Developers also will have access to APIs and sample code for HTC’s 3D displays and the pen for HTC’s Flyer tablet.

“You developers are just as important to the success of this industry as hardware makers, OEMs, platform owners and carriers,” Chou said, stating that the wireless industry was “entering into a golden age of mobile development.”

The program has not yet opened for business, but is expected to launch this summer.

LinkedIn, Picasa and Gameloft partnered with HTC early on when the company decided to open its Sense technology to developers, and have already created apps leveraging the technology.

The newest version of HTC Sense comes equipped with a lock screen that displays users’ important content, such as e-mail, social network updates, weather forecasts and photos. Users can launch applications directly from the lock screen, making it easier to access their mobile content. The HTC Evo 3D and the HTC Sensation will ship with the updated user interface, Chou said.

“HTC Sense is everything we do to make technology work for you, not the other way around,” Chou said. “HTC Sense makes it simple and intuitive when you use your smartphone.”

Chou said HTC’s brand momentum is “rising quickly.” The company’s smartphone shipments have soared in recent years on the strength of its Android smartphones. The company shipped 9.7 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year alone and nearly tripled its profits.