Droid Today

Archive for category Android Development

Fragmentation in Android OS Market

Dec 12

Posted by Brian Kelley in Android Development, Android Phones | Comments off

PC World has a perspective on the most recent Android update made available by Google and pushed to Motorola Droid owners. This could be one not-so-subtle issue that may keep software houses from focusing development efforts on the Android operating system platform and instead opt for the Apple iPhone platform.

On Friday, Sprint posted a Twitter message saying its HTC Hero and Samsung Moment phones will get Android 2.0 in the first half of 2010.

The Sprint announcement points to a potential fragmentation issue that some experts worry might plague Android. Already there are phones on the market running Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0. The problem with having many versions in the market at the same time is that applications may have trouble working smoothly across all the OSes.

That makes the platform less attractive to the developers Google relies on to build interesting applications, and to end-users who may find that an application they download doesn’t work on their phone.

PCW Article

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Android Development on Windows: Part 1 of 2

Nov 20

Posted by Jeff Watson in Android Development, Android Phones | 1 Comment

I recently blogged on the Android SDK and my initial experience.  Since, I’ve received several requests to outline the steps required to get started.  That is, to install, configure and debug an Android application.  This 2 part series intends to do just that.

Where We Are Going

This post will focus on downloading, installing and validating your Android development configuration on Windows.  It is the first step when getting started.

Step 1: Download

First things, first.  Download the required installation files to your local hard drive.  Once everything has completed downloading, continue to step 2.  Keep in mind, my recommendation is different than the instructions you’ll find on the official Android developers website.  This is because I find the following configuration provides the most robust developer experience when working with Java EE, GlassFish and Android.

JDK 6 Update 17 1.6.0_17 is the latest.  I recommend you download the 4th item down titled “JDK 6 Update 17”.  You don’t need any of the bundles. Download Here
Netbeans IDE 6.7.1 This version comes bundled with the GlassFish application server.  Not required for Android development, but you’ll be glad you have it.  You’ll see. Download Here
Android SDK r3 Direct link for Android SDK. Download Here

Step 2: Installation

Rather than give you a play by play, I’m only going to highlight the most important sections for each installation.  For the most part, it should be fairly straight forward.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Android OS Matures

Nov 17

Posted by Jeff Watson in Android Development, Android Phones | Comments off

Android 2.0 is a mobile operating system running on a Linux kernel and first gained attention when Google purchased 22-month-old startup, Android, Inc. back in 2005.  Last week I downloaded the latest Android SDK to see for myself what the platform brings to the table now that it has had time to mature.  All I can say is wow!

What’s in the box?

First of all, the Android 2.0 SDK comes complete with Android libraries, an emulator, emulator skins, sample applications and a nice set of developer tools delivered as a plug-in for Eclipse.  Pretty much everything you need to write an application to run on the Android platform.  Because I work with Java EE on a regular basis, I chose to install the Android SDK and roll the the Android Development Tools (ADT) into my existing GlassFish/Eclipse bundled IDE.  Worked like a charm following the simple instructions on the Android Developers website.

Hello World

After installing the Android SDK and developer tools I followed the Hello World Tutorial and found myself running my first Android application in the emulator in less than 10 minutes.  At first, you’ll feel this awkward sensation and won’t be able to put your finger on it.  Then, you’ll realize that foreign feeling is excitement.  You’re actually excited about coding again and the flames of creativity long stamped out by “the man” will come raging back.  Just try to stop the ideas from popping into your head!

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Android Marketplace aggregator Cryket is gone

Nov 5

Posted by Brian Kelley in Android Development, Android Phones | 2 Comments

Either the proprietor of cryket.com has sold the domain for a tidy little fee, is selling the domain, or it has fallen prey to the “do no evil” corporation.

Cryket (pronounced “cricket”)  was one of few places where you could search the entire Android Marketplace for phone apps via the web. It was popular with the Android development community as a handy method for charting the success and trends of applications they built against others in the store, as well as reviewing daily comments left by consumers. Some bits of information found at Cryket.com were stock market-like up and down arrows charting an application’s popularity trend over time, download statistics, an area for video and screenshot uploads, and the best part of all… a QR barcode image on each application page in the Android Marketplace that provided all the information needed to download the app with your Android phone. (example of how this was done in the video below.)
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HTC Hero to get Android 2.0

Oct 30

Posted by Brian Kelley in Android Development, Android Phones | 2 Comments

And the cookie crumbles for the Motorola Droid, just when we thought the Droid would be the savior of the fledgling firm, news broke out today that Android 2.0 is being pumped in the uber popular HTC Hero phone.
“Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on your Hero.” a statement from HTC read.

This would be the second handset to feature the Android 2.0 operating system, after the Droid, which releases on November 6th. It would be interesting to see the Sense UI integrated with Android 2.0 on the HTC Hero

The HTC Hero is one of the highest selling phones in the world, it features a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus with a screen resolution of 320 x 480 on its 3.2 inch screen, along with Wifi, Bluetooth, ac3.5 mm audio jack, microphone, speaker, Accelerometer and it delivers a talk time of 470 minutes with a standby time of 420 hours.

Android 2.0 improves upon allowing developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. Google Voice for the Google Voice service, Scoreboard for following sports, Sky Map for watching stars, Finance for their finance service, Maps Editor for their MyMaps service, Places Directory for their Local Search, Secrets for safely storing passwords and My Tracks, a jogging application all run on Android.

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Android 2.0 OS on a G1

Oct 30

Posted by Brian Kelley in Android Development, Android Phones | 2 Comments

Not surprisingly, it took about 3 days before someone was able to port the Android 2.0 OS to Android 1.6-based phones.

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Google Android 2.0 “Eclair” Released

Oct 28

Posted by Brian Kelley in Android Development | Comments off

The open software development platform that powers the new Motorola Droid has been released. Two notable features are SMS/MMS message search, automatic SMS/MMS message deleting based on a configurable age limit, MS Exchange server support (which should make business users who can’t use the iPhone happy).

Android 2.0 SDK Highlights
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.0-highlights.html

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