One puzzling nuance of the Verizon Droid from the day it was released to the public is the need to change settings in the native Youtube application to display high quality video as opposed to pixelated, low-quality versions of the same stream. In the eyes of several reviewers this appeared to be a bit of an odd oversight. Why would a phone, whose resolution is a crystal clear 854 x 480 pixels, be configured to show Youtube videos at the default 320 x 240 resolution when it’s reasonably easy to configure for the much sharper 640 x 360 high quality resolution?
Google now appears to be sending email messages to new Droid owners instructing them how to change the resolution of videos on the fly. It’s obvious that the point of the messge is to provide a handful of “How-To” video tutorials for other functionality on the phone, but the seemingly-subtle configuration change is what stands out like a sore thumb in the email.
The message:
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Marquerite Reardon over at CNet has an interesting overview of the ins-and-outs of early termination fees and one interesting point is worth noting. If you were one of those who ran out and purchased a droid within the first week of the Verizon / Motorola Droid release, the early termination fees — should you decide to cancel your Verizon contract — are still $175 and not the $350 that Verizon has instituted now.
Read the article on CNet
A new, free application you can download (for now) from the Android application store opens the functionality that you could previously only use on the Motorola Droid by purchasing the Multimedia Dock. The application only works on the the Android 2 OS of the Motorola Droid. Search the app store for DockRunner and install.
The Motorola Droid senses whether it’s being used free-form or mounted in either the multimedia dock or the car-mounted dock through the use of magnets. When mounted in the car dock, the phone automatically launches the Google Maps Navigation application while launching the multimedia interface / clock when the device is cradled in the Motorola accessory. Although you can fire up “Car Home” on the phone without the use of the dock for your vehicle, there hasn’t been an obvious way to launch the hidden multimedia interface without the corresponding accessory for your desktop.
Found at telephonvonline.com
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.
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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!
From a leaked Verizon support document, it appears an update for several problems with the Verizon Droid phone will be pushed December 11th. The fixes appear to address a small number of issues that users are facing with Active Sync / Exchange, Text messaging, and the camera.
Having used the Droid for a little over a week, my personal experience is that stability of some platform components (if not the base OS) is somewhat questionable. I’ve experienced issues with multiple native applications (apps that shipped with the phone) that stop responding, some applications never opening to the same window twice, and even the unthinkable — having the entire phone / screen become completely unresponsive after hanging up a call forcing me to have to reboot (!) the phone. Of course, in the complex world of software development, you can’t fix what you can’t duplicate consistently and certain issues you can’t even identify, so what everyone is calling “quirks” that I and others experience will probably never be fixed. (To be honest, I’m quite amazed that functionality impaired by stability issues has gotten so little coverage in the blogosphere.)
Click the link below to see the leaked documents out of Verizon (apparently scooped by Phandroid as noted by the shameless watermark).
Google quietly released the Android 2.0 source code last night. No sooner had it been released when the capable hacker community had it up and running on the T-Mobile HTC G1. The speed with which it was ported is either a testament to the skillz of those who do Linux programming or the stability of the OS build. In any event, it’s within the realm of possibility that a solid build for the G1 could come as soon as this weekend.
Source Code
Ported code progress
“Cyanogen’s” (Steve Kondik) Twitter page
Android 2.0 lockscreen running on T-Mobile G1
