15
May
image

[I/O 2013] Google Gives Developers A 'Better Distribution Experience' In Revised Play Store Console Coming 'This Summer'

Posted by in Applications, Development, News

Between Hangouts, the gorgeous new Maps, Play Music All Access, and everything else discussed in I/O's opening keynote this morning, several revisions to the Play Store developer's console were announced.

Perhaps the most interesting addition to the console will be an organized method for alpha and beta testing, and staged rollouts.  Basically, developers can select alpha and beta testers, receiving all feedback directly (instead of through reviews) and, when the time comes, roll out the app to certain percentages of the user base.

2013-05-15_12h38_54 2013-05-15_12h39_17 2013-05-15_12h39_31

The changes also include a major help in ensuring your apps make sense to international users – a full translation service by which developers can order specific translations, come back a week or so later, and download the translations directly from the console.

01
May
nexusae0_1_thumb5_thumb

Google Updates Platform Distribution Numbers – Gingerbread Down To 38.5%, Jelly Bean Up To 28.4%

Posted by in Android OS, Development, Google, News

As usual Google has updated monthly platform distribution numbers for Android in its developer dashboard. The numbers, based on devices accessing the Play Store over the last 14 days (ending May 1st), tell developers which versions of Android are most prevalent, and which are on the decline.

This month, as last month, we're seeing a decline in Gingerbread and a rise in Jelly Bean. Gingerbread has dropped from 39.8% to 38.5%, a 1.3% drop for those keeping tally at home. Jelly Bean, meanwhile, has seen a slightly more substantial shift, rising 3.4% from 25% to 28.4%.

image

Elsewhere, the ebb and flow of version numbers is more or less expected.

30
Apr
image

Full Google I/O 2013 Agenda Goes Live - 120+ Sessions And Labs, But Only A Single Keynote This Time Around

Posted by in Development, Google, News

Google just updated the sold out I/O 2013 conference website with the full schedule developers have been dying to see for months, ever since the initial announcement back in February. During the three days in mid-May (May 15-17), the company's engineers will host over 120 talks on such topics as:

  • Android
  • Chrome & Apps
  • Google+
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Maps
  • YouTube
  • Glass
  • Ads
  • Wallet
  • Knowledge & Structured Data
  • and other tech subjects

image

On day 3, developers will also be able to participate in Code Labs on the topics of Android, Google+, Chrome & Apps, Google Cloud Platform, and YouTube.

image

The full agenda of everything (not just code labs and tech talks) that's going to be happening is live as well.

30
Apr
nexusae0_1_thumb44

HTC Releases One Kernel Sources For U.S. (Sprint, T-Mobile), Asian, And European Variants

Posted by in Development, HTC, News, One

HTCdev just finalized a fairly timely release of kernel sources for several carrier-specific and unbranded variants of the HTC One. The list of newly covered models includes:

  • U.S.: Sprint and T-Mobile
  • Asia: Taiwan and Hong Kong (CHT)
  • Europe: unbranded European version, Italy (TIM), France (Bouygues), and Germany (O2).

2013-04-30_00-32-54

Of course, the Canadian and Developer Edition had their own releases earlier this month.

Among US carriers, only AT&T and Cincinnati Bell are still unaccounted for, but likely to make their own appearances shortly. You can pick up your copy of the source code at HTC's developer portal.

Source: HTC Dev

19
Apr
1

HTC Releases Kernel Source Code For The One Developer Edition, Canadian-Branded Variants

Posted by in Development, HTC, News, One

It's One launch day! You can get HTC's newest flagship on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile here in the US, as well as Telus, Bell, Brightpoint, and Rogers in Canada. To go along with the official launch of the device, HTC has also decided to throw the development community a bone by releasing the kernel source code for five variants of the device: Developer Edition, Brightpoint, TELUS, Bell, and Rogers.

image

Notice anything particular about that list? Yeah... no US variants anywhere to be found. No word when we may see the source hit for those variants (don't hold your breath) – but if you're looking to tinker with a Canadian version of the phone, hit the link below and go nuts.

27
Feb
firefox-icon

Sony Offers Xperia E Owners The Chance To Test Out Experimental Firefox OS Build

Posted by in Development, News, Sony

The Xperia E, Sony's low-end Jelly Bean-powered smartphone which was announced back in December may have another trick up its sleeve yet. The manufacturer is offering owners of the device the chance to test out Mozilla's fledgling Firefox OS on the device via a downloadable ROM. Meant for "advanced developers," the ROM comes with a few warnings from Sony, chiefly that you should know what you're doing before you get started.

The ROM is thus far labeled "experimental," and comes with its own set of limitations: for starters, there's no radio connectivity. This means no cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth capability. Additionally, the SD card "might be unstable" and touch screen sensitivity is not fully calibrated.

12
Feb
image

[Developer Changelog] Here's What's New In Android 4.2.2 (JDQ39)

Posted by in Android OS, Development, Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4, Nexus 7

Following yesterday's Android 4.2.2 OTAs to various Nexus devices, Google today followed up with the push of all 4.2.2 open source code changes to AOSP. There is a lot here to parse through this time around compared to the minor 4.2.1_r1.2 commit from 10 days ago.

We've already identified some obvious user-facing changes, which we'll post about separately soon to keep it clean and organized. The purpose of this post is, as before, to find the low-level changes that may not be obvious. So move the beard out of the way and dig in.

Update: Ron detailed some new things here: New Android 4.2.2 Features: Toggle From Quick Settings, Better App Download Notifications, and Some New Sounds!

12
Feb
ouyathumb

Ouya Announces Finalists For Its 10-Day Create Competition And Some Of Them Look Fantastic

Posted by in Games, News

We're all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Ouya and the one question we need to have answered is whether or not the platform will be able to acquire enough interesting games to be worthwhile. One of the ways the company is generating interest and content is with a 10-day developer competition. Keeping in mind that the entire programming process occurred in a little more than a week (and in some cases, less than that) and all the titles are unfinished, here's a look at some of the games that may end up on the console.

Avner

This might just be one of the most visually-polished games to come out so far.

05
Feb
google

[Open Letter] Please Help Yourself To Helping Yourself - Why Google Needs To Rethink The Concept Of Developer Support

Posted by in Editorials, Google
Last Updated: March 29th, 2013

The following is a guest post and an open letter to Google from Simply Applied, the makers of apps Sign and CritiCall. It was written by Chris H and Peter V, the developers on the Simply Applied team.

--

To put it plainly, Google’s Developer Support is awful. It’s entirely faceless, avoiding human contact like a recluse living under Uluru in the Australian Outback – its almost enough to long for the days of, “Press 1 for Billing” phone menus. “Developer Support” relies almost entirely on you helping yourself and if something goes wrong in the process you’re forced into a near insanity-inducing endless cycle of self-help.

08
Jan
shawdowntiny

ShaqDown Arrives On The Play Store - All The Mutant Zombies You Can Throw A Basketball At For $0.99

Posted by in Games, News

Well, that didn't take that long at all. Less than a month after we first heard about Shaquille O'Neal starring in a post-apocalyptic game that features mutant zombies (yes, you read that right), it's already released! The not-quite-sequel to Shaq Fu, a game so bad that people devote actual time and money to liberating it from existence, brandishes an entirely different gameplay style. Whereas the original was a fighting game along the lines of Mortal Kombat, this game is closer to the second week of Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks To Save The World. That's exactly the kind of feeling I was hoping for going into this game.

Page 1 of 1012345...10...Last»