Development - 31/86 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

The Android Team Launches Online Android Training - Free Classes With Lessons And Sample Code For All

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, News

In order to make it easier for Android developers to get started with creating robust applications, the Android team today formalized and unified various coding tutorials into one clearly defined area of the Android dev site: Android Training. The tutorials, or classes, are very well put together, with splits into logical steps to make them flow well, along with sample code you can utilize to "do your homework." There is no fee for taking any of them - think of Android Training as a collection of well organized and curated tutorials.

I counted 11 general sections with 34 distinct lessons, and this number is going to be increasing in the future.

Dec

[Updated: Here Are The Winners!] InformIT Holiday Book Giveaway #1: Win One Of Ten Copies Of "Learning Android Game Programming"

Posted by David Ruddock in Contests / Giveaways, Development

Last Updated: December 29th, 2011

Our second, and last, giveaway for today is a little more literary than the offerings we've had so far, and really, is pointed more towards those who are looking to get into Android programming and development. So, we do ask that you only enter this contest if you actually want the book, because there aren't many Android giveaways out there aimed at the developer crowd. And don't worry devs, this isn't the only InformIT title we'll be offering as part of our Mega-Holiday Giveaway - it's just the first.

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:

will Ch*
Kapil Sukhyani
Juan S*
jason f
RazorHail
Greg Draven
Ganzúas
Chris M*
Lino Barreca
sungam

Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

Dec

[Updated: Now With ICL53F] Official Factory Image ITL41D For Verizon Galaxy Nexus Released - Developers Can Now Brick Away

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Update: We've also got the images for the newest update to the Galaxy Nexus, Android 4.0.2:

Google Android software engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru has just let loose a factory image of the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, meaning developers now have an official software build to recover from bricks and to tinker with to their hearts' contents. You can find the image, ITL41D, here. The post also indicates more Verizon Galaxy Nexus goodies will be coming later, so we'll keep you updated as more is released.

It should be noted that this is not an image of the OTA update that was released earlier today, ICL53F.

Dec

Kick-Ass! Web Android Market Now Allows App User Review Filtering By Device Model, Latest Version, And Specific Star Rating

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Google, News

Looks like the new Email Developer feature that the web Android Market received on Friday was just the icing on the cake! While it was nice to finally have the ability to contact developers without having to go through the device Market, it was still a pretty minor addition. Don't fret - Google was nowhere near being done - you can now:

filter user reviews by device model, currently limited to All and individual devices registered to your account.
filter user reviews by app version, currently limited to All or Latest
filter user reviews by specific star rating

Here, have a look (the sample app I used was Christmas HD, if you are curious):

The beauty is - you can combine filters and, for example, narrow down to only 1-star reviews made by users of HTC EVO 3D that used the latest version of the app.

Dec

Google Adds 'Email Developer' Feature To The Web Market, Makes Addresses Public - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Google, News

I sure love these Google Fridays - the Android team tends to release quite a few little updates to the web Market that make us feel warm on the inside, and it turns out this week is no exception.

You can now email developers with a question or a bug report right from the web Market - a feature previously available only in the device Market. For example:

The email url is a simple mailto: link, which should pop up your favorite email client (Gmail in my case). This change should most definitely increase helpful feedback to developers as well as provide users with an ability to ask pre-sales questions.

Dec

[Monthly Home Screen Challenge] And The November 2011 Winner Is...

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Development, Home Screen Challenge

Last Updated: January 3rd, 2012

Our inaugural Monthly Home Screen Challenge for the month of October was a great success. So much so that we decided to keep the challenge going, and we got some awesome submissions for November. As always, it was tricky picking a winner, and after much deliberation we finally settled on Hotmann, who came up with an interesting take on the periodic table.

Just like last month's challenge, we have taken the winning submission and broken it down into its basic components for your reading/designing pleasure. Enjoy!

Winner - Hotmann

Hotmann's entry can be difficult to comprehend at first, but on closer inspection it is clearly one of the most creative uses of an Android home screen that I have ever seen.

Dec

CyanogenMod Posts CM9 Progress Report – Original Droid To Lose Support

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

In a reassuring blog post, Cyanogen recently told readers that "things are slowly starting to come together," regarding progress on the hotly anticipated Cyanogenmod 9, which is based on Android 4.0.

The entry goes on to explain that the devices most likely to see CM9 first are those based on OMAP4, MSM8660/7X30, and Exynos chips, as well as a few Tegra 2 tablets (including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and ASUS Transformer).

That's the good news. The bad news is that owners of the OG Droid will be left in the cold, come CM9. The team is also facing challenges due to framework changes in Android 4.0 that "break compatibility with older proprietary camera and graphics drivers." Despite such setbacks, however, Cyanogen writes "I am confident that the team will be able to overcome these issues like we have in the past."

The progress update also promises shorter "spin-up time" when compiling Cyanogenmod from source, and a few other enhancements, including an overhauled music app, a brand new file manager, and a new launcher based on Ice Cream Sandwich.

Nov

Kindle Fire Gets An Update That Breaks Root – Don't Worry, You Can Root Again

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, Kindle Fire, News, Tablets

Amazon has begun pushing a software update to Kindle Fire owners, updating the tablet's software to version 6.2. The online shopping giant kept quiet about just what the update included however. Given this (lack of) information, the real story here is that the update breaks root. Additionally, the Fire is configured to update automatically over WiFi, and there isn't an immediately apparent way to stop it.

There is a bright side, however. After your Fire updates, regaining root access is not only possible, but easy, using SuperOneClick. For instructions, head over to the discussion on XDA Forums. It's worth mentioning that the update may wipe the Android Market app and custom keyboards, along with your root privileges.

Nov

Hey Designers: "Android Design Preview" Will Mirror A Portion Of Your Computer Screen Over ADB For Live Mockups

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Development, News, Videos

So you're doing a mockup in Photoshop, and you want to see it on your device. You've got to save it, email it to yourself, and open it on your phone, right? Not Anymore. Today, Google - well, Roman Nurik, a guy who works at Google - released "Android Design Preview," a little utility that will mirror your screen over ADB.

The app has a box that matches the resolution of your device, just start it up, stick it the alignment box over your Photoshop mockup, and you have a live preview of your work. Pretty cool.

It's a jar file, so it should work on PC, Mac, and Linux.

Nov

MoDaCo's Paul O'Brien Releases Patch For Galaxy Nexus Softkeys With Menu And/Or Search Key Reinstatement

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Development, Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

One of the most prominent new features on the Galaxy Nexus, and Ice Cream Sandwich, is that the soft-keys are displayed right on the screen. While the notion is a sound one, there will always be those who miss some of the legacy features left behind. In this case, those would be the Menu and Search keys, stalwarts of Android's interface paradigm since its release with the G1. What was once four buttons - Home, Menu, Back, Search* - has been whittled down to just Home and Back, along with the introduction of the new multitasking-purposed App Switcher button. This combination was seen previously in Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but is about to encounter widespread use on upcoming phones**.