Development - 38/87 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

Download: The Official Droid Bionic Boot Animation

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Bionic, Development, Motorola, News

The elusive Droid Bionic is finally within weeks of release (it should drop September 8th for $299.99), but if you want to pretend you already have one for a moment or if your current boot animation is not a gorgeous fiery bionic eye (is such a thing even possible?), then download this official Droid Bionic boot animation and sound. It won't grow you an extra arm, but it will make you the coolest chap in town (not really).

Update: I've dropped the frames into GIMP and created an animated gif version. It's too big to embed on this page but if you want to see it, click here.

Aug

[Updated] Well, That Was Fast - One-Click Droid 3 Root Now Available

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, Droid 3, News

Earlier today it was announced that the Droid 3 had officially been rooted. As previously stated, the process doesn't look all that difficult as long as you have ADB set up and ready to go. Now this process is even easier, though, as a 1-click solution has become available! That's not the best part, either -- P3Droid seems to think that this method should work on all Moto phones running Gingerbread.

This is designed for use on Windows machines only.

Update: Linked to version 7 of the script, as version 5 could potentially cause some issues.

Instructions:

Install Motorola drivers
Download and unzip Droid 3 Easy Root Script v7
Enable USB debugging on your device (Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging)
Plug your phone into the computer and select "Charge Mode Only"
Run "Click to root your Droid 3.bat" in the Droid 3 easy root folder
Follow the onscreen instructions and unlock the phone after each boot.

Aug

Android 2.2.1 System Dump From HP TouchPad Now Available

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, News, TouchPad, Videos

The HP TouchPad has become quite a hot topic in the Android community as of late, thanks to its ultra-low price tag and superb hardware specs. Several dev teams have already stepped forward to announce plans to port Android to the device, while at least two devices have already been sold with developer builds of Android intact right out of the box.

One of the lucky owners of said Android-ified TouchPads, jiwanish, has been so kind as to provide a full system dump to RootzWiki, allowing devs to make some real progress on the Android TouchPad front. The build is Android 2.2.1, and is most definitely a test version from the Qualcomm Innovation Center, as it shows the logo upon bootup.

Aug

Learning Android Development? Here Is A 200-Episode (Almost 20 Hours) Tutorial Series - All For Free [Videos]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, News, Tips & Tutorials, Videos

There are many ways to get into Android development - buying and reading Android books, visiting a plethora of Android-themed dev sites, navigating thousands of StackOverflow.com questions tagged with "Android," or even entering our book giveaways.

For visual learners, here's yet another one - a massive series of hands-on video tutorials amounting to almost 20 hours of footage. The series, created by TheNewBoston and mybringback YouTube users, and organized into a straightforward 200-video playlist by ChangingTheUnknown, contains tons of absolutely free content that, in my opinion, teaches using the best way possible - by showing you code. Lots of code.

Aug

Latest Version Of Swype Breaks Free Of The Nexus S 4G, Now Available For Rooted Android Devices

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Development, News

Update: At the request of Swype, we have removed the links to this ported version of Swype for the Nexus S 4G because of licensing concerns regarding the Sprint branding. Also, because this same update will be rolled out on Swype Beta for all devices this week. Check out the announcement, here.

Just about a week ago, Sprint let Nexus S 4G owners in on a new version of Swype that improved capitalization of proper nouns, spruced up the UI, and introduced shortcut gestures (see the video below). Unfortunately, users of all non-NS4G Android phones were left out of the fun; therefore, we did not consider the update newsworthy.

Aug

Editorial: Why Removing The Market's "Just In" Section Is Good For Everyone - Except App Spammers

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, Development, Editorials

This Just In

If you've received the new version of the Android Market on your phone, you might have noticed among the legion of additions to the app a very noticeable subtraction: the "Just In" section. Some people don't like this.

In fact, there is a growing thread over at Google Support with a number of complaints about this change. Of course, the complaints are pretty exclusively from developers. Now, some of these complaints are made from a legitimate perspective - new developers who want exposure. Of course, the problem is that these developers can't actually determine what percentage of their app's "clicks" come from the "Just In" section - there seems to be a tacit assumption that it's a large number, without any evidence to back up this claim.

Aug

HTC Bootloader Unlock Portal Updated, Now Includes The EVO 3D

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, EVO 3D (Shooter), HTC, News

A couple of days ago, HTC revealed their bootloader unlock portal and started with 1 of the 3 (so far) promised devices - the European Sensation. The EVO 3D and the T-Mobile Sensation 4G remained MIA for the time being.

Notice how the Sensation was unlocked shortly after receiving an Android 2.3.4 OTA, which apparently gave it its "unlockability." Now remember what happened this morning? Yup - the EVO 3D also got the 2.3.4 update and, you guessed it - it's now unlockable at HTCDev.com.

So, if it's the bootloader unlock you're after, hop on over to HTC's bootloader unlock page to get in on the unlock-y goodness, but remember - it will likely void your software warranty, so proceed at your own risk (as always).

Aug

And The Three Winners Of The Android Police Book Giveaway #7 Are...

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Contests / Giveaways, Development

The 7th Android Police book giveaway is now over, and we've picked the winners. A copy of Android 3.0 Application Development Cookbook will be shipped to each of the following readers who answered this question, as selected by Packt and Android Police:

What interests you the most about this book?

Joe Rivera:

What this book feels like to me is a great opportunity to learn about development the right way as opposed to searching 5 different forum sites just to get sent to 10 different webpages and have you give your email for more assistance that gets you 100 pieces of junk mail every day when all I wanted to know was where to start reading.

Aug

Samsung Releases Conquer 4G Kernel Source Code Before The Phone Even Hits Shelves

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Conquer, Development, News

Last Updated: November 23rd, 2011

Sammy has been on a roll lately as far as releasing source code is concerned, and the kernel source for the upcoming Conquer 4G just hit the Open Source Release Center. This means that, as soon as the phone lands on the Now Network's shelves on August 21st, all kinds of homebrewed goodness can get underway.

You can grab the code from here.

Aug

[Book Giveaway #7] Three Of You Will Master Honeycomb Development With Packt's "Android 3.0 Application Development Cookbook"

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Contests / Giveaways, Development

Last Updated: August 18th, 2011

We're back at it again, this time with a book that will make you master of the Honeycomb development domain. Having collaborated with O'Reilly, For Dummies, and informIT before, for this giveaway we've partnered up with a fourth publishing company, Packt Publishing.

Android 3.0 Application Development Cookbook

We're giving away three copies of Android 3.0 Application Development Cookbook by Kyle Merrifield Mew, and luckily for you, dear aspiring developer, entering the giveaway is quite simple.

To whet your appetite, the quick-and-dirty points about the book:

Overview of Android 3.0 Application Development Cookbook

Written for Android 3.0 but also applicable to lower versions

Quickly develop applications that take advantage of the very latest mobile technologies, including web apps, sensors, and touch screens

Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Discover tips and tricks for varied and imaginative uses of the latest Android features