Development - 65/87 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

New Version Of MIUI ROM Now Rolling Out Over The Air, Bringing Built-In Theming, Better Folders, CPU Management, And Major Speed Increase With It

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Development, Froyo 2.2, Google, HTC, Milestone, Motorola, News, Nexus One (Passion)

The MIUI ROM is definitely one of those things you'll either love or hate, but judging by the waves the arrival of the latest version of the mod has been causing, the community (or at least most of it) is of the former opinion. And rightly so, if you ask me - the ROM is now even faster, features user-creatable (and downloadable) themes, and pinch-to-zoom on homescreens, among many other additions. While it still has a detectable iPhone aroma about it, it's arguably worth it, if for no other reason than the fact that its system animations zip along at 60 FPS, which is more than three times higher than those of a stock Nexus One.

Nov

Attention Android Devs: You Can Now Add Custom Transitions To Your Very Own Custom ROM

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Development, News

Ever grow bored of the stock Android transitions? Well, if you're like me and you have, take a quick look at the brilliant work done by XDA-Developers forum member Magnus Ragnar. Magnus has found a way for developers to build custom transitions into their ROMs. I should warn you that this is not for the feint of heart, and it goes without saying that your device needs to be rooted. Take a look at the video below to check out some of the sweet custom transitions and visit the source link for the full breakdown along with detailed instructions.

Source: XDA-Developers

Nov

University Of Waterloo Students Start 7cubed: 7 Students, 7 Days, 7 Apps

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Apps/Games, Development, News

Update: They've posted in our comments and tweeted about this post! Turns out they've already released an iOS version as well, they're just waiting on Apple to approve their app.

This is one hell of a brilliant idea that deserves all the attention it can get: seven University of Waterloo students have come together to write an app every day for seven straight days. But these aren't just average run-of-the-mill students; they're the cream of the crop, and most have a bevy of industry experience backing them up. Better still, they've worked together before - but their awesomeness was always cut short by the start of a new work/school week.

Nov

Set Custom Ringtones And Vibrations For Different Contacts' Calls, Messages, And Emails Using WhoIsIt

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Development, News

WhoIsIt is a new twist on an old classic: setting custom ringtones for certain contacts (or groups of contacts). The twist is that you can assign custom ringtones and vibrations for Gmail, SMS, and MMS, on a per-contact basis. Not too shabby, especially for a free app. Other features include:

* Ability to setup VIP contacts for Gmail, SMS, and MMS
* Allow VIP contacts to ring / notify for Gmail, SMS, and MMS even when in Silent mode
* Announce incoming caller and SMS/MMS sender
* Define different volume / vibration profiles
* Widget for easily switching profiles
* Tasker plugin
* Disable LEDs on a per-profile basis
* Ringleader integration

At the moment, the app is still in public beta at version .92.

Nov

Ubuntu Hacked Onto Samsung Galaxy Tab

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Galaxy Tab, News

As the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way - and there's always a will among the guys (and gals) at XDA-Devs. This time around, it's booting Ubuntu on the Samsung Galaxy Tab; unfortunately, though, it's not without a fair number of kinks at this point.

XDA member dviera88 discovered that the method used to boot Ubuntu on the Epic 4G also works on the Galaxy Tab (unsurprising, given just how similar the two are). He's provided a nearly 13-minute video detailing how to get it up and running and providing a quick usage demonstration. Heads-up, though: it's shot on his Epic 4G, so the video isn't great.

Nov

[Updated] New Options In The Android Market App Publishing Interface: Promo Videos, High Res App Icon, Feature Graphics

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Apps/Games, Development, News

Whoa! Only a few hours after sending out a notification about a big Market maintenance, Google sneakily updated the Market publishing interface with a variety of new options, pointing to nothing less than an updated Market likely to launch very soon, probably together with Gingerbread. The presence of higher resolution graphics underscores Google's newly embraced support for tablets and TVs, and possibly suggests that Market web interface we've been waiting for since Google I/O is finally around the corner.

Here are all the new options available to developers publishing their apps, in addition to the 2 screenshots and the promotional graphic+text (I can't think of a place where the latter is used):

High Resolution Application Icon - 512w x 512h, 24 bit PNG or JPEG (no alpha).

Nov

First CyanogenMod 6.1 Build For Samsung Galaxy S GT-i9000 Released In Beta Form

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Galaxy S, News

We have good news and bad news (x2), world. The good: the first CM6.1 build for the Samsung Galaxy S has been released. The first (and worst) bit of bad news: at this point, it looks like it's for the GT-i9000 only, and not the US versions of the SGS (though I'm no dev, so I'm not positive). The other bad news: this is apparently a very bug-laden release ("Holy crap, it's full of BUGS!").

Developers codeworkx and coolya have been working on this for quite some time, while keeping the very impatient SGS owners regularly updated on their progress via the CM forums.

Nov

PapayaMobile Announces A 3D Scripting Runtime Game Engine For Android, Integration With The Social SDK

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, News

Papaya Mobile, the maker of the popular Papaya game and the social SDK behind it, today announced the upcoming release of the Papaya Game Engine for Android. The new engine is completely free to use and offers a number of benefits to developers looking to write Android games. It isn't available for download just yet, but it should be available shortly.

Before I proceed to the features, have a look at this quick video showing Papaya's 3D aquarium developed using the new engine in about 2 weeks.

So what are some cool things about the new engine?

it's free
it lets you write OpenGL 3D applications using PapayaMobile's scripting support.

Nov

CyanogenMod 6.1 RC1 Now Available For T-Mobile G2/HTC Desire Z

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Desire Z (Vision), Development, G2 (Vision), HTC, News, T-Mobile

Exactly a week after getting rooted and only a few days after getting its very first CyanogenMod nightly release, HTC Desire Z and T-Mobile G2 owners can now upgrade to RC1 (release candidate 1), bringing it up to speed with the rest of the devices supported by the CM team. Apparently, these guys move at light speed.

G2/Desire Z owners should consider themselves lucky, as Cyanogen himself owns a G2 and maintains this CM branch - that's when you know you are in good hands.

Not much has changed in terms of installation instructions, so I'll jump right into it:

This version is a release candidate, but you will find it stable for everyday use.

Nov

T-Mobile G2 Overclocked To 1.9 GHz, Hitting 2800 In Quadrant

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Desire Z (Vision), Development, G2 (Vision), News

Who says the G2's processor is slow, eh? While its stock 800 MHz clockspeed didn't break any benchmark records, it's showing itself to be nicely capable of overclocking. Unlike the QSD8250 in the original Snapdragon, which gets rather unstable anywhere past the 1.13GHz (+15%) mark, the MSM7230 in the Scorpion of the G2 sails right on past +100% with apparent stability. The kernel was posted on XDA-Developers by member Flippy125, with the usual "NOT MY FAULT IF-" disclaimers, but also noting that the kernel runs stably for him.

The scores posted are quite remarkable: between 2700 and 2800 in Quadrant and 55-60 in Linpack.