Category Archives: Android Development

Stepping In Android Development

Most of the mobile developers are considering iOS as a best platform to work with. That is true mobile programmers are getting good response from iOS platform in compare to other platforms. Android has the biggest user base in handheld devices market and this fact none can avoid if wish to exploit this vast audience.

When you have a brilliant idea to monetize on smartphone on world level Android has range of devices and range of versions running on such devices that lead you to the different nature of audiences if you wish to have for you. Against this iOS has good and advance audience, but restricted up to developed countries. Now it is depends on you to make selection of your audience for your app selling or for your business if you are going to custom app development as private app.

Android is Java base platform so very easy to carry Android application development with a reputed Android app development company. Getting seasoned Android developers is easy and cost effective moreover, Android development tasks are quick and with cheaper infrastructure. Now you may have question that what is preventing us to step in the Android programming. There are many things we don’t like about the Android platform and among them fragmentation is the first reality on the bank of Android, for hardware part as well as variations on OS part.

Android is open platform therefore, any handheld manufacturing company produce hardware device for Android OS and these devices are with different features and compatibility. Thus it is hard to assume that Android app that is working on one device group may not work on the others.

Android application programmers have always hard time to coding for various devices so they have to almost stick with some basic features. If they create advance features they have to do Android app programming such a way that the app should be down when it runs on lower versions of Android OS.

Google is try hard to manage the retention of the mobile developers on Android platform offering latest Android OS under the umbrella of Jelly Bean series but unfortunately very few are takers of it and majority of Android devices are running on backward versions. This thing makes life harder for Android apps programmers and reputed Android app development companies. If developers are managing coding issues then testing stood as a rock ahead. Recent survey says that there are nearly 400 Android devices are working in the hands of people around the globe so just imagine the complexities in the testing.

No doubt there are many cloud based testing services offer testing on the big chunk of Android devices through virtual ways but personal experience is matter more when a good quality is expected for totally bug free Android development. Apart from these Android is using latest Java libraries as well as its own library. Among these vast collections Android programmer has to find out essential functions, classes and other components for their custom usage. Thus Android developers have to manage their own Android libraries to access code snippet rapidly.

Source: http://www.spyghana.com/stepping-in-android-development/

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Why Does Samsung Get Android Updates So Fast?

 

Samsung’s Android smartphones have been attractive to tech-savvy phone buyers not just because of their big screens but also because they often run a fresher version of Android than many competing phones. In the coming months, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy phone will be one of the first to get the latest software update from Google, the company said on Wednesday.

Having a phone with a newer operating system is helpful because it ensures that the latest apps and Android features will work. And not even Google has been completely up to speed on getting phones running the newest Android software: Motorola, which the search giant recently acquired, is shipping its Razr HD smartphone with Ice Cream Sandwich, the older version of Android. Only later will it get an update to Jelly Bean, the newer software.

Samsung’s flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, on the other hand, will get Jelly Bean in a few months, the company said. Months may seem like eons in the tech business, but that’s a feat when you consider that only 1.8 percent of Android phones are running Jelly Bean so far, according to estimates by Google.

Why does Samsung get the goods in a hurry, and why is it so tough to keep Android phones up to date in general?

The general explanation is that there are a lot of moving parts: Google releases the Android source code to manufacturers, which then customize it for their devices, said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Ovum. Carriers, too, have to work with the manufacturers to create versions that are compatible with their networks. And then there’s testing that both parties have to do. Because companies have limited resources, they have to give some phones priority in getting newer Android software over others.

Samsung has a few things going for it: The company has strong support from carriers because its phones are selling well and bringing many people to their stores. It also has a lot of resources: Executives at the company have described its engineering team in Korea as enormous. Also, Samsung has a head start with Jelly Bean, because the Galaxy Nexus, which it developed with Google, was the first phone to include the new software.

With all that said, it’s unlikely that the average consumer knows which phones have the latest Android software and which ones don’t, Mr. Dawson said. They do notice, however, when their favorite apps stop working because they’re no longer supported in outdated Android software, or when their friends have flashier features on their newer Android phones, he said.

source:  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/samsung-android-update/

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Could Android Apps Have Only a Service or Broadcast Receiver without Activity?

Service is most similar to Activity among the four components of android. Both of them could represent executable program.

The differences between Service and Activity:

1. Service has been running in the background with no user interface.

2. Once Service starts, it is just like Activity, having its own lifecycle. Hence, there can be no Activity.

The development of Service requires two steps:

1. Define a subclass that inherits Service.

2. Configure the Service in AndroidManifest.xml, as the same process and configuration as Activity.

Service runs in two ways:

1. Use startService () method of Context to start Service. There is no correlation between Service and visitors. Even if the visitor exits, Service is still running.

2. Use bingService () method of Context to start Service. Visitors associate with Service that is binding together. When visitors exit, Service also withdraws.

Broadcast Receiver essentially is a global listener. It can be used to communicate with each other between components and receive Broadcast intent issued by program. The same point with app starts Activity and service is that program starts Broadcast Receiver also needs two steps:

1. Create a Broadcast Receiver Intent.

2. Call sendBroadcase () or sendorderBroadcase () method of context to start constituted BroadcastReceiver.

In the following code, combine Service with Broadcast Receiver, without Activity. When the program receives a Broadcast Receiver, Service starts (Service can also start through Activity). This case is booting up its own startup services. The boot time will be broadcast, and we will receive this broadcast, and then open the service.

// Create LaunchReceiver.java is a radio receiver:

  1. package ss.pku.edu.cn; 
  3. import android.content.BroadcastReceiver; 
  4. import android.content.Context; 
  5. import android.content.Intent; 
  8. public class LaunchReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver 
  9. { 
  10.     @Override 
  11.     public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) 
  12.     { 
  13.         Intent intent1 = new Intent(context , MyService.class); 
  14.       // Start specified Server 
  15.         context.startService(intent1); 
  16.     } 
  17. } 

// Create MyService.java is to define service:

  1. package ss.pku.edu.cn; 
  4. import android.app.Service; 
  5. import android.content.Intent; 
  6. import android.os.IBinder; 
  8. public class MyService extends Service 
  9. { 
  10.     @Override 
  11.     public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) 
  12.     { 
  13.         return null; 
  14.     } 
  15.     @Override 
  16.     public void onCreate() 
  17.     { 
  18.         System.out.println("service create"); 
  19.     } 
  20. } 

Then add permissions and action in AndroidManifest.xml:

  1. <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" /> 
  2. <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED"/> 
  4. <application 
  5.     android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher" 
  6.     android:label="@string/app_name" > 
  7.     <receiver android:name=".LaunchReceiver"> 
  8.         <intent-filter> 
  9.             <action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED"/> 
  10.         </intent-filter> 
  11.     </receiver> 
  13.     <service android:name=".MyService"> 
  14. t;/service> 
  16. </application> 

In this way, you can run services at boot time.

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Amazon Says Kindle App for Android Coming This Summer

19 May, 2010
Written by Effie Sha
Beijing RayooTech Co., Ltd.

This summer, a new Kindle e-book reader application will be introduced by Amazon for the Android mobile operating system.

Amazon has already launched e-book reading apps on nearly every mobile device and now it’s going to bridge the gap with Kindle for Android this summer.

The Android Announcement
Kindle and Android fans have a big reason to celebrate this announcement as they will be enjoy over 540,000 eBooks in app (all other Kindle apps have to purchase via Amazon website). We know that it’s not a big deal to open Amazon.com in web browser, but this new feature will make it easy to buy a book.

The New Jobs
The New York Times reported dozens of new job listings on the Lab126 site, which lists Kindle-related employment opportunities. The descriptions are somewhat unclear and don’t point to any specific technologies about Kindle 3. For example, a Software Quality Assurance Engineer is responsible for ‘Execution of functional testing in all aspects of the device, including user interface, hardware/software integration, and key product metrics.’

The iPad is the big threat to Amazon, and the latter seeks to prove – through potential innovation and app integration – people will find that the Kindle is the best device to read eBook on as well as providing a few distractions. With more than half a million eBooks available on its store (not including public domain titles), Amazon has a leg-up on other retailers for now.

The Comparisons Rage On
The Kindle and the iPad are two totally different devices designed for entirely different desires. Obviously, the Kindle is designed for reading and the iPad is mobile entertainment device. Comparing the two seems a little pointless, but that doesn’t stop anybody.

Brennon Slattery, a IT industry writer, wrote:

‘Side note: It’s funny to me how Apple and Amazon still get along despite being eBook competitors. After all, Amazon’s Kindle app is on almost every Apple product, and the two continue to integrate together. This is strange seeing as how Apple had a big role in raising eBook prices, effectively destroying Amazon’s $9.99 pricing model. You’d think the same business etiquette would apply to Apple’s relationship with Google, but not so: the former essentially loathes the latter and lately, Apple has been slighting Google quite a bit.

Watch Out: It’s Google

Are we forgetting somebody? Oh yes — that little Web site that plans on releasing its own eBook store. As of now, it seems that Google wants digital reading to stay up in the cloud rather than on a physical device, but all that could change. Android’s popularity shows that people love making Google products … so could a Google eReader be on the way? Also, being relatively early in the game, Amazon could crib from Google’s cloud-based model and improve its own hard- and software to reflect a maturing and increasingly interesting battlefield.’

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Smartphones: Android on the way to the top

By worldnewsexpress

Market researchers from the house Gartner today announced the worldwide smartphone statistics for the third quarter of 2010 published. Google’s Android mobile operating system debuted at number 2, but could soon take the lead.

Symbian is clearly the biggest loser. While the worldwide market share in the third quarter of 2009 at 44.6 percent, there are now only 36.6 percent. An even more significant development has pulled Android. In comparison, the market share rose from 3.5 to 25.5 percent. The extent to Symbian and Android are bound for a position change, is looking at the graphical representation of the numbers significantly.

Interestingly, the development of Apple’s IOS. If one considers only the market share, so this was within the last year by 0.4 percent. He is now at 16.7 percent. The copies sold, however, show a positive development. in the third quarter of 2009 were still 7 million units to be related to the man, they are in the same period 2010 nearly 13.5 million. Apple sold nearly twice as many devices with IOS, but has a smaller market. This shows very clearly how rapidly growing smartphone market. There are simply many more smartphones sold than last year.

Thus, in the third quarter of 2009, sold about 41 million smartphones. A year later, there are more than 80 million. How does Windows Mobile and Blackberry have beaten in the last year, the table of Gartner found.

Another interesting development can be seen in the mobile phone manufacturers. Nokia has also suffered significant losses. The market share went from 36.7 back to 28.2 percent. Samsung also came second must absorb a fall and can now claim 17.2 percent of the market for themselves. The same applies to LG in 3rd place with 6.6 percent.

Apple is one of the few manufacturers that could be improved significantly. The market share climbed from 2.3 to 3.2 percent. This Apple is now the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturers worldwide. The company of Steve Jobs is only slightly more than three years represented in the industry.

How do the other manufacturers have beaten, can be seen from the table by Gartner. In the column “Units” specified quantities must be multiplied by a factor of 1.000, to obtain the actual number.

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Android Development – Android Now Second in Mobile Development Race

By Austin Davies

According to a new study released today by Millennial Media and DigiDay, Android is the silver contender for developers creating content for mobile platforms. Android managed to shake off stiff competition from the iPad which placed third in the study with 21% of the development pie.

The iPhone managed to capture gold with a convincing 30%, followed by Android at 23%. The other contenders were RIM with a safe 12%, Palm with 5% and Symbian at 3%. Windows Mobile also made an appearance with a tidy 6%.

Application developers and publishers also announced their future plans on supporting each platform. Apparently we’re going to see Android support increase to 29%, along with WP7 at 20% tied with the iPad. RIM will stay completely still while Palm drops a miserable 1%. Symbian will double its percentage to 6%. The biggest change however is with the iPhone which drops dramatically to 8%.

So expect to see an influx in Android and WP7 apps in 2011.

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