Thursday, February 24, 2011

NFC Android User Group


I have been lately very interested about NFC (Near Field Communication) apps and services on Android. Android 2.3 a.k.a Gingerbread introduced NFC APIs, and I have been playing a bit with them. Unfortunately, I do not yet have any Android phone supplied with a NFC chip. Fortunately, the Gingerbread's NFC API provides means to start developing NFC apps without any actual NFC enabled device. (I did pre-ordered Samsung Galaxy S II which includes NFC - at least in some variations. I also wish to get my hands on Nexus S).

To learn more about NFC apps on Android and their development, I created a new user group called NFC Android on the I Am Android social network. So, if you are interested about the topic, please feel free to join the group.

The Android Daily

Paper.li is an interesting new service that basically organizes links shared on Twitter and Facebook into an easy to read daily newspaper paper format. The service is currently in alpha mode, but you are allowed to create your own daily newspaper.

So, I wanted to a give a try for paper.li and created The Android Daily that uses my Twitter list for Android as a source for content. Seems to work pretty well - check it out.

Friday, February 18, 2011

I Am Android - A New Social Network

I just joined a new social network for Android users called I am Android. I am interested to see how the network expands and evolves in future. You can check it out by yourself by clicking below:


Visit I am Android

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Rullaan - Great Retro Styled Tilt Game

My blog is 99% about Android, but as I have confessed in some of my past blog posts, I am also a Apple fanboy as well as an iOS app developer. (However, the problem is that I prefer to play with my kid during evenings, so I rarely find out enough time to really progress my own iPhone app projects - nor Android app projects, of course).

I would like to introduce to you my friend Jari Karvonen who has worked really hard for several months to complete and to release his very first iOS app to App Store. His first application was finally approved yesterday to App Store - kudos and congrats to Jari!

Jari has developed a cool retro styled tilt game called Rullaan. I am big fan of puzzle games and I really like this game. I have followed how Jari has been progressing with his game project, and I also had the possibility to do some beta testing before the game was submitted to App Store.

The game features minimalistic and retro styled 3D graphics which I think are simply awesome. I also like the sound effects which are minimalistic, but fit greatly to retro styled atmosphere of the game. Tilt based controls are very well implemented, and I have to say that Jari has managed to avoid to create frustrating gaming experience which are quite typical in similar tilt games where the task of the gamer is to guide a rolling ball to solve puzzles or to reach given goals. By the way, for those who do not speak Finnish, the name of the game, Rullaan, can be approximately translated to "I'm rolling".

Jari describes his game as follows:

"Explore the world of Rullaan!
Orbiting the distant planet of Rullaan there remains mysterious structures left behind an ancient civilization. You need steady hands to steer the spherical recon droid through all the levels."

Here is the App Store link for the game, and here you can find the supporting web pages for Jari's app.

And here is a short video trailer for the game:



Give a try for Rullaan, I hope the game will be very successful, so that Jari will be rewarded for his hard working, he would stay motivated to further develop the game, and he would buy me a couple of beers (in case I manage to contribute the success of Rullaan with this blog post ...).

Angry Birds has been holding the #1 position long enough ...

I guess Jari is really interested to receive any feedback and proposals for his game. You can contact him using the email address that can be found on his Rullaan web site.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Quick Nexus S Review

Here is a quick review of Nexus S running Android 2.3. The review video is provided by Intomobile.com:

Monday, December 6, 2010

Android 2.3 a.k.a. Gingerbread released

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) was finally released today. Some of the feature highlights of the new platform version include:

  • Enhancements for game development: New concurrent garbage collector, optimized event handling, more extensive set of native APIs exposed for NDK developers, support for several new sensor types, including gyroscope.
  • Rich multimedia: New video formats VP8 and WebM. Audio effects such as reverb, equalization, and bass boost.
  • New forms of communication: Support for front-facing camera, SIP/VOIP, and Near Field Communications (NFC).
Also SDK tools have been updated to provide more efficient and powerful tools, such as new UI Builder (preview).

Watch the following official video as a quick introduction to highlights of the 2.3 platform release:


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Tagxedo, tag cloud with styles


A very interesting visual way to create a tag cloud: Tagxedo


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sony's Android developer site


If you are interested to develop and publish Android apps for the Google TV platform, here is one new developer web site to get started: Android Developer Site by Sony. The official event for launching Sony's first Google TV product will be arranged in NYC, October 12.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Google expanded paid apps market to a number of new countries


This is something that many Scandinavian Android developers (including myself) have been waiting for almost too long time: Google has expanded the list of countries where paid apps are available in Android Market. This list includes now also Finland! More importantly, Google has also added new countries where developers are accepted to distribute and sell their applications via Android Market. The list of current locations supported for selling paid apps is published in here.

I am really happy that Finnish Android developers are finally given the possibility to sell their apps through the official Android Market. I am now more motivated to finalize my Android apps :)

Do Androids Dream of LEGO MINDSTORMS?


Lego has released an Android application that can be used to control Lego Mindstorms robots using Android 2.1+ devices. The MINDdroid app is a remote-control application that allows you to create a wireless Bluetooth connection directly with your NXT, and once a connection is established, you can tilt and turn your phone to make the robot move forward, turn to the sides, and by pressing an action button on the phone's screen, activate the Action motor. I

To download the MINDdroid application to your Android phone, you can scan this QR code with your scanning application, or visit the App Market through your Android phone. More information about the MINDroid application is available in here.

The MINDdroid Application has been developed by some dedicated AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) and software specialists Günther Hölzl and Shawn Brown, in collaboration with the LEGO MINDSTORMS team.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Firefox for Android

Firefox for Android is part of Fennec project. The aim at Fennec is . Currently, a pre-alpha version of Firefox for Android is downloadable from here or by using the QR code below. I installed Fennec on my Nexus One running Froyo 2.2. A pre-alpha software is of course just a pre-alpha software missing some features and containing quite many bugs. Loading of web pages is bit slow as well as updating the UI at some points. In general, UI needs to be polished. Fennec do have some interesting UI ideas, but I will need to use Fennec for longer period to conclude whether I like them or not. However, a recommend you to give a try, at least when Fennec hits the actual alpha or beta status.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Elisa access point settings for Android

Just in case someone needs the access point settings for Elise Internet and MMS, I publish them here. I have tested the settings to work at least with HTC Hero, HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone, and Nexus One.

Internet

Name: Elisa Internet
APN: Internet
Username:
Password:
MCC: 244
MNC: 05
APN type: default

MMS

Name: Elisa MMS
APN: mms
MMSC: http://mms.elisa.fi
MMS proxy: 213.161.41.57
MMS port:
MCC: 244
MNC: 05
APN TYPE: mms

Thursday, June 3, 2010

doubleTwist multimedia player released for Android


doubleTwist Corp has released a polished audio and music player app for Android called doubleTwist player. The player seamlessly integrates with the doubleTwist desktop client running both on OS X and Windows computers. As you may already know, doubleTwist desktop client can be used to import and sync your iTunes music and playlists into your Android handset. The latest version of the client integrates also with Android market. I have been using doubleTwist for a while now, and I have been quite happy with it.

Get the player app while it is still free from here. The player will be enhanced with new features and widgets in future.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Android News Digest - June 2, 2010

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sending links from Chrome web browser to Android 2.2 phones

Google Chrome to Phone Extension is a project consisting of a Chrome Extension, Android App for Froyo 2.2, and supporting Google AppEngine server that enables users to send links from their Chrome desktop browser to their Android device using Android's Cloud to Device Messaging service. Note that your phone needs to have Froyo 2.2 upgrade installed. You lucky ones already having Froyo on your handsets can find the set up instructions from this wiki page. It is also possible to use other browsers than Chrome using the Javascripts provided on that wiki page.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Android News Digest - Week 22

I collected some interesting Android news and articles from the past week. Enjoy:

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Google: The Next 6 Months of Android Will "Blow Your Mind"

Gizmodo made a pretty interesting interview with Google's Andy Rubin. Read the entire interview from here.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Android on Your TV - Google TV

One of the biggest announcements in Google I/O event, beside Android FroYo 2.2, was of course Google TV. With Google TV, you can enjoy any Web content (including Flash content), search programs and content, listen to music, and also, since Google TV is based on Android 2.2, run Android apps right on you HDTV! Google TV compatible devices, such as HDTVs, TV companion boxes, BlueRay players, and accessories will be available already this year at least by Sony and Logitech. If you are a developer you can already start developing either Android or Web apps for Google TV.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Google Activates 100,000 Android Phones a Day!


Google revealed today at Google I/O that they are currently activating over 100,000 new Android phones every day. Which is quite respectable figure considering that just in last February Google reported that they activating (only) 60,000 phones every day. Furthermore, according to reports, Android was the second best-selling smartphone in USA during this quarter. Only RIM did better which means that Android phones sold more than the phones from the well known fruit company. Of course, statistics may change (temporarily) when iPhone 4G phone is out ...

Android 2.2 Froyo Officially Announced

So, Android 2.2 a.k.a. "Froyo" was officially announced today at Google I/O 2010 event. Froyo brings lot of new powerful and useful additions to Android platform, such as a just-in-time (JIT) compiler providing up to 5X performance boost. Other new highly interesting features include WiFi tethering (i.e. portable WLAN hotspots), a cloud-to-device messaging API, new device administration APIs, capability to install apps into a SD card (wow, finally), and a new backup app that can be used to transfer personal data and settings from one Android phone to another. Google also claims that the latest version of Android's web browser is benchmarked to be the world's fastest browser thanks to its new JavaScript Engine. The next major release 3.o a.k.a. "Gingerbread" is planned to come out Q4/2010, but meanwhile - I would not mind having some Froyo, please :)