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In-app Billing v3 brings more changes, makes life easier for devs

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by Sean Stewart on
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Seeing as the majority of top-grossing apps on the Play Store utilize In-app Billing, you can bet they will continue to revamp the tool to streamline it even more. Today the Android developers blog revealed a few changes in the latest version. Below is a summary of the major changes devs can expect to see:

 

  • A streamlined design that makes applications simpler to write, debug and maintain. Integrations that previously required several hundred lines of code can now be implemented in as few as 50.
  • More robust architecture resulting in fewer lost transactions.
  • Local caching for faster API calls.
  • Long-anticipated functionality such as the ability to consume managed purchases and query for product information.

 

I’m sure that’s all good news for devs. The good news for consumers is that it’s now even more easier for developers of apps to take our money. Wait, maybe that’s not so good.

 

source:  Android Developers Blog

Life Fitness announces new fitness equipment compatible with Android

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by Will Gill on
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We are seeing all sorts of technology that connect to our Android devices giving us more capability than the average app can perform. Game controllers, credit card readers, you name it, it’s being updated for users to succeed in a more comfortable lifestyle. One important field, that hasn’t really evolved much besides average application usage is fitness activity.

Health and fitness technology has seen a majority of ups and downs. Sure you have popular fitness equipment, but the majority lack the connectivity to sync with your Android device. In fact there really hasn’t been a lot of development in the Android fitness community since the MotoACTV. Fortunately thanks to Life Fitness,  Android-compatible fitness equipment is in the stages of development. Just announced today, it looks like the company will manufacture more updated equipment from standard machines, such as:

  • Discover SE and Discover SI Treadmills
  • Cross-Trainers
  • And Lifecycle Exercise Bikes

Learn how to create your own Android game with tips from XDA

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by Tony Rosario on
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If you’re like me and spend a lot of time gaming on your Android device, then it’s a safe bet that the thought of making your own Android game has crossed your mind at some point. It’s hard to determine if taking on the task is possible with individual life responsibilities and not knowing exactly what is necessary to see it through.

Well, xda developer tjdwowh has decided to put together a guide for interested future Android game designers to aid in cracking the Java code and getting your game on. I have to be honest, if this is your first delve into the computer programming arena, it might take some time to digest what is being discussed, but tjdwowh takes time to illustrate with examples and makes himself available to contact for any questions you may have along the way.

So if you’re ready to see what it’s all about, hit the link below and check out the tutorial for yourself.

source: xda

Sony Mobile lending out Xperia phones to developers for app testing

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by Tony Rosario on
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Many new and veteran Android developers will be interested to learn that Sony Mobile has created a Device Loaner Program allowing devs to borrow one of nine Xperia handsets available for the sole purpose of app testing and development. The program is free and will provide a device for up to 30 days. It’s primarily aimed at North American devs but international devs can certainly take advantage of this cool program as well for only the cost of international shipping and custom/duty fees where applicable. I would imagine that most devs would jump at the idea of having a free Android handset for testing compatibility and stability issues. Jump past the break for a link containing more info and to see the current list of devices being offered on loan at this time.   » Read the rest

Android Developers Rejoice – A Faster Emulator Is Here [Video]

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by Ed Caggiani on
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One of the biggest gripes we hear from Android developers is the poor performance of the emulator. The emulator is basically how devs test their apps while developing on a PC, and until now the emulation was all done in software. Today, Google announced in their developer’s blog that the emulator has gotten a significant performance boost and other improvements, including:

 

  • GPU support
    Android 4.0 uses the GPU to improve overall performance, and the emulator now does the same thing by funneling OpenGL calls directly to the host PC’s own GPU.

 

  • More Hardware Feature Emulation
    It’s now possible to use a tethered Android device to supply inputs for sensors and multi-touch input. Bluetooth and NFC coming later.

 

  • Improved CPU Performance
    A recent release of the developer tools included x86 system images and host drivers, providing access to the host CPU natively, and offering significantly improved CPU performance.

 

These are all huge improvements that will help developers make apps more reliably and in a more timely manner. Happier devs mean more and better apps. Kudos to Google for continuing to think about the developers by improving the developer tools.

View a speed comparison video after the break.

» Read the rest

Coming soon: Customise your Galaxy Nexus navigation buttons [Video]

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by Chris Stewart on
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Chances are that part of the reason you picked Android over other popular mobile Operating Systems was due to the huge amount of customisation available straight out of the box. Another huge benefit of the Android OS is the enormous and talented developer community who always strive to make the wonderful OS experience ever better. Combine the two together and what do you get? Well the sky is the limit, but the video below should serve as an appetizer.

The talented AOKP developer, Zaphod-Beblebrox, is working on a new AOKP addition that will allow the user to completely customize the Galaxy Nexus‘ on-screen navigation buttons. Bored of the standard back, home and multi-task buttons? Why not replace them with a browser or SMS short-cut?

This is one that we will certainly be watching with interest as the possibilities really are endless. Check out the work in progress in the video after the break and stay tuned as we keep you updated on when this mod gets added to the AOKP ROM! » Read the rest

Voice-controlled personal assistant app Utter! APK now available

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by Emily Aquin on
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Ever since the release of the iPhone 4S, Android developers everywhere as well as Google themselves have been working to create their own version of Siri. Now that is not to say that Apple was the first to incorporate voice-to-text features and voice search functionality in their smartphones. We all know that Google had this up and running in Android for the last couple of years. Just to be clear, Siri does all of this and a lot more as well and it’s the extra stuff that has many users and developers interested. There are several Siri-like Android apps in the works and XDA developer brandall has been working on a voice-controlled personal assistant of his own, called Utter!. Last time we checked, the app was in early beta form and from the latest forum activity, it’s clearly still a work in progress. XDA has now released an early-alpha APK for the hardened tester community. Utter! has focused on interactions with specific apps that are in your phone to separate itself from the pack. Feel free to check out our previous article for more info and a video of Utter! in action.

source: XDA

Reminder: Google I/O registrations open on March 27th

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by Chris Stewart on
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Learn the tech world’s latest web, mobile and social breakthroughs and meet the developers who are turning them into tomorrow’s startups. Keep yourself and your team driving innovation at Google I/O, which returns to San Francisco’s Moscone Center from June 27th – 29th, 2012.

Mark it in your diaries Google Android lovers, registration for the always awesome input/output conference is merely double-digit hours away. Formal registration opens at 7AM PDT on Tuesday the 27th of March. If you’re champing at the bit to get involved then you’ll need to be quick as there are 5,500 spots up for grabs on a first come, first served basis and if previous years are any indication, it’ll sell out in a matter of minutes. You’ll need to make sure you’re signed up for Google+ and Google Wallet in order to register and the cost this year is a handsome $900 ($300 for students).

Past events have given us a sneak peak at forthcoming Android releases as well as an insight into the wonderful world of Google, could we be about get our first look at the fabled Android Jelly Bean release? Stay tuned in to TalkAndroid as we bring you all the news from the 2012 I/O conference as it arrives. Let us know what you’re hoping to see this year in the comments below.

 

source : google developers

Android SDK Tools Get An Update (R17), Includes Bug Fixes And New Features

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by Joe Sirianni on
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Dev’s are about to get an early Christmas gift as Google has announced a new revision to its SDK with a number of anticipated bug fixes as well as some new and improved features.  You can expect to see some improvements in areas such as “Lint” and the emulator itself.

Lint is a static checker which analyzes Android projects for a variety of issues around correctness, security, performance, usability and accessibility, checking your XML resources, bitmaps, ProGuard configuration files, source files and even compiled bytecode. It can be run from within Eclipse or from the command line.

The list is extensive and a highly welcomed addition and revision to the current SDK.  We hope to see great things from devs when new and improved tools are handed down to them.  Check out the full list of features, revisions and improvements below, courtesy of Android SDK Tech, Xavier Ducrohet.  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.   » Read the rest

Mika Mobile Update: Why They Really Quit Android

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by Ed Caggiani on
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A few days ago, we reported about how developer Mika Mobile decided to abandon Android because the cost of Android game development was higher than the profits they were making. Since Mika Mobile blogged about leaving Android, their decision was widely reported as a failing of the Android ecosystem and how making money as an Android developer was difficult and not worth the hassle.

The folks at Android And Me decided to dig deeper and talk to the developers directly, and some interesting tidbits have surfaced. Apparently, Mika Mobile is surprised at the press coverage stating that devs should flee Android sooner rather than later. The makers of Zombieville and Battleheart do not actually believe that at all. They have other reasons for abandoning Google’s platform.

So why did they quit?

» Read the rest

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