Just Another Dang Blog » Android

First Impression with Android SDK and Xcode

lopau — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:44:51 +0000

I am officially working on a WAMP setup with Eclipse as my IDE. I used a Mac before and setup was MAMP and IDE was Dreamweaver. Now I got a new MacBook Pro and I want to dive in mobile development.

So digging into Android and to iOS with their SDK and testing how fast I can easily pick up writing a Hello World app. Coming from a background of using Eclipse as my IDE I found developing on Android a bit easier. I downloaded the Android SDK loaded it to Eclipse, downloaded some API packages and created a Virtual Device to demo my Android app. Language used is Java which I have some limited experience writing with on Apex( language used for Force.com). So I got the Hello World app running in a short time.

On Mac side the Xcode download is huge around 4 GB +, reason is that it includes all the libraries, samples and documentation, to get started fast I opted to use the one on the CD installer for Mac which has an older version of Xcode and still iPhone OS not iOS. Installation was quick. Writing my first Hello World though was not quick mostly because I am totally unfamiliar with Objective C but the development tools are fast unlike Eclipse which takes a bit of processing.

My impression is based on SDK, tools and the language.

For SDK I give it to Xcode. For the size of the download though is quite huge for XCode but with the Android SDK and AVD Manager you also need to download packages which eventually are quite huge downloads as well.
For IDE though its like XCode vs Eclipse, I find Xcode cleaner, faster and really better. Even if I have been a long time Eclipse user, Eclipse sometimes lags while processing actions.

For the language this is kinda biased but I prefer Java as it seems more universal than Objective C.

But still working on learning both.

Getting into mobile development

lopau — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:32:25 +0000

Since I’m coming close to wrapping up one of my goals for these year which was to get into a photography class and finally learn the ins and out. Moving forward on my own I need to learn next the different lighting techniques which will mold my skill in photography further. I’m just waiting for the release of our certificates this month, I’m moving on to my next goal.

As one of my goals this year was to get into mobile development, I already own an Andriod phone an HTC Hero I bought last year to learn Andriod which didn’t really took off as fast I wanted to, today I bought my wife a 2nd hand Iphone 3G which I can actually use to demo apps that I would be building. I’ll be getting a 13 inch MacBook Pro next month March so everything will be in full swing by then.

For now I’ll be digging deep in the Andriod SDK, will post more soon.

Force Update your HTC Hero (GSM)

lopau — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:01:01 +0000

If you still haven’t received your update your HTC Hero (GSM version) for Andriod Eclair(2.1) from the stock Cupcake(1.5). Eventually the Andriod 2.1 update has been rolled out in the Taiwan, US, Asia and Europe. The update is over the air. Here is a trick I learned on how to force update it if you haven’t gotten the prompt yet. The trick is to adjust the date to a future date, maybe 1 month or 2 months further. This will force the phone to check automatically on HTC servers, within a few seconds you should get the prompt. There are a couple of updates, a firmware update and the Andriod Eclair 2.1 update. Download the first update and then the 2nd. Here are some shots I took while updating. Took me about an hour

BTW my HTC Hero was bought from Hong Kong so it’s default local is in cantonese after the update.

App Inventor for Andriod

lopau — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:00:47 +0000

Wow been awhile since my last blog post.

Saw this vid and looking forward to using it. Currently App Inventor is on beta and not ready for public. You can sign up and you would be notified soon by the App Inventor Team on its availability. In the meantime check out this vid.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is out

lopau — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:06:43 +0000

Finally the first ever Sony Ericsson to run on the open source Andriod OS is here. Codenamed Rachel, Xperia X10 is here.

With a wide array of features with bells and whistles some of them are

Built in camera for photo and video recording. What is a Sony Ericsson without the camera.
- 8.1 Megapix
- Autofocus
- Digital Zoom up to 16x
- Face recognition
- video recording
- Image stabiliser and alot more
MP3 Player with Bluetooth stereo
Video Streaming and Entertainment
Connectivity GPRS/EDGE/HSPA/WIFI
And ofcourse touchscreen
Amazing Email and SMS UI.

This is just one of the slew of mobile phones release this part of the quarter of 2009. First phone to grace the Andriod OS is the HTC Dream last year.

I need to get one of these phone and start the trip on mobile development. I wanted to get an iPhone but due to lack of resources to get an Apple hardware so I can learn xCode. Developing apps on Andriod seems to be the most realistic approach and not too much investments on hardware.

Sony Ericson XPERIA on Android

lopau — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 03:55:51 +0000

This phone is sweet. I wanted to get an iPhone but I think I’ll wait for this release. Amazing contacts and chat like text messaging.