Category Archives: Android

Android Platform Versions (2012)

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Below is a snapshot of the Android platform distribution, as of September 2012.

Android Platforms Sept 2012

As you can see, the majority of the devices out there, close to 60%, are still 2.3 (Gingerbread). This is followed by ICS with close to 21%. Froyo 2.2 is 14%.

I hope that by March (but more likely, summertime or later) of 2013, that by then the majority of the Android devices out there are 4.0+. This would make the Android app developer’s life in general much simpler — by (1) minimizing the number of major Android platforms to deal with, and (2) making it easier/cheaper to implement (or move up to) the recommended Android design guidelines. The result of this includes (1) cheaper to develop/maintain apps, (2) consistent apps per developer, and (3) consistent look/feel/behavior across the app market.

For this to happen, device manufacturers and operators must help transform the above piechart to be mostly 4.0+ Android devices. They can help by literally selling less (and even better, stop selling) Gingerbread/2.3 and older devices. If you look around you will see that operators are still selling Gingerbread devices. And we need Google to have more cojones with respect to this and stimulate, if you will, both the device manufacturers and operators to move forward — this transition is taking forever! (Note: Gingerbread was introduced on December 6, 2010.)

Some customers may leave feedback as “why the app does not follow the Android UI guidelines”, or “why the app doesn’t support the ICS UI paradigm” — but again, 4.0+ is just a smaller fraction of what is out there!

In the meantime, there is the Android Support (Compatibility) library. Also, see Backwards Compatibility (Android Design Patterns).

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Article: Introduction to Facebook SDK for Android

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Write Facebook apps for the Android platform with the Facebook Android SDK…

You can incorporate Facebook functionality into your own applications. From the mobile perspective, the Facebook Platform supports APIs for mobile web applications, and mobile SDKs for native mobile applications for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms. In this article, explore the Facebook Platform APIs and the Facebook SDK for Android, the SDK released by the Facebook mobile team.

See my article Introduction to Facebook APIs (IBM developerWorks) which introduces the Facebook SDK for Android.

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Article: Understanding Android local data store APIs

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“The ability to store data locally on the mobile device is a critical function for mobile applications that are required to maintain essential information across application-executions or the lifetime of the application. As a developer, you constantly need to store information such as user preferences or application configurations. You must also decide if you need to tap internal or external storage, depending on characteristics, such as access visibility, or if you need to handle more complex, structured types of data. Follow along in this article to learn about Android data storage APIs, specifically the preferences, SQLite, and the internal and external memory APIs.”

See my article Understanding Android local data store APIs (IBM developerWorks) which introduces the different local data store APIs on Android.

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Article: Understanding security on Android

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“When you develop Android applications, you must deal with a number of security-related aspects, including application processes and sandboxes, code and data sharing, system protection through application signing, and permissions use.”

See my article Understanding security on Android (IBM developerWorks) which introduces the different aspects of security on Android.

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Navigation (and maps) the killer app for LBS and Google Maps Nav potential to disrupt the whole Nav systems market

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Yes, navigation and maps is the killer app for LBS.

Now it seems that Google Map with support for navigation has the potential to disrupt the whole Nav systems market. And if Google decides to make this new app available across different handsets beyond Android, wow, all the Nav vendors are going to be hurting.

And how can others compete?

Google Maps Nav is a free app, the traditional Map app but now with real-time always up to date maps and nav info, turn by turn directions, live traffic information and even street view and other goodies such as Layers of information! You can see the video, and read TechCrunch’s article Google Redefines GPS Navigation Landscape: Google Maps Navigation For Android 2.0.

(Side-note: Nokia paid $7.7 billion for NAVTEQ and yet I can’t recall anything from that deal with as much impact as this Google Maps Nav solution)

How can Google Map/Nav disrupt the whole Nav system’s market? Let me give you an example using TomTom since I’m more familiar with TomTom’s Nav system…

TomTom’s Nav app for iPhone cost $100 and if you add their $120 cradle the whole thing is $220. And I bet there are other “hidden” costs for things such as map updates; that is their cash cow.

Let’s now look at TomTom car nav system. Like 2 years ago my wife gave me a TomTom ONE XL as a present. I love the gadget I must say and it has saved my neck a couple of times already. My wife paid like $200 for it. Now, if I want live traffic (or other kinds of data) I have to pay extra (if I recall correctly, for each). And the big one – if I want to update my maps, I have to pay for new map content. Paying for new content is fine, it cost like $75 if I recall correctly. But, because I haven’t updated my maps in a while they want to charge me $75 for the next release after the one I’ve on the device, plus another $75 for the latest one. In short, they want to charge me twice! I felt that they were taking advantage of me by charging me for a version I won’t be really using and I realized map updates is their cash cow; I didn’t upgrade.

And now Google releases Google Maps with Navigation support, a complete solution, for free, for your smart-phone. Can’t wait to get my hands on it (seems I may have to wait for Android 2.0 or upgrade my phone).

You would think that after everyone gets hooked that Google will start charging after the Beta release, don’t you think? Maybe their business model remains search and advertising based, or they will have a new model around charging business to appear on their maps and layers.

…and once again, the mobile handset is at the center of disruption…

Google Maps Nav features:

  • Search in plain English (watch video). No need to know the address. You can type a business name or even a kind of a business, just like you would on Google.
  • Search by voice (watch video). Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): “Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco”.
  • Traffic view (watch video). An on-screen indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along your route. A single touch toggles a traffic view which shows the traffic ahead of you.
  • Search along route (watch video). Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.
  • Satellite view (watch video). View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google’s high-resolution aerial imagery.
  • Street View (watch video). Visualize turns overlaid on Google’s Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.
  • Car dock mode (watch video). For certain devices, placing your phone in a car dock activates a special mode that makes it easy to use your device at arm’s length.

And yes, there is also a cradle coming for the Android-based phones that automatically will activate the Nav mode.

See the official Google Maps Nav website.

ceo

Motorola announces DROID, the world’s first smartphone powered by Android 2.0

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Today I received this from the Motorola marketing folks, here for your reading pleasure:

Motorola today announced DROID, the first device powered by Android 2.0 and features the brainpower and breakneck speed of a modern smartphone. DROID is designed to outperform where other smartphones fall short. It features a solid exterior, intelligent interior and is one of the thinnest full-QWERTY slider phones available. DROID delivers high-speed Web browsing, voice-activated search, a customizable large touch screen and access to thousands of apps and hundreds of widgets from Android Market.

Key features of DROID include:

  • OS: Android 2.0
  • World’s thinnest slide-out QWERTY keyboard
  • 3G Web and full HTML browser
  • Cinematic 3.7” high-resolution display with more than 400,000 pixels
  • Powerful and fast Google voice-activated search
  • Run up to 6 apps simultaneously and customize the homescreen with thousands of apps and hundreds widgets from the Android Market
  • 5 megapixel camera with flash, DVD-quality video capture and 16GB memory card included
  • Integrated work and personal email pushed right to you
  • Google Maps Navigation (Beta) with free turn-by-turn directions

DROID by Motorola will be available Nov. 6 online and in stores from Verizon Wireless, nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network.

For more information, product specifications and images of DROID, please visit Motorola Media Center Fact Sheets. For multimedia assets visit DROID Press Kit.

To stay up to date with the latest product news and promotions, you can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Very nice piece indeed, and I can’t wait for such a device to be supported on T-Mobile. Note that it comes with native support for Exchange (which will give Android a big push in the Enterprise) and the new Google Maps Navigation application will definitely disrupt the current Navigation system market (with players such as TomTom, NAVTEQ and others; ouch!) with this new free app. More info below:

DROID by Motorola with Google™

Talk and Standby Time4

TT: 385 mins/6.4 hours

SB: 270 hours/11.25 days

Form Factor

Capacitive Touch; Full Qwerty Side Slider

Band/Modes1

800/1900, CDMA EVDO rev A

OS

Android 2.0

Weight

169 g / 6 oz

Dimensions

60.00 (x) x 115.80 (y) x 13.70 (z) mm

2.4 (x) x 4.6 (y) x 0.5 (z) inches

Browser1

Webkit HTML5 based browser; Flash 10 ready

Email Support1

GmailTM, Exchange, IMAP, POP, Macmail, GmailTM, MSN Hotmail, Yahoo and AOL®

Battery

1400 mAh

Connectivity1

Bluetooth® v2.1+EDR, 3.5mm Headset jack, USB 2.0 HS

Display

3.7”, 480×854 WVGA

Display Resolution

WVGA display houses 400,000 pixels

Messaging1

SMS/MMS, Full HTML5 Browser

Audio

AMR-NB/WB, MP3, WAV, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA

Video

Advanced Video record/playback at D1 resolution (720×480) with up to 24fps capture and 30fps playback, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264

Camera

5.0 megapixel, AutoFocus, dual LED Flash and image stablization

Memory

16GB card included in phone, Up to 32GB microSD expandable

Location Services1

aGPS, sGPS

Extras

802.11b/g, 3-axis accelerometer

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