News and updates from a Philly Android developer
Posts tagged 2009
Android Market Musings
3 years ago
Over the past few months, there have been hundreds of articles posted discussing the merits (and downsides) of the Android Market. Please allow me to add just one more. As an Android developer, I’ve been constantly trying to think of better ways in which to best promote my existing (as well as yet-unpublished) applications. Simply uploading them to the Android Market just does not cut it.
Once a developer has published his application to the Android Market (herein: “Market”), the application is shown at the top of the “Just In” section for the particular category the application is a part of. This is fine and well, but with dozens of applications constantly being published daily, you soon move further down in the listings. What should the developer do then? From my experience, I usually do not sift through pages and pages of “Just In” applications unless I’m utterly bored. I may go through the first page or so of new applications, but that’s about it. So… what now? The developer needs to augment his listing by some other methods.
There are a few methods which might help in bettering one’s chance of discovery. First, post a blog entry for the application. If your blog is listed in the Planet Android RSS feed list, there’s a good chance that readers will click through to your blog and find out more information about the application. Planet Android has about 1600 subscribers as per FeedBurner, so that’s a good start to getting the word out about your application.
Next, apply to have your application reviewed by the guys over at Android Tapp. I’m not sure of the amount of people who visit Android Tapp, but that site is great for reading up on different applications and their reviews. There are some other ways to get the word out. Youtube videos, buying ads on Google, and a host of things that can be done. I’m not a marketer, so I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to get the word out that I have not mentioned. All of this considered, I’m left thinking about Apple’s AppStore and how the Market compares to it.
I’m a Mac user at home. I have a Macbook Pro at home which serves me as a workstation and media center. I use iTunes pretty often to manage and find new music and movies. While I no longer own an iPod Touch, I did enjoy being able to have a dedicated application to browse through the AppStore’s multitude of free and paid applications. Apple definitely got the right idea with their implementation of the AppStore, and I wish Google would make some changes to not only the Market application on handsets, but also to the online marketplace. I do realize that the Market is a different beast when compared to the AppStore, as the Market applications can be segmented to only be able to be published for certain handsets for different countries, but I can’t imagine that this sort of thing is not capable of being developed by Google.
If there was an application or at least a web app for the Android Market that could really enable developers and their applications to be given the right amount of exposure to the public, I think there would certainly be more of a chance for them to be successful. Here’s hoping that Google works out some of these marketplace woes so that new and existing developers have a better chance to succeed!
Merry Christmas! Tip Calculator 1.2 Released
3 years ago
Earlier this week I mentioned that I’ll be releasing my next version of Tip Calculator. Well, it’s here! Lots of folks asked for a way to calculate tips for individuals, and I listened. Version 1.2 now has an additional tab just for that! Currently it supports individual tip calculations for up to 5 people. I’ll be releasing a version later so that you can add more people, but this is a good first start I think.
To recap, here are the features for version 1.2:
- 1.6/2.0/2.0.1 support.
- Auto calculation and re-calculation.
- Reset/Quit via menu.
- Localized for German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish.
- Basic tip calculation (Bill and tip split equally).
- Advanced tip calculation (Bill and tip calculated individually for up to 5 individuals).
- Custom tip percentage.
- Multiple screen density support (QVGA/HVGA/WVGA/WQVGA).
In addition to the free 1.2 release, I have also released a paid 1.0 release. The paid version is $0.99, and it has all of the features of the free version. The paid version is only for those who would like to donate and say thanks. If you decide to purchase my Tip Calculator, the money will go towards development costs for current and future applications that I develop. These development costs are things like improved application graphics and translation costs. Thus far all expenses have been out of my pocket. If you choose to donate, it will definitely go a long way to help keep me developing future applications!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
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- Tip Calculator Basic Tab
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- Tip Calculator Advanced Tab
Moving up in the world (or at least in the Android Market)
3 years ago
Usually every day or couple of days I like to go into the Android Market and review my application’s user comments. Today was no different, with one awesome exception: My Tip Calculator has surpassed Bank of America’s mobile banking application! I am now proud to announce that my humble Tip Calculator is now the #1 free application in the Finance category of the Android Market!
In a little more than 1 year’s time, my application has been installed by over 350,000 Android users! I certainly did not expect such a high number, but I am most certainly thankful! This has encouraged me to continue developing applications for the Android platform, and I am getting close to releasing a couple more applications for the Android Market!
In the next week or two, I will be releasing version 1.2 of my Tip Calculator. This update will further solidify my standings in the Android Market, as well as make my application the be-all and end-all to tip calculators. I have been listening attentively to my users’ comments, and this new release will make a lot of folks happy!
Thank you all very much for your support and comments! Below is a QR code to navigate to my Tip Calculator in the Android Market, and below are just some screenshots of the application and the Market listing!
Update – 2009-12-19: I noticed this morning that my Tip Calculator is back at the number two position in the Finance category. Bank of America and I must be neck and neck… Well, at least I have screenshots to prove!
Tip Calculator 1.0.2 Published
3 years ago
I would like to announce the upgrade to my old Tip Calculator! The 1.0.2 release is now Cupcake friendly (yes, a little old, but I haven’t been able to do much of anything since before the 1.5 release). It also got a little UI rearrangement as I have had my application localized into several languages. I would like to thank the following people for their help in localizing my application:
German: Sabine Weiten
Dutch: Bieneke Berendsen
Italian: Meri Zeri
Swedish: Anders Loefgren
Portuguese: Sara Silva
Spanish: Rodolfo Castro
Russian: Dmitry Ivakin
You can find a screenshot of the updated application below.
Demo App – Get Headers
One of my best friends has recently gotten the itch to develop an application for Android, but he had nowhere to start really. Sure, there is PLENTY of documentation, he could even mess around with the API Demos included in the SDK. Instead, he had an idea, and wanted to try and build it out in Android.
He successfully wrote his application in Java, but wasn’t sure yet how to make that into an Android application. I was focused on showing him the basics of an Android application, like how to detect when an object has been clicked, or how to make an object view appear/disappear. I even introduced him to some intermediate things like running threaded processes behind something else.
I wrote the application for him and gave him the working copy along with the source code so that he could see how he could transform his simple Java application into an Android application.
The application itself is called ‘Get Headers’. Very simply put, when you input a URL into the URL field and click ‘Get Headers’, it sends a request to the URL, and whatever comes back is displayed below the buttons. Here are some screenshots below:
I was considering releasing the code to the public in this post, but instead I’ll let my friend work at it, because I’ve intentionally left him a few gotcha’s that I hope he’ll find and fix. I’ve had and still do have some very serious things going on in my life right now, hence the lack of posts, but when I have something on my mind or if I have an application announcement, feel free to check in!
One thing I’m interested in knowing is.. how are you all finding the new 1.5 update in relation to the applications in the marketplace? Do you find that it has greatly improved the quality? slowed it down? made no difference at all? I’d like to know!
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to everyone! 2009 looks to be a great year for Google’s Android. Here are some of the things we can look forward to in the very near future:
- International expansion of the Android Market.
- Priced applications in the Android Market.
- Further development and deployment of the “cupcake” release of Android.
- Possible Android netbooks going mainstream.
- Additional handsets to use Android.
All of these are really exciting opportunities for not only end-users, but also for us developers! I’ve been waiting in earnest for the updates to the Android Market, and have been looking forward to having the market expand to many other countries.
One of the new additions I will be really excited to see get released soon is the “cupcake” branch of Android. This release will bring many much needed updates to the current system, as well as add several new features, namely stereo bluetooth support, video capturing and (drumroll, please…) a touchscreen keyboard! Also in this branch will be additional localization support, so the user may be able to choose between different languages. I’ve already begun the process of localizing my existing application, as well as begun to work on localization support for my unreleased applications.
So, it looks as though there are some really awesome things in the pipeline for everyone this year! Look forward to some nice things from myself with the upcoming changes to Android!
