Following on from my Six months of Google Android development post, it is now time for an update as it’s almost one year to the day since I published my first GA app.
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One year of Google Android development
Google Android resource website for developers
Quite a few programmers are looking into developing apps for Google Android so I thought I’d point them out to the Tutorial & Sample Code page over at The Open Mob for Android. This is the most complete list of tutorials, development guides and sample code pages that I know of.
Google Android Market wishlist
A discussion about the length of the description field in the Android Market over at Android Developers has led me to think about which features I’d actually like to be implemented in the market, so here’s my wishlist.
- A changelog.
- A way for developer to respond to comments (some comments are about bugs and if bug is fixed, would be nice to respond to that comment for example).
- Tagging (having to choose one category can be limiting).
- A technical note (where the developer could add any technical detail useful for user, for example known hardware issues).
Based on the current discussion, it seems that many developers want a longer description field, some have suggested using a “read more” option so the market layout could be maintained but the user has got the option to read past the first 325 characters (current limit of the description field). Other developers see a longer description field as a quick short-term fix while Google works on implementing more complicated features. What’s your take on this? What is your Google Android Market wishlist?
They are all jumping on the Android bandwagon…
Isn’t it funny to see everybody name checking Android? About a year ago, when I told tech savvy friends I was developing for Android, I got blank stares and the usual “why not the iPhone?”. Six months ago, the same friends became vaguely aware that there were other smartphones besides the iPhone and the BlackBerry. Now, those same friends are bragging about their new HTC Desire!
The amount of books for Google Android has surged dramatically over the last few months and quite a few more are announced for the Fall. It’s exciting times. Or not. One such book – admittedly still only released as a “rough cuts” on Safari Online – seems to be an iPhone book regurgitated for Google Android. By that, I meant that there are glaring mistakes, including talking about the approval process taking several weeks! Clearly, the author hasn’t even bothered to check with an Android developer, or he would have found out there is no approval process.
So jump on the Android bandwagon if you must but please, do your homework first, no one likes reading stuff that was clearly written for another market! (The irony is that the book I refer to is about marketing your apps – talk about sending the wrong message to your market!).
Google Event: Android Voice Action stole my idea!
I’m both excited and slightly sad by Google’s announcement today. They’ve announced an app that will allow users to tell their phone what they want it to do, such as say “call” to make a phone call etc. It’s easy to understand why this is exciting.
So why am I slightly sad? Well, a few weeks ago, I had an idea for an app called “TellAndroid”, which was pretty much based around the same concept. I didn’t quite know how to go on about it so I put it on the back-burner. I’m sad because I didn’t get a chance to actually try and implement it. But overall, I’m happy that I had identified what Google thought of as the next step for Android, and of course, I’m excited because as a user, it’s a dream come true!
By the way, I’m kidding about the title of the post, I’m sure many, many programmers have had the same idea as this seems like the next obvious step in mobile technology 
Cogitas Task List For Android
Update: Cogitas Task List is now available on Android Market.
I’m working on a new Task List app for Android that evolves around a simple principle: its sole purpose is to encourage you to actually do the tasks.
To achieve this, there will be a limit to the number of tasks you can add and if you try to add more, you will be nicely told to do some before adding more… As well, when you click on “done” for a task, you will have a friendly surprise 
The app will also include a widget so you can always see the top task from your home screen.
I started coding it this morning and I’m hoping to release v1.0 next week (look for Cogitas Task List in the market).
Speaking of Android apps, I published an upgrade to Big Words and Big Words Plus yesterday.
Other Android apps coming up:
- The previously announced RSS Reader app will be published in August.
- VocabuLab French will see a complete overhaul. I’ve pulled out the current version from the market because it was my first published app and there are so many things I want to change about it, I don’t think it deserves to be in the market at the moment. The new version will feature complete sentences and audio recordings as well as carrying on being a French basic vocabulary learning tool. I hope to publish it in late August or early September.
- I’m also working on an app that will simplify certain basic functions some users may use while driving (skip to next audio track etc) to make the use of Android at the wheel safer. I’m hoping to release this in late September or October.
Google Android developers console now features comments
I’ve just logged into Google Android developers console and I am pleased to see a new feature called “comments”. Until now, if somebody posted a comment, you had to find out by yourself, by using a site like androidzoom.com or similar.
As of today, your developer console enables you to see comment (see new “comment” feature next to red arrow on image below).
When you click on it, you can see a list of all comments, from most recent to oldest. Neat
Big Words Plus now available
One day ahead of my self-imposed deadline, I have released Big Words Plus, an enhanced version of my English vocabulary training app for Google Android.
The difference between this app and most dictionaries/vocabulary apps out there is that each word comes with a sentence using the word – not only, it helps you understand the meaning of the word correctly but it will also help you remember the actual word.
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Big Words Plus to be released soon
One of my most popular app is Big Words, an app to help you increase your vocabulary. It not only features definitions of words (as you would expect) but also example sentences with the words.
The most requested feature is phonetics/pronunciation, and I am pleased to say that I have been working on this and I am only a few days away from releasing Big Words Plus. So if you’re one of the 10,000 active users of Big Words, check the Android Store for Big Words Plus on Wednesday 30th June!
As well as phonetics, Big Words Plus also now works in Landscape mode and has the ability to go back to the previous word(s) by hitting the back button (another frequently requested feature), along with a few other smaller improvements.
How to create a basic Custom View in Google Android
Google Android comes with many view widgets like Lists, Grids, Tabs and so on, but sometimes, you need your own Custom View. Using an example of a view that shows a list of images next to each other, here’s the steps to follow to start you off with your Custom View…
(Apologies for the poor layout of the code, it seems that I need to tweak the theme. This is the first time I am using the code tag and it’s not looking great 
)
1. Create a class that extends View. In our example, let’s call it CustomView.
2. Create your constructor as below (this is the constructor to use if you load your View via xml).
public CustomView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs){
super(context, attrs);
}