First, there was Android Market. Then independent smaller app stores, such as AppBrain, Handster and quite a few others. Now, Amazon is launching its own Android app store. Is this a good thing or does it mean more fragmentation of the market and more work for devs when publishing a new app? Are you excited about what could be a new major Android store or are you happy just getting your apps from Google Market?
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Are you excited about the newly announced Amazon Android app store?
Happy 2011 from Google… not!
From time to time, Google adjusts the download statistics in the Android Market Console down, apparently due to over-estimates. This normally happens randomly a few times a year so isn’t it ironic that it happened last night? Is Google trying to tell us devs something? 
Another Google Android developer console update… long descriptions have arrived!
Developers have asked for it and it seems that Google has finally delivered it – even though they haven’t actually emailed us about it yet! Yes, you can now write descriptions for your apps with 4000 characters, instead of the previous pesky 325 words limit!
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Google Android Market refund window drops from 24 hours down to 15 minutes
The latest email from Google Android to developers informs us of a few changes to the market. Most notably, the refund window drops down from 24 hours to 15 minutes.
Last year, there was talk of increasing it from 24 hours to 48 hours. If memory serves me right, about six months ago, Google asked devs to sign a new agreement stating the refund window will be 48 hours, though the refund window on the market itself actually remained at 24 hours.
Now, it seems Google has made a U-turn. I’m a bit worried that 15 minutes really isn’t enough for a user to check an app and therefore users might be less likely to buy your app in the first place? Is this because Google struggles with the number of users ripping apps and passing them on for free? What are your thoughts on this? Surely, one of the Google Android selling point was always the “try before you buy approach” but are 15 minutes enough to try?
Sudoku Way – the Tetris meet Sudoku game for Android – v1.4 released
A new update to Sudoku Way (Tetris meet Sudoku game for Google Android) has just been released. The update is a minor one and mostly concerns the display of the highest scores. Still, a good reason to check out the game if you’re not familiar with it, the Lite version is free
Localisation with Google Android (that’s localization for US readers…)
Google Android provides the tools to easily localise your apps, in the form of string resources defined in xml files. Let’s look at how to use them.
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When are Google Android developer console stats updated?
I think I may not be the only developer wondering when and how often Google updates apps stats on the Android developer console. Well, my research over the last few months – and by research, I mean checking it every day several times most days – indicates that it is on a regular schedule… except when it’s not.
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Android Gingerbread is here!
So, a little over six months after Android FroYo, Android Gingerbread is officially here!
Here’s a few screenshots (they are taken from the Android emulator running Gingerbread with the default screen size & resolution).
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onClick tip for Android views
If the code below for handling your Android clicks looks familiar
findViewById(R.id.myButton).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
/**do stuff**/
}
});
it’s time to introduce you to android:onClick attribute.
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