Daily Bits

android

Be Your Own App Maker With Google’s App Inventor

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Don’t you sometimes find yourself wishing for an application that actually meets your needs? While there are countless apps – some free, some paid – out there, I am pretty sure that there is at least one app that you wish someone had thought about. The next step is wishing that you could actually make an app yourself.

While not everyone does not have the programming skills necessary to create an app, there are tools that can equip the average person to do just that. Enter Google’s App Inventor, which has been dubbed by The New York Times as the tool that will “bring Android software development to the masses.”

This software is free to general public, and it will allow practically anyone to come up with his own app for Android. Google is promoting the software as being as easy as pie to use:

To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior.

The interface and the whole concept are quite simple, but Google is quick to point out that simplicity does not mean less power. In fact, they are placing a lot of emphasis on the potential of this software. If anything, I think this might be one of the factors that can push Android phones to the public as a more viable alternative to the iPhone.

Originally posted on July 13, 2010 @ 1:37 pm

Swype, Don’t Type

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One of the biggest drawbacks of touch screen phones is the fact that people have a difficult time adjusting to the virtual keyboard. While Apple has done a marvelous job with their on screen keyboard, there are still people out there who prefer to have a tactile keyboard to work with. And yet, if touch screen phones are what you want, you really have no choice.

Enter Swype, a piece of software that allows users to drag fingers from one letter to another instead of having to merely tap on each individual letter. It’s easy to see how much more convenient this technology is, and how much easier people can adjust to virtual keyboards.

Developed by a company based in Seattle, Swype was launched on a commercial phone in December. Now, the news is that the new Motorola Droid X is going to feature this technology. That spells good news for Swype, as Motorola is a huge player in the mobile phone industry.

Indeed, Swype says that they want to be in more mobile phones – not excluding the Apple iPhone! In fact, one of the engineers has already a version ready for the iPhone, even though there are no formal talks between them. Apple has not even seen the technology for themselves as of yet. I would think, though, that with the complaints people have about the iPhone’s virtual keyboard, Steve Jobs et al. would be interested in what Swype has to offer. For now, Droid users will have the advantage in this regard.

iPhone users: would you want something like this on your gadgets?

Originally posted on June 25, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

Android Phone And Music Piracy

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There is no denying that music piracy – or any sort of piracy, for that matter – is an illegal thing. However, we also cannot ignore the fact that there are still countless people all over the world who engage in this activity. For one reason or another, music piracy still exists.

Now, it seems that there is more potential for music piracy, as Android apps for music downloads are surfacing. We all know how cool Android phones are, and the fact that policies on third party apps are laxer makes these phones even better!

The news is that there are several apps that have come up – all of them with the idea of downloading music straight to the phone. Some examples are Music Junk, Music Wizard, Pandemonium, Tunee Music, MP3 Music, and Music Zilla. So what’s wrong with the rationale behind these apps? Well, it’s just that they were all made with the goal of bypassing music stores where you have to pay for the music that you download.

The thing about these apps is that users can only download one song at a time. This is unlike current peer sharing apps for computers, where you can download albums. Also, the Android apps do not really allow users to share their files. It’s more like downloading a single song from an anonymous location.

What does Google have to say about this? They do not monitor all third party apps, but if they do find out that a particular app violates certain rules, then it can be taken down. For now, I believe there are still music download apps that you can use on Android phones…

Originally posted on June 21, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

Android turns one: a few interesting statistics

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android-logoAs Google’s Android mobile operating system turns one year old today, here are a few interesting statistics for you.

According to mobile advertising firm AdMob:

  • Android OS now has seven percent global market share. That puts it well behind Symbian, BlackBerry OS and the iPhone OS, but comparable to Windows Mobile.
  • In the UK, 10% of smartphones run Android OS, with the HTC Dream being the second most popular phone for surfing the mobile web after the iPhone.
  • Android’s key markets are North America and Western Europe, with the HTC Magic in the top 10 of smartphones.
  • The HTC Dream is ranked fourth globally.

A survey of 1,000 mobile phone users found that Android users download about nine applications per month, compared with about 10 for iPhone users and over 18 for iPod Touch users.

Though Microsoft is hoping its latest initiatives will push its flavours of Windows Mobile OS forward, I’m sure Android will continue to flourish as more handsets become available in the coming year.

Originally posted on October 21, 2009 @ 3:35 pm

5 Must-Have Android Accessories

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It’s looking like 2014 will be a great year for Android. The newest HTC One phone is scheduled to launch before the spring; according to PocketLint, the HTC One M8 model will include “a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display and Android 4.4 KitKat with Sense 6.0.” Samsung will also be introducing a few new Galaxy phones, including the appropriately-named Samsung Galaxy Round, a curved phone designed to fit the contours of the hand.

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If you’re planning to pick up one of these new Android smartphones, or simply to kit out the HTC or Samsung phone you already have, here are five of the top must-have Android accessories: [Read more…] about 5 Must-Have Android Accessories

Malware Wrapper Uses Windows to Infect Android

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Malware Wrapper Uses Windows to Infect Android (via slashdot)

A bit of malware discovered by researchers at Symantec this week reverses the target-selection priorities of most malware designs by treating Windows-based PCs as a path to Android devices, rather than as the primary target. “We’ve seen Android…

[Read more…] about Malware Wrapper Uses Windows to Infect Android