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So I bought my first non-WM smartphone. Below is documentation of my quest to replace, and surpass, the experience I was used to with my Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5. I am what you would probably call a windows mobile 'power user'. I've been averaging about one new WM phone every 6 months since 2005, most of them HTC. But I always keep up on what the other platforms are doing. This is just the first time I've taken the leap, and I quickly became aware of what new doors Android opened for me in just the first few hours of using the Nexus One. The OS is nice, but like most people, it really comes down to the apps for me.
I was initially thinking I'd do a big blog review, but I've run out of motivation. There's plenty of info on the Nexus One hardware and Android out there, so I don't need to rehash that stuff. What I haven't seen a lot of, though, is detailed accounts of people switching and what exactly they found.
There remains a couple major things missing from Android. The lack of an OCS client is probably the biggest one for me professionally, but since it's a Microsoft product, I don't see that changing any time soon. That and the lack of xvid playback will keep me carrying around my TD2 as backup for the foreseeable future. But other than that, I'm extremely happy and will definitely be sticking with the Nexus for a while. The next post will be a comprehensive list of (practically) every app I've installed, what they do for me, and how they compare to their WM counterparts (if there are any).
On to the apps...
Android Apps I've installed and believe I will continue to use.
This is a bit of a brain dump, so I apologize for not editing more thoroughly. Hopefully it will be useful to some, and feel free to suggest other apps you think I should try.
Advanced Task Killer - List of running apps that allows you to easily kill unwanted tasks. Nice to have for an OS that allows background apps, but I don't actually notice it slowing down, it seems to manage memory and close apps as needed.
Aldiko (replacing mobiReader, much better) - eReader with nice UI and quick access to several libraries of free books. Found Doctorow's books right away.
Amazon store - really just easier than using the web browser, but it also does barcode scanning and some other useful stuff.
BeamReader (replacing Adobe's wm reader) - rarely needed, but have to be able to see pdfs on the go sometimes
Beelicious - direct (cached) access to my delicious bookmarks. UI could be better and it's a bit of a pain to wade through them all, but it's useful.
BeyondPod (replacing YomoMedia, HUGE improvement) - It took me years to find a podcast downloader for WM that worked at all, but beyondpod is amazing. The UI is superb and inuitive. The customization is great. I have it setup to download only at night while charging. It remembers my place in podcasts and creates 'smart playlists' to make it easier to start listening. It also integrates with google reader, which is hugely useful because I can add new podcasts I'd like to listen to anywhere from google reader and then import then very quickly into beyondpod later. Also worth noting is the homescreen widget, which gives me access to basic controls and status from my home screen, no need to always navigate back into the app.
Browser (replacing Opera mobile) - Really there's not much difference here. Neither android nor WM have flash or silverlight support yet (although you can sort of get it on WM through skyfire, but that's not performant enough to be an everyday thing). Usability is about the same, but since multitouch zoom isn't enabled on nexus yet (though the hardware can technically support it), you have to use the zoom in/out buttons. This isn't as nice as zooming on the TD2 (zoom bar) or the HD2 (multitouch). Android does links to outside applications better though. It recognizes when you are browsing to a youtube video or RSS feed and will prompt correctly.
Cab4me - Nice little app for finding nearby cab companies making it very easy to see which is rated best, has cars available, and place the call. Not a must-have, but it's one of the little things.
Camera - very fast, 5mp (same as on hd2 and td2 wm phones), the LED flash is certainly better than nothing. Geotagging is default.
Car Home - this is Google's navigation 'car mode'. I think is this very cool, but honestly I won't end up using it much because I have navigation built into my car.
Carr Matey - dedicated app for recording car location so you can find it again. Another little nice thing I didn't have before. Android is just so much better at doing location-aware apps right now.
Documents to Go (replacing ms office mobile) - I'm using the lite version, which does not allow editing, but I have just never had the need to edit office docs on my phone. Sometimes I get one in an email and want to read it though, and this looks to do that fine. I'm happy.
Evernote (replacing Evernote) - I'm using this more and more as a dumping ground for everything that's not in email but I want to remember. This is what I use anytime I want to take a quick note (audio or text), or take a picture of a wine bottle or business card for later reference. It syncs with the cloud immediately and I can search that from anywhere.
Flashlight - not a big deal, but nice to have.
flickr droid (replacing shozu) - i like to have an easy way to upload a picture to flickr, this gives me that. I really like how android allows it to integrate with the normal gallery app. So after I take a picture I just have to view it, select 'share', and then select flickr droid (or other things like email, twitter, etc). It's more centralized than WM.
Flip2Silent and Vibrate During Meeting (replacing WM + HTC ringer management) - The ringer management on android is lacking as compared to WM. I used to be able to have my phone automatically go to vibrate during meetings, and silence the ringer after I pick up the phone (so it doesn't continue to be loud and annoying while I'm deciding whether to answer), AND there was a pocket mode to switch to vibrate and louder ring when the phone detected it was in a pocket. Vibrate During Meeting gives me back the meeting function, but it only works with the google calendar, not the exchange touchdown calendar in which all my actual meetings are stored. My work-around is to sync my exchange calendar with google via desktop outlook, but this doesn't keep it updated unless I have a desktop logged in. The good news is that the developer of this app says he'll look into touchdown. Flip2Silent gives me the option to just lay the phone screen-side-down to mute the ringer/vibrate functions. This will work while a call is coming in and I want to ignore it.
Foursquare - App for checking into various locations. It's treated like a game, you get points, but also get to see where your friends are and if they happen to be near you. Plus people leave tips for places.
g-backup and mybackup (replacing myphone on wm) - MS's myphone app on wm will automatically backup all user data (sms, mms, pictures, video, docs, etc) to the cloud every night. It can also restore these for when you get a new phone or hard-reset your current phone. I got used to having this. All my email and contacts are in exchange or the cloud anyway, but I don't want to lose these other things. MyPhone is also nice because all that data is accessible via the web. g-backup is cool because it will upload all this stuff to gmail, so you have it there, but it can't restore anything. MyBackup will backup and restore most things, but not pictures/video. So I'm using them both, but I'd like a more comprehensive solution.
Gallery (replacing HTC photo gallery) - The nexus gallery is implemented in 3d and is pretty cool, but ultimately it works about as well as the HTC version (which is also flashy). They need to add multi-touch zooming.
GCDroid (replacing gcz) - This is my geocaching app, but only until the official geocaching.com android app comes out (which is soon and it will be cool if their iphone app is any indication). Even though there isn't an official app for wm, the community created apps were pretty good. GCDroid is barely usable, but overall this category will be an upgrade over wm soon.
Glympse (replacing Glympse) - Something I'll rarely use, but it's cool when it applies. You can send a link to anyone that will allow them to track you via a webbrowser for x-minutes. So if you say you're on your way, they can actually see how far along you are.
Gmail (replacing hotmail) - both MS and Google have their email services integrated tightly with their mobile os. I used to forward all my gmail to hotmail so I could easily get it on my phone, so now I just flipped it. I like gmail well enough, and there are certainly features that are ahead of hotmail. I'm just happy to happy to have my personal email pushed to my phone.
Google maps (replacing google maps and bing) - This is definitely better than on WM, but ultimately it does the same stuff. It's smoother and a little easier to navigate (except, again, zooming is more difficult).
Meebo IM - nice to have an app that can log into ICQ, MSN, and GTalk all at once. Likely will rarely use it.
Messaging (replacing txt message HTC app) - this seems to be just what you'd expect. But at least it's very fast and predictable, unlike the HTC app which is sometimes laggy as hell.
Flixter Movies (replacing bing) - MS's bing app was good for finding local theaters and showtimes, this one does it with a bit more flash and some awesome additional features that i just found. It shows the rottentomatoes rating along with every movies. Plus, it has netflix integration, so it checks whether any movie is in my queue and lets me add it while browsing. It also has a list of recent dvd releases, which is great with the netflix thing. It also essentially serves as a mobile imdb. Very impressive.
Mother TED - dedicated app for watching TED talks. It seems ok but not great.
Music (replacing HTC media player) - Nothing special here. I don't know that I'll even use it much since i mostly listen to pandora or podcasts.
OpenTable - for the rare occasions when I make reservations (especially last minute) this will make it easy to find a place with an opening.
Pandora (NOT ON WM) - this is almost a reason to switch by itself. I hate that this isn't on wm yet. Very nicely implemented on android because it has a homescreen widget. I get all the basic controls without even having to go into the app, and I can use other apps while it plays in the background. Sound quality is great too.
Dialer - The android dialer is pretty basic, but it seems to get the job done. At least you can add a pause (with a comma) so that dialing conference numbers is somewhat doable (but still WAY harder than it should be, they don't do any smart parsing in meeting invites). This is still hard on WM though too.
PhoneFlicks (replacing official netflix wm app) - This is barely a replacement. Netflix's own app was better, this one is slower and harder to use, but at least I can do basic queue management from my phone, which is really nice sometimes.
SeattleBusBot - This is SO cool, and something I've wanted but couldn't find on wm. Seattle has the gps info of its buses available publicly, but their website is basically unusable on a phone (even on a desktop). This app will tell you exactly when a given bus is going to arrive, not just when it's scheduled.
Seesmic (replacing m.twitter.com on wm) - really good mobile twitter app. There are plenty of wm twitter apps, and HTC even builds one into the os now, but they tended to be slower. I think the HD2 is probably just as good as seesmic.
ShopSavvy - barcode scanning that tells you the closest places to get the given product and for how much. Haven't had a chance to see if this turns out to actually be useful, but I like the concept and test scans in the house have been accurate (which kinda surprises me because I had heard that phone barcode scanning doesn't work, but maybe the 5mp camera and snapdragon is making it more pratical).
TorrentFu (replacing starting torrents via Live mesh mobile) - This is a major upgrade (and rejected from itunes if I remember correctly). I finally switched to uTorrent on my server so I could use this. It uses the utorrent webui to connect, but exposes all the functionality like a local app. You can see progress, search for and start new torrents, and pause/resume. Very cool.
TripIt (replacing tripcase kinda) - I've only started experimenting with these two services, and i don't travel as much as I used to, but they are pretty good at what they do. Just forward your reservation emails and they build up a comprehensive itinerary and keep you updated. having a native app makes using these that much easier. Tripcase is on wm, tripit (which seems to be the better service) is on android.
tv.com - streaming tv from cbs, showtime, and some others. Haven't used this much, but always nice to have some free content.
Google Voice - At first I was skeptical about this because I don't have a real need to create a central phone number that rings all my phones, which was what i thought this service was for. Turns out you don't have to use that feature, and they also provide visual voicemail on android plus they send you transcriptions of the messages to your phone. so you can see who left messages and what they said (approximately) without even listening. So I'm definitely appreciating this feature.
Wapedia - native version of wikipedia. Nice and quick. why not?
y5 - Battery - This app is genius in its simplicity and value. It simply keeps track of where you are when you enable wifi, and remembers that going forward so it can automatically re-enable it when you come back to the same place. The rest of the time, it disables wifi to save battery. The end result here is that I never have to remember to turn wifi on or off when i come home or leave the house.
youtube (replacing youtube) - works well. nothing special to report except google's browser seems to be better at realizing when it should forward you to the youtube player.
yxflash (failing to replace coreplayer) - The only android app that claims to do xvid/divx decoding. I tried it on an xvid torrent that wm's coreplayer had no trouble with and it choked pretty hard. It played, but with extremely jittery video and slow sound. Not usable yet, but at least i know I might get something soon.
Touchdown (replacing exchange activesync on wm) - Saved the most important (and expensive @$22) for last. Without this app I wouldn't be able to sync my exchange data (contacts, email, calendar, tasks) with my phone because Android doesn't support all the required security features by default. (our company, like many these days, will not sync data with a platform that doesn't allow them to force the use of encryption, pin lock, and remote wipe) Beyond that, without the recently added feature of allowing me to flag emails for followup, I would not be able to switch to android because this workflow is too important to my everyday life.
Explanation: I check email on my phone often, and if I can respond then and there, I do, but if I can’t and need to follow up for any reason, I flag it. This creates a task in outlook which I will see the next time at my desk, so i KNOW i won't forget about it.
But there is an additional, more subtle, benefit at play here. And honestly, it's a little unfair to count it, but it makes such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my phone that I can't ignore it. I'm speaking about how the previously mentioned pin lock for exchange only applies (on android) to the touchdown app. I am not required to set a pin to unlock the phone itself. Ever since they turned on that requirement I've been punching in a 4 digit pin every damn time I wanted to glance at my phone, check the time, or even change the stupid volume! Now I'm finally free of that because google didn't bother to properly build in exchange support at the OS level. NICE! seriously though, this saves me so much annoyance it was almost worth the $530 by itself.
For a true windows power-user, it's worth shelling out the <$10 for Remote RDP. It works incredibly well, even when connecting to my Windows 7 PC from 3G across town (or presumably, the world).
The ability to USE MY HOME PC from ANYWHERE WITH NET ACCESS...
Absolutely incredible for a phone..
EDIT: my home net speed is pretty quick, which owes to fast remote access. Wifi will always be fast, though, and that's what this app is really designed for.
Good recommendation. Just downloaded the Remote RDP demo. Seems to work well.
Thank you for the run down... I just made the switch myself and a number of the apps you mentioned helped me fill some of my void from WM. I'm still a little pissed about the exchange issues but the real truth is any company I work for issues me a blackberry and doesn't allow other devices to connect to thier servers. I worked for one midsized company once that let me and that was the only time I was completely in love with my WM device. Since my personal email is through gmail the nexus one is really amazing as my personal phone.
Good Stuff! I'm in the same boat WM to Android and no turning back I'll check out some of the apps u listed...
One thing I'm looking for is a widget with power/memory/storage/sd gauges.
Always had this on the wm home for reference & cool stats!
If you geocache then GeoBeagle is the other main geocaching app. I don't cache much any more, but I have tried GeoBeagle and liked it, though I can't compare it to GCDroid...
Wanted to say thanks for the excellent app list. Touchdown is awesome. A way for me to connect to work without merging my exchange contacts with the rest of my phone. Now thats a win!
@Seraph321 - want to add my thanks for your app info. i'll be getting an N1 soon and knowing there are options to some of my "must haves" apps/features/functionality (e.g., Exchange) will help shorten my learning curve. i'm not going to abandon WM because it will continue to serve as my work phone. the N1 will be my after work/personal phone until i'm comfortable tweaking Android. that's my plan, but once i have the N1 my plan may change!
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Browser
Dolphin Browser is hands down the best browser on Android right now. Multi-touch zooming, delicious integration, tabs, themes, and much more.
Flashlight
Do a market search for Nexus One Torch. It utilizes the LED from the camera flash to use as a flashlight. Very bright.
Ringer Management
Locale manages your phone based off time and location. Never used it myself, but heard good things, and I believe it was and Android Developers Challenge winner or something.
Backup
I'm simple and only need to backup text messages (most everything else is stored via SD card or synced with Google anyway). I use SMS Backup to backup my texts to Gmail, and it works fantastic. Uploads directly to my mail account, archives the texts, puts them in threads according to contact, tags them, and marks them as read. I can then easily search my text conversations from my phone or desktop browser via Gmail, and don't have to worry about deleting conversations from my phone and losing something. I've never used g-backup, so it may have this function already.
Twitter
I've tried a couple Twitter apps (not Seismic, though I'll be trying that next) and have landed on Swift, which currently is the fastest, and the best looking Twitter app I've used. I'm not a giant twitter user, so I don't know if it supports all the features any other apps might, but it works great for me, and would recommend it.
That's all for now. I don't have my phone next to me or I'd give it a quick run through and suggest something you might be missing, but I'll have to do that another time.
As for getting multi-touch support in google maps, the browser, and gallery... just wait, it's been hacked in for the G1/MT3G, it will certainly be hacked in for the Nexus One.
I'm still up in the air between ASTRO File Manager and Linda File Manager, but a file manager is an important addition to your tools, if you plan on keeping a lot of documents/files on board. Additionally, I know at least Linda has the DownloadCrutch functionality, associating itself with every filetype so that the browser will allow you to download such. To me, this last bit is essential.
Great stuff, I think a lot of people will be going from WM to Nexus because MS have failed to deliver for so long & there is now a great alternative with an OS that can be modded and a really cool handset.
So far I am happy to leave the N1 standard (not rooted) and play with apps - it is a real joy to have so many available & a single source for them.
Never going back !
+1 for Dolphin Browser... definitely a big step up over the default browser IMHO
SpyderMS said:
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
bofslime said:
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
The Jones said:
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMS Count
ok, at work with nothing to do, so I browsed through my phone, and here's a couple Apps you may be interested in. Some of these are useful, some are just kind of cool
AudioManager Widget
Nice little app that lets you adjust all your volume levels easily and quickly.
AppControl - Full Version
Best app manager I've used. Really fast, nice interface, and lots of options.
Barcode Scanner
Barcode scanning from the phone is fantastic. It's very pronounced in the Android community as well. You'll see barcodes not only on these forums, but on App websites like AndroLib.com, which let you scan the barcode, and instantly be linked to a website or Android Market page. It's not only useful on the Nexus One's 5mp camera and 1GHz processor either. Worked great on my G1.
Google Goggles
Take a picture of just about anything, and Google will search for relevant results.
Google Sky Map
Virtual Planetarium on your phone.
Layar Reality Browser 3.0
Augmented Reality browser. Displays information about objects in front of you overlayed on the camera display.
Pkt Auctions for eBay
If you use eBay at all, this is a great companion tool.
Shazam
Lets you identify music being played around you by letting your phone listen to and analyze it.
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
handcent settings -> conversation style.
handcent has a ton of settings options, including different settings for individual contacts (conversation style, font, notification tone, etc)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've already spent too much work time today finding and installing the ones I like.
I don't actually do THAT much texting, so I'm sticking with the stock sms app for now, but I did install sms popup and set my girlfriend to popup. That's convenient.
Someone mentioned SMS backup, and yes, g-backup does the same thing only for more data, but they both need a scheduling option.
I see the nexus one torch app requires rooted access. I'm no stranger to hacking my gadgets, but this app (plus tethering, and maybe installing to the sd card) are the only things I've seen so far that have me interested in doing it. Can anyone provide some examples of why they consider rooting a must?
You mentioned Wi-Fi tethering already, but that reason alone is a pretty big reason. You may also want to theme your phone. Any kind of advancements that developers like Cyanogen come out with will require root as well. Cyanogen is known for pushing the envelope, helping to increase speed, and overall functionality of the G1, and other devices; not to mention you will get features from new versions of Android faster than those without root. I'm sure there are other reasons to, these are just off the top of my head. A lot of people are waiting until someone finds out how to reverse the bootloader unlocking process before they root, in order to preserve their warranty, and that's certainly a good idea if you don't have a lot of use for root at the moment. I did it, like most people that did, just because I can.
I'll make sure to watch the Cyanogen stuff closely. I never followed the G1 enhancements, so I guess I don't know what to expect. Sounds like it's likely I'll do it at some point though.
Is it easy to get all your apps, especially the ones that you paid for, back on your phone after rooting? Does the marketplace just remember it all and let you re-download?
I should just search for these answers.
This is my last semester before I graduate.
So, I decided to add my own Android application to my portfolio.
After a few meeting with my friends, we decide to create a game.
Our rough game's specs (Could be changed).
1. Collect all statistic locally, No statistic/central server.
(Low budget project)
2. 2d turn-base game, have some but not much amimations.
(Imagine a multi-player board game)
3. Multi-player over Bluetooth, WiFi or 3G. No single player.
4. Should playable on most of the 2.1 device
What we know/are learning
1. 3 years experience in mid-level Java programing (J2SE, J2EE)
2. 3 years experience in SQL-base database
3. 3 years experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript and Ajax
3. A year experience in Mid-level of Python, OpenGL
4. A year experience in Design pattern, Project Planing, Application Development
5. Android Application Development with Eclipes, Android SDK, JRE (In progress)
6. Titanium Appcelerator (In progress)
7. WebView, PhoneGap (In progress)
8. Publish into Android Market
Now, what we don't know/are questioning
1. Communication between android device
We decided not to use a statistic/central server. Which mean a device have to communicate to each other directly. We are not sure is it possible or not and how to accomplish that. Also some issues such as handle communication failure.
2. Approch
I'm not sure which language will be suited between C++ and Java (Best gaming experience, less issue, library/add-on support). Also still no clue which approch to go. Standard (SDK + Eclipes + JRE) or Titanium or WebView.
3. Device hardware difference
It will be not cool if this game can run smoothly on one device but laggy/false display on others. Most important question is the screen resolution.
4. Game engine
Still don't know that we need a game engine or not. Which one is suited to our project.
5. Server
We plan to go for commercial version in the future which will have more features such as Matchup, Ranking, Upgrade character and else. By the time, we do need a server right? If we do, do we need more than 1 server to handle global incoming connections?
6. What else should be take a look?
I'm currently spend my time to understaning all above question but advise from you guys would be much help. Correct me if I misunderstanding anything.
Thanks in advance, Sincere.
Still looking for answers
1. You will still need to use a central server, this server would keep track of all active(logged in ) accounts. This server will have the soul purpose of linking players or sending request from one player to another. As the ip address of our phones dynamic i see no way around this. For local games this is obviously a different story.
2. Depends on how gfx intensive your program is, if you are even semi fluent in ogl i would use this. But if not the standard Canvas android offers should be fine for 2d. I like c++, so i use java & c through jni. But if time is an issue(and u dont want headakes) i would just stick to java.
3. Android offers a compatibility mode which adapts software meant for one res to fit on others. I have zero experience in this so i can not elaborate on its effectiveness. if not with ogl it wouldnt be hard to make your program scalable to other resolutions. Tho of course you would have to alot of backend work to make sure it looks good. Wide ranging of devices is a huge plus for android users, huge headake for us devs :S.
4. If you are doing just a 2d board game ish game i dont think an actual game engine is needed...but w/e floats your boat.
5. Go to question 1. hehe.
6. No time, will comment later.
I am probably not as skilled dev as should be commenting in this thread, just fyi lol.
You can check out AndEngine as well, it is a free 2d opengl engine. It has a multiplayer extension based on java sockets but this part is incomplete, you should look out for more info on java.net.* for multiplayer purposes.
Another free opengl engine is Rokon.
Both use opengl es 1.0 and are compatible from android 1.6 onwards. I´m actually starting a 2d project based on AndEngine and have no complaints so far.
Since its not that intensive i woudn´t sugest to go for c++. I heard that not all devices are compatible with the ndk, but it is just hearsay, if some one can confirm this better.
@jug6ernaut
Thanks for your comment. Clarify me a lot.
About the server, do you have any suggestion where should I place/rent a server?
I'm living in south-east asia. I'm worry about lag issue will accur to US and Europe user when they communicate with server in this region. Our infrastructure is 10-20 years behind yours.
@rastanthology
Thanks for your comment. As you suggest, I think we will stick to Java as we planned. Plus, I'll take a look on AndEngine and Rokon.
1.- You don't need a webbased server for gameplay. You can just pair the devices over bluetooth or send the data over wifi (hell, if you wanted to make it really expensive and laggy, you could send the data over sms ). I think, connectivity wise this would be the way to go, not only because people some have data limitations in their phoneplan.
However, sending the gameplay data to a central server and distributing it back to the other player would make data collection and tracking easy, but that would be equally easy (and less data intensive for your data costs on your server) with a robust log you send to your server as you grow the game. Of course, even your peer-to-peer game will have a kind of client/server infrastructure, internally/programmaticaly speaking: maybe both devices run a client and a server, as you'll need classes/threads which send data, receive data and process data. Depending on the speed of the game and send/recieve speeds, you might want to have one of the devices be the one which has absolute say over timings/positions, or you might allow both devices to keep track and have some kind of collaborative conflict resolution
2.- pick the programming language you're best in. If you have to pick up c/c++ whilst you make the game, you're only doubling your frustration Make that be a factor in your choice of framework/engine, too. For a 'simple' game, you might just use pure java and libraries. For the game you're describing, you don't need the speed of c/c++. Nowhere near
3.- that's not a question 2D boardgames have a better chance of scaling well than even a 2d fast moving action game; I'd say that if you don't make it too complex (hundreds of transparent .png's simultaneously moving), most android devices should be able to run a 2 player boardgame without AI. Be sure to use suitable (correctly scaled etc) graphics, maybe even have multiple data sets for diff. devices.
4.- depends Sometimes, learning to use a game engine takes as much time as building those few things you need from scratch or using smaller routines/code/libraries. Design your program, find out what you need and then stack up "how much time will it take to build these classes/systems ourselves, to our exact specs" against "how much time will it take to find an engine which does kinda what we want, learn how to use the systems we want and modify them for what we want (and maybe not end up with exactly what we want)". Sometimes the (learning of the) engine is simple to learn and use, and saves you much time ... sometimes it doesn't
5.- yes. Depends on traffic (amount of connections, size of data). If you only sends logs etc and not realtime (gameplay) communications, you might have enough with one server. If you have many, many users, you might need more, and if the data has to have low latency, you will have to get more geographically situated servers.
6.- don't forget sound. Test your game on people. Prototype first, fast and often and don't be afraid to change the gameplay if what you prototype doesn't seem to be found "fun" by the people test your game
Good luck!
@MacDegger
Thanks so much. You just gave me a lot of Idea. I mean I can see the whole picture more clearly with your answer. Cheers!!
One more thing I want to know. If this game can be play only via BT or WIFI. Will people buy it?
As we plan to sell it in the market in the future. Even the gameplay is fun, nice or whatever. But, the game cant be play unless you have a friend with Android device and this game installed. That's sound not so interesting game anyways (at least for me).
I woudn't like to be pessimist but i don't think so. The best approach would be to release a free version with webview adds and a payed version add-less. From what i heard you might be receiving the same profit from both versions
rastanthology said:
I woudn't like to be pessimist but i don't think so. The best approach would be to release a free version with webview adds and a payed version add-less. From what i heard you might be receiving the same profit from both versions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking about that too.
Free version with adds and less feature.
Paid version without adds and full feature.
Still don't have a clue how google adds works. Pay for each view or something I guess.
XeCeL said:
I'm thinking about that too.
Free version with adds and less feature.
Paid version without adds and full feature.
Still don't have a clue how google adds works. Pay for each view or something I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
given my software is not very ad exploiting(live wallpaper so only shows ads in settings), but in my experience ads pay like crap. 4000+ hits and ive made like 36c. Most if not all coming from clicks on the ads.
jug6ernaut said:
given my software is not very ad exploiting(live wallpaper so only shows ads in settings), but in my experience ads pay like crap. 4000+ hits and ive made like 36c. Most if not all coming from clicks on the ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, 4000+ hits but 36c I would better exclude it
I am looking at getting the Acer Iconia tablet. It would be something my wife and I would share around the house (i.e. in the living room so both of us could use it when we wish). So how does Android Honeycomb handle multiple users? I assume we wouldn't each have a 'logon' ID? But I am just wondering how my wife could keep her bookmarks, email, etc on it along with mine. For instance, I might come in, use it a bit to get email, browse the internet, run some apps, etc. Then later my wife might pick it up and want to do the same thing, but use her email and browser settings, etc.
How is that handled in Android?
/Tom (Chimp)
hi,
in the windows world we would call that profiles, as far a i know this doesn't exist (yet?) at the operating system level. I would love to have it.
Firefox mobile has a 'mobile profiles' addon but it didn't work correctly for me.
I could switch account but not switch back.
cheers
monki-magic said:
hi,
in the windows world we would call that profiles, as far a i know this doesn't exist (yet?) at the operating system level. I would love to have it.
Firefox mobile has a 'mobile profiles' addon but it didn't work correctly for me.
I could switch account but not switch back.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crap... so we are saying any Android tablet is basically a one-user tablet? It's weird that Google would build it that way...
SimpTheChimp said:
Crap... so we are saying any Android tablet is basically a one-user tablet? It's weird that Google would build it that way...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Especially considering Linux has no issue supporting multiple users.
Well, shucks, I guess I won't be getting a tablet. I don't feel like buying two of them...
I found out that even the iPad is the same way! Bad design for tablets, Google and Apple. (Although I love my Android phone - that was why I was looking at the Acer tablet!)
Provided you're not having an affair, and email would be the main thing you'd want compartmentalized, you could just use two different email apps or no?
The current state of tablet OS's is really smartphones writ large. They're (again, currently) very personal electronics. There are a handful of Windows-based tablets which should support multiple user profiles etc, but they tend to suffer from GUIs intended for larger monitors & smaller pointers (single pixel precision mice and/or stylus.)
While linux certainly has no problem with simultaneous users, much less multiple profiles, keep in mind we're dealing with systems which have problems dealing with expandable memory (again, only at this time.) At least Android has SD card support without an external add-on.
Given enough feedback from users, eventually tablet OS makers will design in multiple user profiles, probably starting with apps & profiles loaded off memory cards or from "the cloud". But I wouldn't honestly expect it to happen until tablets became very thin internet clients.
For now the tablet market is still very much in an early adoption phase, no one's really sure of the "final" shape of tablets and their usage at this time, but coming at them from a "more portable laptop" design goal could lead to what you're looking for.
TLDR: Not yet aside from Windows tablets but eventually, maybe
This could be an interesting dev project for someone. Isn't it just a case of having an app that would remount /data depending on the selected user? Granted root would be required for it to work but it certainly sounds feasible.
I certainly don't have the time or skill to do this myself, but I will throw this around in the dev forum to see what people with actual skill and knowledge of Android/Linux think.
I saw something about multiple user handling.... It is in a "how to" document posted by L.t.r. consulting. (I'm to new on XDA to be allowed to post outside links, so you have to Google it)
It is made for the Nook Color device but could be at god starting point.
Email should be no problem. The stock Email client will allow you to link to multiple Email accounts, so as long as both have individual Email accounts, they can read them seperately. They would not be able to keep each other out of thier Email since it is in the same client. Also, if they use WEB mail, they can then read thier mail without allowing the other on thier account. As for browsing, I believe that some of the browsers allow grouping of links, so each could setup thier own group with thier own links.
This might be the answer until multi accounts are added natively to the tablets.
http://www.enterproid.com/index.html
I use my Iconia together with my wife and I just set up an extra gmail account so she can read her mail alongside mine. It's important not to want to hide anything from eachother in such a setup though. I also found a twitterclient that allows to setup multiple accounts (tweetcaster). So, in the end it's doable but not practical.
There is an issue on the Android bug tracker which you can star to help raise awareness of the lack of multi-user support
(I can't post links which is irritating, but...)
code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=15030
The Viewsonic Tablet has multi-user functionality.
I would have thought it would be stock in all. Maybe it's in a custom ROM. I'll gop look.
dan
SimpTheChimp said:
Well, shucks, I guess I won't be getting a tablet. I don't feel like buying two of them...
I found out that even the iPad is the same way! Bad design for tablets, Google and Apple. (Although I love my Android phone - that was why I was looking at the Acer tablet!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, there is an aplication called Switch Me, here in xda in the themes forum, is in beta fase but it makes what youre looking for, an they need testers so I think you need to give a try on this.
Ehm.. Hello.. I am Ahmed Nefzaoui.. I am a Mozilla Community member.. From Tunisia.. and a Mozilla Official Representative.
No one denies Firefox OS needs more Apps.. OR let's say needs more well performing Apps.. That's what I am aiming at making true.. Or making part of it true.. That is why I am asking around:
What Apps do you want to see on Firefox OS marketplace? Maybe the question should be: What apps you miss from Android or iOS that you want in Firefox OS?
Please list as many Apps as possible. Thanx!
A SSH client
Well, I am a sysadmin, not a developer.
Try port FirefoxSSH to Firefox OS
Calendar and address book app with full caldav and carddav support.
CPU control or something like this
Great ones But to be honest.. I was expecting kind of apps like productivity, utilities, news, weather + some style guides, custom UIs..
Remote desktop to windows machine.
Multimedia apps like NetFlix, Hulu, HBO Go, etc.
Launchers, so you can pick and choose the feel of the phone, etc.
How about "Personal Accounting Software" or like this?
Ahmed Nefzaoui said:
Great ones But to be honest.. I was expecting kind of apps like productivity, utilities, news, weather + some style guides, custom UIs..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about a fully customizable open source (!) dictionary software with full (!) support for StarDict?
Whatsapp. None other needed. I have sent a request to the developers but no response as yet. Rest not that necessary...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Ahmed Nefzaoui said:
Ehm.. Hello.. I am Ahmed Nefzaoui..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im an android user ever since eclair and this apps make me stay on android os:
AIDE (on the Phone IDE and compiler)
AndFTP
AndroPHP (on the Phone PHP/MySQL Server)
Android Assistant (Multi-Purpose Phone Monitoring Tool)
Beats or DSP by CM (Sound Enhancement)
Control Panel for cPanel
Dj Studio
Droid VPN
Expense Manager
Fast Burst Camera
Firefox
FPse
Go SMS
gStrings
Guitar PRO
GameBoid
Genesis
Geroid
GBcoid
Halo/Multiwindow
Instagram
Jbed
Joooid
Link2SD
My Tracks
Mx Player
Nesoid
Nova Launcher
Open Bibles
Opera Mini
PPSSPP
Project NOAH
QuickPIC
Root Explorer
Shadyface
SMS Bomber
Sweep2wake
Titanium BackUP
uTorrent
I was browsing around and saw this thread. Good timing too!
I have been thinking a lot about Firefox OS and how it may be the best hope at open source seeing as how Google is slowly taking backing away from open sourcing and making things rely on their closed APIs.
Anyway, I've given it some thought and I've realized that for Firefox OS to ever succeed, it will really be up to the app developers that choose to port or write apps, and lastly OEMs.
I'm not sure the people got the idea as they're listing forms of apps that are non essential or third party entertainment, that will eventually make its way over once the OS gains numbers.
Netflix, emulators, games ...would be nice but not essential to my mobile device as a productivity device. I would love if all my apps could be ported, but that's being too hopeful.
Bare bones, at the minimum, these are the most essential things:
1) A good simple note taking app. Nothing fancy. Think of AK Notepad or ColorNote
2) An office suite like OfficeSuite by Mobile Systems. & A good PDF reader with annotation support like ezPDF Reader
3) A good ebook reader with multi format support, like Cool Reader or Aldiko
4) A Google Voice dialer app (GrooveIP) + SIP and VOIP capabilities
+ A built-in text/messaging app would beat any third party options
5) A good email and contact system. This is a must have. I want to see easy transfer of Gmail and Outlook contacts + no frills push notifications.
6) An intuitive stocks app. I want to be able to gains / loses and real time prices. Lock screen widget of this would be nice.
7) Maps + Navigation (This a must)
It doesn't have to be Google. Although it would be preferred.
8) News/RSS reader + an app like pocket or read it later. + Podcast support
+ A forums reader like Tapatalk
Bonus...
If you guys could get devs or companies on board...
Dropbox
Pandora
Microsoft's recently released remote desktop or another alternative like Splashtop
Might be moot, but maybe you guys can work together with Adobe to port Flash (I know it's a long shot given they called it quits on mobile)
whatsapp. zello, line,viber hangouts...
Thanks
Share files with a computer through wifi
Offline dictionary
Control PC
VPN
Thanks
---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 AM ----------
SMOKERBUNNY said:
whatsapp. zello, line,viber hangouts...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firefox OS WhatsApp reach before end of year
http://www.movilzona.es/2013/10/04/whatsapp-llegara-firefox-os-antes-de-final-de-ano/
VK, google maps, hangouts, guitar tuner, some country-specific apps like 2gis, yandex.traffic, anybalance.
Ahmed Nefzaoui said:
Ehm.. Hello.. I am Ahmed Nefzaoui.. I am a Mozilla Community member.. From Tunisia.. and a Mozilla Official Representative.
No one denies Firefox OS needs more Apps.. OR let's say needs more well performing Apps.. That's what I am aiming at making true.. Or making part of it true.. That is why I am asking around:
What Apps do you want to see on Firefox OS marketplace? Maybe the question should be: What apps you miss from Android or iOS that you want in Firefox OS?
Please list as many Apps as possible. Thanx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A MUST for me: Spotify
Not so neccesary: Instagram, Netflix, Photoshop Express, maybe Google Music, Snapchat, native Foursquare, Facebook Messenger...
For me the most needed smartphone apps are (not in this order.) : mail clients, chat clients, internet browser, navigation/maps, file manager, ssh/sftp clients, conversation recording (I'm using it very seldom, but it is a quite nice, almost important feature for me.), camera, sms , smart keyboards are quite nice also, notifications, calendar / task planners, video players... That's it I think.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Before to get Apps,we need an Excelent App-Caching(the most important part in such OS) and the best Responsiveness we can get.
About Apps,i think you guys(Mozilla) should do a Campaign to incite/stimulate developers to port their existing apps to Firefos OS(i hope all Packaged apps,at least near all of them)so you won't have the need to code,or other stuff related.
I actually own an Alcatel one Touch Fire..as main phone,and i think this will be very handly,i have this hope in Mozilla.
We need an Official channel directly with the our mother(Mozilla) to have upgrades for our phones,cause carriers are going to do a Bottle-neck effect on our phone software,and to do this ,the best choice is to get prebuilded-builds,probably it's hard but not all the people can follow that loooong Wiki on how-to-build-it-your-self.
Take the idea to implement Node-Js,i think it will be helpful this guy already doing something http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2374160
As Google and the others company,Mozilla need to do simple way to take care of his Users
about apps: OpenVpn,SSH,PC-remote controlling(i'm thinking about a Gnome-Mozilla Collaboration
If you ask me, Firefox has had "apps" almost from the beginning. They are called "addons" (or, before that, extensions) and they handled all sorts of tasks which, prior to that, had only been possible as standalone applications on your desktop.
So consider my disappointment in finding out that all these addons are gone from the Firefox OS browser. They cannot be installed, as far as I can tell. There is not even any Adblock Plus. To me, this is insane, because the addons are the Firefox browser's greatest strength. Can someone explain this to me?
Graphic calculator will be a nice addition
Screen dimmer/ color editor (to make it look more green or red or anything)
adblock?
Hei Azuz !did you read this?
we all replyed to you,can you show to us a conversation about you and this topic to Mozilla?
I just got a Shield TV, and I love it. I'm probably going to root it tonight to tinker further.
One issue I have with it is how annoying it is to configure, side-load apps, upload files to, etc. I'd love to have a web console for it, and I'm willing to do most/all of the heavy lifting for the front-end and server-side web development perspective. I'm going to need help on other fronts, however.
I'm a full-stack web developer. Most of what I've done professionally is PHP, but I'm not married to that. I'm also pretty good at configuring apache/nginx/ha-proxy/etc. Though once upon a time, I wrote front-end applications in Java and C++, that's ancient history, and I don't really have time to re-learn those skills and the Android SDK. Also, I'm not much of a designer, so unless I'm just using a pretty stock framework like Bootstrap, I'll need someone else to provide the art.
What I'm envisioning is an app that we can have in the play store that has a very simple UI to:
- install an SSH server
- install bash
- install web server/app server
- install DDNS client
- launch server on boot
- check server for new versions of the software it installed
Stuff I want the web interface to do:
- install/uninstall apps (file submission, URLs, etc.)
- 1-click installs of common things people want (Kodi, Amazon Prime Video, etc.)
- start/stop sshd
- manage mounting/unmounting NFS/AFS/CIFS/etc. shares (is this even possible on Android?)
- restart the device
- configure most settings on the device, including some hidden stuff
- file management
So, what I can do:
- script the download/install/upgrade of stuff on already rooted box in bash
- write back-end web code in PHP, Python, or Go
- write HTML/CSS/JS for front-end
What I need help with:
- writing the Android TV app to trigger the install script
- some help understanding/bootstrapping the process (what's installed by default on Android? What's the minimum we can get away with? Do we need Python?)
- someone to design the app (honestly, this can wait until we've got a baseline functionality if we like)
Anyone interested in joining me?
I'm leaning towards Go for the web app, because the binary can (in theory) be deployed standalone, and can be its own web server, obviating the need for apache or nginx or whatever. Also, performance and memory utilization -- PHP and Python are fairly expensive to run, and this is a really minor background thing.
This would be open source on Github.
While I unfortunately don't have a machine to helpwith code, nor the time for the code, I thought I'd give you a dev/modders look on the possibility/dificulty of things. Please don't think that I am discredditing this idea, in fact, I like it. Just want to passibly help you consider dev order and dificulty oy each item as listed, and hopefully add my own as others may have interest.
- install/uninstall apps (file submission, URLs, etc.) <-- Would be pretty easy. Users should provide apks, or you'll need a site that stores a lot of them.
- 1-click installs of common things people want (Kodi, Amazon Prime Video, etc.) <-- Similar to last point. You'll have to have a mirror of updated apks, weather you or another host provides it. You'll probably need a web scraper if going to an external host.
- start/stop sshd <-- I suggest dropbear, even if it's not my cup of tea. It can be easily found in other apps and should find code in open source ones to get you started.
- manage mounting/unmounting NFS/AFS/CIFS/etc. shares (is this even possible on Android?) <-- can be done. Check Kodi or other open source apps for code, though there are usually caviats to each approach. Luckly Android has fuse in most kernels these days.
- restart the device <-- Very easy
- configure most settings on the device, including some hidden stuff <-- Gonna be a long process, but you can probably reverse engeneer the apks and parse the XML files for a shortcut.
- file management <-- Super easy. Use the ssh server, or adb connection.
Over all, I think a lot of this is possible. Luckly these machines have the beef for a web server, and several are ported last I checked, though they may be out of date. Even still, check their codebase for a massive head start as they are mostly required to keep open source by licence (Apache excluded, though some still are). I would also suggest these features as they would be somewhat easy to imprement once the base file management is started, and would broaden the scope to bring in more users, support and interest, and hopefully devs.
-Rom Manager for emulators.
Mass File Renamer based on Filebot (Both are java, so should not be TOO hard to port) as many buy this box for Kodi.
I'll think of more.
I'm not an app dev, though I do rom modding and sometimes porting, and I can offer insite to things, so if you have questions on specifics, please pm me. If I get some free time, and a dev machine, I'll let you know antd get things going in the right direction. May also want to, once this idea is flushed out, post something in a more general android TV/ App Development thread for cleanness and to get devs on board (don't post in dev till there is code to show on github though please.
Something like remix os would be nice, this x1 has a lots of power
Sent from my trltetmo using Tapatalk
This is a great idea. This device is in serious need of developer attention. Im not a dev at all but Ive gotten pretty familiar with this device and Android OS in general, especially after spending so much time digging around trying to make android things happen that apparently were not indended for Android TV. I will be more than happy to be a tester and keep up so as to offer any ideas and some of the ways Ive found to do stuff.
@kdb424 - Thanks for the info. I'm working on a prototype right now. First build is going to list a bunch of stuff from the setting status, and allow you to reboot the device. I'll post the Github repo when I have that.
Great ideas!
There is a tool sorta in development already that does a lot of this (I've mentioned it on the Shield Zone a couple of times)
https://sites.google.com/site/nvidiashieldtvutilityapp/home/
My main needs (personally) is a means to move files to and from and my current solution is a free FTP server that works even when the Shield TV is sleeping.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.ftpserver
... works very well despite having to side load, has a terrible interface, etc. Set and forget. What's great is, I can use my file-manager-on-steroids Directory Opus to manage files since it is a standard FTP connection.
@darkuni - Yeah, I saw that, but I've got no Windows PC's in the house -- 2 Macs, a Chromebook, a Linux server, phones and tablets. I'm an old-school UNIX guy, and Windows doesn't strike my fancy. Plus, it seems like the sort of thing a web app is best for. No need for a fat client.
darkuni said:
Great ideas!
My main needs (personally) is a means to move files to and from and my current solution is a free FTP server that works even when the Shield TV is sleeping.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.ftpserver
... works very well despite having to side load, has a terrible interface, etc. Set and forget. What's great is, I can use my file-manager-on-steroids Directory Opus to manage files since it is a standard FTP connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that I'll give it a go. I use ES file manager currently but it closes the server when you exit the app. Will also try this on a couple of FireTV Sticks I have dotted around the house as Kodi boxes :good: