Android on richardleggett.com

Android Ecosystem: 2008-2018

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:45:55 +0000

Some time in 2018 I realised the Android ecosystem had been around over 10 years and there was more stuff coming out than it was possible to keep up with.

So I thought it’d be fun to draw up a high level map of most things Android developers have come into contact with, in general, since the start. Links to large-sized files are at the end…

Roughly speaking as you move out from the centre you are moving forward in time, although to group some items by theme I bend the rules. The lines represent relationships, though not always direct, and the dotted boxes are things that may no longer be in active use. There are also some 3rd-party honourable mentions in there.

Value Objects in Java with AutoValue and Lombok

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 21:31:13 +0000

In this post I want to discuss the subject of Value Objects, their purpose and some ways of easily implementing them in Java, specifically, although not exclusively, within the context of Android development.

I’ll cover a couple of popular libraries that I’ve tried, namely Project Lombok and AutoValue, how they approach the problem of making value objects easier to create and maintain, plus a few pitfalls.

In computer science, a value object is a small object that represents a simple entity whose equality is not based on identity: i.e. two value objects are equal when they have the same value, not necessarily being the same object. Examples of value objects are objects representing an amount of money or a date range.

Are You OK? App

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 09:19:06 +0000

I’ve just published a companion site for my free app Are You OK?.

The app is aimed at people wishing to regularly check the status of family or friends who may for example live alone and are vulnerable to accidents like a fall in their home, unable to call for help. Something like the reverse of a panic button system; if they don’t press a button every few hours, it sends an SMS message to selected contacts with a call to check in.

Fragments and Activities in Android Apps

Thu, 18 Sep 2014 11:02:31 +0000

UPDATE: 5 years later this post is pretty out of date. Some of it still holds, but it is now possible to better architect primarily “single Activity” apps, especially with the advent of the android Navigation component. For posterity the post below remains…

When asking “should I use a Fragment or Activity?” it’s not always immediately obvious on how you should architect an app.

My advice is try to avoid a single “god” Activity (h/t Eric Burke) that manages navigation between tens of Fragments – it may seem to give you good control over transitions, but it gets messy quickly*.

Registering Your Android App for File Types and Email Attachments

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 20:40:00 +0000

I’ve recently finished work on an app that registers itself as a handler for a given file extension, let’s call it “.mytype”, so if the user attempts to open a file named “file1.mytype” our app would launch and receive an Intent containing the information on the file’s location and its data can be imported. Specifically I wanted this to happen when the user opened an email attachment, as data is shared between users via email attachment for this app.

Seconds Pro for Android

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:31:00 +0000

The latest Android app I’ve been working for Runloop, the hugely successful iOS interval timer Seconds Pro, is now live. Packed with the following features:

• Quickly create timers for interval training, tabata, circuit training
• Save your timers, as many as you need
• Organize Timers into groups
• Text to speech
• Install timers from the timer repository
• Send your timers to your friends
• Full control over every interval
• Assign music to intervals or timers
• Large display
• The choice of personal trainers up and down the country

Getting Started with NFC on Android for .NET Magazine

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:23:00 +0000

A tutorial I wrote for .NET Magazine is now up on their site. This tutorial takes you through the basics of getting NFC working with Android 4.0+ with a “Top Trumps” like demo. It covers both reading and writing data to/from NFC tags, stickers or cards.

Head over to .NET Magazine to read the tutorial!

FanChants for Android

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:29:00 +0000

My latest Android project is now live. This app for FanChants.com provides access to the 20,000 real football chants as sung by fans all over the world. Chants include lyrics and through an in-app-purchase chants can be set as your phone’s ringtone.

View FanChants over at Google Play

Snowball Fight for iOS and Android

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:54:00 +0000

I’m pleased to announce a game we’ve been working on is now out. A collaboration between The Creation Agency and Bitmode (my previous home), we bring you The Great Snowball Fight!

The game is played over Google Maps, launching virtual snowballs at unsuspecting players in order to rank up, earn points and even win prizes from retailers you hit. You can also add buddies, connect via Facebook and receive special powerups.

.NET Mag: User Interface Design for Android Apps

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:42:00 +0000

I recently wrote a tutorial for .NET Magazine covering styling and theming components in Android. This includes how to use resolution independent units so that your UI looks crisp across a wide range of devices and 9-patch images for smooth scaling.

Here’s a link to the article.

Are You OK Made The Finals of The Vodafone Smart Accessibility Awards 2011

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:33:27 +0000

I was absolutely delighted to hear that the app I put together for the Vodafone Smart Accessibility Awards has been made a finalist. The app, “Are You OK” falls under the wellbeing category. If you’re not familar with the awards, the idea is to improve the lives of the elderly or disabled through technology.

Are You OK is a simple app that was inspired by the panic button pendants many elderly use in their homes. The button communicates with a base-station plugged into the phone which contacts an emergency call center and and a voice can be heard over the speakerphone. The problem is these buttons are often left lying around out of reach, and many hours, or at worst days can go by before they get help after something like a fall. On top of this there’s a monthly fee for the service.

Android Workshop at TechHub London 24-25th November 2011

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:49:07 +0000

The Android Workshop is coming to TechHub in London, tickets are now available for Thursday 24th and Friday 25th of November this year. It’s a full 2 day introduction covering a wide range of topics from layouts and widgets to styling and database access, for more info please head over to the site. Sign up fast to guarantee your Early Bird price, or add yourself to the mailing list for future events.

Book Review: Android Wireless Application Development

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:16:40 +0000

I’ve just finished reading through a copy of Android Wireless Application Development (Addison Wesley Developer’s Library, 2010 by Lauren Darcey & Shane Condor). Having read a few books on Android development over the last couple of years, it’s always interesting to see how a book tackles this big, constantly evolving platform. The book covers Android up to version 2.2 and includes access to the online Safari edition which hopefully means they can add a few post-print updates where necessary.

Android Workshop September 2011 at UpdateConf in Brighton

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:53:05 +0000

I’ll be running a 2 day introduction to Android development workshop at UpdateConf in Brighton this September. If you’re looking to get into Android development, this will get you up and running lickety-split. Sign up for updates over at the website and follow the Twitter account @androidws.

If you have any questions about the content anything else, please drop me a comment or tweet.

Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals for Android is Out Now

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:17:30 +0000

Just a quick post to say Zolmo’s latest application is now on the Android Market, and for a limited time at an introductory price. It was a genuine pleasure to work on this, I hope you have a lot of fun cooking great meals with it.

Download Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals from the Android Market.

Android UX Patterns

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:10:18 +0000

I just stumbled across this truly excellent collection of Android UX Pattern wireframes and examples. This is certainly essential reading for anyone starting Android development as the official documentation is somewhat lacking here.
http://www.androidpatterns.com

Using ProGuard with Android

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:14:22 +0000

ProGuard obfuscates and shrinks .apk files, providing some added protection for your app, but you may encounter some problems using it right now, at least with ADT 9 preview 3.

By default ADT creates a proguard.cfg file with every new project, so if you have an existing project just copy it over from a new dummy project. The next step is to enable ProGuard, you do this by adding the following to your default.properties file:

Applications of NFC Chips

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:00:09 +0000

Google recently announced the Nexus S phone, created in partnership with Samsung. This is the latest in the developer phone range, aimed at providing a reference device for the next wave of consumer Android devices running Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread) and higher.

One of the features of this phone is an NFC chip, which is capable of transmitting and reading data at a distance of up to 10cm. It is compatible with existing systems such as RFID tags: tiny, incredibly cheap slithers of componentry able to store information and be embedded in anything from food packaging to stickers.

Speaking: An Introduction to Android

Mon, 17 May 2010 17:01:23 +0000

I’ll be speaking at this month’s London Flash Platform User Group meeting (27th May) on the subject of native Android application development.

The presentation will get you up and running from installing the tools to building and skinning applications.

You can sign up to attend and find out more details here.

UPDATE: Recording here. (Volume is very low, so without external speakers you may have trouble hearing).

Nexus One Review

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:53:04 +0000

I was lucky enough to receive one of the first waves of Nexus One’s (N1) from Google’s direct online shop. Before I go on, the shopping experience was a little too slick IMHO. I signed in with my Gmail account, clicked buy, clicked confirm and it was shipping, if you’ve used Google Checkout before they will likely have your card details and address. You do have 15 mins to cancel the order though. When you see Google’s ever growing list of properties getting together you can see why they are so immensely disruptive.