Found this very cool. Google has released some design tips/guidelines for android developers. While somewhat simple, this is a great start to designing mobile apps. This was created due to differences in their new OS ICS from Gingerbread and Froyo. Now if Google would just release their own developer software so that I wouldnt need to use eclipse:)
Posts Tagged ‘android’
Android Design
Friday, January 13th, 2012Google working on Siri alternative for Android?
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011While Android has had voice recognition since it first came out, it does not have AI like Apple’s SIRI so it comes as no surprise that they would be working on something similar. Just today there are two articles talking about two different ways Google might be doing this.
The first article by droid life says google is working on a siri alternative called Majel. You can read about it here
The second article by mashable says that google recently acquired virtual assistant software called alfred. You can read about it here
Free Android Apps from Amazon.com
Thursday, November 17th, 2011For those of you with Android operated phones. Amazon.com offers a free Android app each day at their website. So check it each day. I have gotten some great free $15+ apps.
Apple’s Siri vs Google’s Android Voice Control
Sunday, November 6th, 2011Apple’s new iPhone 4s introduced voice to phone communication. At first I was not too impressed with this feature as I have a droid 1 that has had voice to phone communication since 2009. However, after reading about SIRI I realized this was a significant step up from Google’s voice commands but in the end would not be a significant deal breaker for me to switch to iPhone.
What can they both do:
text message
Find location on map
Make phone calls
Play music
Web searches
Email
Open the browser
Now where is the difference? The major difference is that Google voice relies on commands like ‘call john smith on cell’. Whereas SIRI relies on natural language such as ‘call my mother on her cell phone’ You can also ask SIRI questions like ‘what are my meetings for the day’ and SIRI will know to look at your calendar. This would be important for people who cannot remember or do not want to remember the commands. This introduction in AI is a significant step in voice communication with the phone and Apple has a slight advantage. However, I should point out that Android does have 3rd party apps that are supposed to do the same thing as SIRI.
A difference in favor of Android is that SIRI does not give text to speech voice directions like Google voice does. You need a 3rd party app for apple to do that. In light of that, there are rumors that Apple will soon have a good GPS system just like android does.
So overall is SIRI a deal breaker? I think it depends what you want. It seems like either way you can make each phone function the same using 3rd party apps (GPS apps for apple, AI apps for android).
I guess the main question is, are you going to talk to your phone?
Here is a good source with more explanation: http://gigaom.com/mobile/speech-smack-down-siri-vs-android-voice-actions/
How do I make my Android phone faster?
Friday, October 28th, 2011Has your phone been getting slower? Does it take a few more seconds than normal get to a screen ie sticks? Well there are a few things you can do make your phone much faster. I recently took my Droid 1 and made it nearly new again. Here are a few simple steps to make your phone fast:
1. Get rid of all apps you do not use
2. Get rid of task killer apps. Android 2.1 and later does NOT need these. They take up and waste memory.
3. Use widgets sparingly. They take up a lot of memory. I actually got rid of all of mine except the google search bar and power setting widget. My weather widget was taking a lot of memory.
4. Power off phone once a week.
5. Take the battery out of the phone once a week.
6. Check to see what apps are running and stop them if you are not using them. To do this go to menu->settings->applications->running services
7. Delete all your texts. Using too much space can bog the phone.
8. Clear your internet cache.
9. If you are really desperate you can do a system reboot. This will wipe the phone clean and you need to reinstall everything. I would only do this if you have the time to reinstall or you are having major phone problems.
Best Android Apps
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Here is my list of android apps that I find most useful:
Advanced task killer – kills all apps that running. helps save memory and battery life
aTrackdog – shows you what apps need to be updated
Barcode scanner – scans bar codes which allows you to download apps and scan bar codes at stores
CardioTrainer – records you walks, runs, and bike rides distance, time, and map
Dropbox – can be used to share files with your desktop
Gdocs – gives you access to your google docs
ringdroid – lets you create your own ring tones from mp3s
RealCalc – a scientific calculator
Google voice – sends me my email via text so i dont have to listen to it.
Additionally I use:
accuweather – weather app and widget
adobe reader – read pdfs
antivirus – protects phone from viruses
coupons – has coupons for stores and even has barcode scanner for register
documents to go – reads word and excel files
goggles – takes a picture of a place and shows you where it is
kindle – lets u read kindle books
places directory – finds restaurants, gas stations, etc
shazam – if a song is on the radio it will tell me what its called and who sings it
voice recorder – makes droid a voice recorder
yellowbook – to look people up
zillow – to look up cost of homes anywhere
pandora – internet radio
of course there are apps that i use a lot that i did not list such as facebook, twitter, gmail, google maps with gps, etc but these are common and actually came with my android 2.1 OS. As far as widgets go, I only have one because they drain a lot of battery. The one i use is the power widget, which allows you to turn power settings on/off if you are using them (wifi, bluetooth, gps, sync, brightness).
All of the apps I have mentioned are free!
