A company called Bluestacks is trying to do just that. You can download the beta player now. While I could really care less about running an android app on my mac what I do care about is running them on my ipad/iphone and vice versa. Hopefully this is a step towards that.
Website: http://bluestacks.com/bstks_mac.html
Why, why, why do none of your phones have your latest operating systems? While its awesome that you keep upgrading your OS and just released Jellybean yesterday, its kind of pointless since no one will ever get it until its 1-2 years old. I mean look at the current distribution:
Source: http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html
Currently less than 7% of the Android user base has ICS 4.0, their operating system released in December. So 6 months later and only 7% of users have it? And now you are releasing another version? Wow and you released the SDK? Can I develop for the new operating system that no one will have for a year? I am still developing for Android 2.2 because most of your users have 2.2 and 2.3. Get it together Android.
Here are the major updates from the conference:
Nexus tablet will be released mid july. It is 7 inches and will cost $199. Seems like a big iPad/Kindle competitor imo. You can read about the exact specs here
Also, Android 4.1 Jellybean will be released mid july. It will be released on Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Xoom. You can read about the features here but honestly they are just minor updates. I believe that is why we are only going from 4.0.4 to 4.1 rather than to 5.0 at this point.
Here are the rumors from the conference as noted by mashable and floating across the web. I will be posting updates today as the conference unfolds:
My favorite: Jellybean – Android’s newest operating system. I do think its kind of early considering like only 5% of Android users even have ICS. Rumors are the it will be version 4.1 or 5.0
Google Maps – we will see their response to apple dropping them
Nexus tablet – everyone knows this is coming. We just saw a picture of it with Android 4.1 earlier this week.
Those are the big ones. Of course there will be updates to Google+ and some other google products like its new Drive.
Yes, you can build mobile apps in HTML. You do not need to use Java or c-sharp (unless you want a complicated app). There are easier ways for the novice programmer. This is good as my students are not really programmers at all, we are designers:) So you can build standard native apps in HTML. My favorite tool for doing this is PhoneGap. PhoneGap is an opensource software package owned by Adobe. Here is a link to phonegap:
PhoneGap: http://phonegap.com/
Here is a review of PhoneGap and my thoughts on using it in the classroom: https://raypastore.com/wordpress/2012/05/phonegap-building-an-app-and-classroom-use/
Now, what is the advantage of using HTML to create a mobile app? One, its pretty easy and many people already know HTML. You can even use dreamweaver to make the app – although be careful because dreamweaver creates some bad code that might not work well on the mobile device. I really suggest hand coding in HTML5 all mobile apps. But the real advantage is that the apps will work on all mobile devices! You can publish to Apple, Google, MS, and Blackberry. Now in order to do so you need to be a developer for each and publish through them, so for Android its Eclipse and Apple is xcode – and as you read in my review blog post above, that is kind of difficult for the average user. However, for the developer, this is an awesome way to create one app that works on all devices.
One thing I do want to mention here and make sure this point is clear: HTML5 apps are simply not as powerful as apps developed in C-Sharp, Java, or Flash. HTML5 just doesnt have the power. So for simple apps, HTML5 is a great option and the best in my opinion. For a more complicated app that access a database and requires a lot of functionality, I would go a different route.
Just a quick note – there are other options besides phonegap, such as: titatium and genexus. I chose phonegap because they really seem to be the most popular, are opensourced, and now that Adobe owns them, I have a feeling they will be integrated with the next version of dreamweaver and will really own the HTML5 mobile market.
Local Wilmington NC teachers (well really Pender county) are using the website Kickstarter to ask for funding for various technology projects (video game lab) they are doing in schools. I think this is an excellent way to inform the public about what projects we are doing and gives them the opportunity to support various projects in our schools. The website is kickstarter, check it out. To get to the local projects I am speaking of from West Pender Middle’s potential video game lab, visit the Kickstarter page at kickstarter.com/discover. Then, type “Warrior Gaming Lair” in the search field.
Here is a recent newspaper article about the programs in my area asking for funding: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120623/ARTICLES/120629866/1177?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar
Very cool video. Thanks Mashable for showing us this
So what will happen to cell phones when there is wifi everywhere? Here is my prediction: No more cell or data plans from verizon, att, sprint, tmobile, etc. Instead we will buy the devices directly from manufacturers such as Apple, Google, Samsung, HTC, etc and use them just as we are now. I am not quite sure we will actually have phone numbers but may instead use Skype services and simply just use our usernames. If I were skype I would certainly be trying to make sure they are the preferred method of communication when this happens because I am sure both apple and google will promote their video/voice communication services. However since skype is cross platform, it could be the best. But just imagine, no more contracts or monthly fees….it would be awesome!
Finally facebook allows you to edit your comments. This is good as so many times I have deleted my comment and had to rewrite the whole thing because of a spelling mistake:( Well now you can edit your comments. To edit, simply click the little pencil icon on the top right corner of the comment and click edit. Simple as that!
