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Android App Builder
Must-Read Post
A newbie's guide to Android development
William J. Francis covers Android development basics, such as the necessary tools to get started and a typical project hierarchy.
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Continue to test and measure ad performance for your Android app
If you plan to monetize your Android app with advertising, it's wise to continually test and measure which ad networks are performing well for it.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | June 14, 2013, 7:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by ProjectJourneyman
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Add custom transitions to Android alert dialogs
This Android developer demo shows how to replace the associated on and off screen transitions of an alert dialog with your own XML animation set.
Posted by William J. Francis | June 11, 2013, 9:03 PM PDT
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Guide clients to balance trade-offs in app development priorities
Get tips on helping customers make feature requests and prioritization decisions that support the development team in building the best app possible.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | June 5, 2013, 7:44 AM PDT | Latest comment by michellevelasqu
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Using Google's YouTube API in your Android apps
Explore how to embed YouTube videos in your Android apps using Google's new API.
Posted by William J. Francis | June 4, 2013, 9:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Long-term results v. the quick fix in app development
Tim Mackenzie offers mobile developers pointers on when to focus on long-term results for an app and when to opt for the quick fix.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | May 30, 2013, 1:44 PM PDT
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Why Android Studio looks very promising (a hands-on review)
After using the Android Studio Early Access Preview for 48 hours, William J. Francis walks you through the install, some surprises he encountered, and more.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 28, 2013, 4:35 PM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Unit testing Android apps is easy with Robolectric
Robolectric unit tests can verify expected application behavior, saving you the trouble of deploying your Android app to a device or an emulator.
Posted by Jacob Orshalick | May 24, 2013, 11:39 AM PDT
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Android AsyncTask behavior changes you should know
Beginning with Honeycomb, Android changed how it's running the AsyncTasks. Read about a simple fix that preserves the old behavior.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 21, 2013, 2:03 PM PDT
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How app developers can get their pots of gold
There are more ways than ever to create and consume content. This is good news for software developers, who now have even more opportunities to strike it rich.
Posted by Steve Dryall | May 17, 2013, 4:02 AM PDT
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Use Android's AlarmManager to schedule an event
This app development tutorial is the most basic implementation of the powerful Android AlarmManager class.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 14, 2013, 11:53 AM PDT
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Samsung Galaxy S4 stirs questions about Android customization
Can the Android OS be so customizable through fragmentation and app development that it ceases to be Android? Let us know what you think.
Posted by Joseph Parker | May 10, 2013, 11:53 PM PDT | Latest comment by Jennah Barnes
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Android's indeterminate ProgressDialog tutorial
Delve into how to use the Android ProgressDialog class to create a better user experience.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 7, 2013, 1:01 PM PDT
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Ways to make your Android app stand out on Google Play
Here are basic tricks for priming the market before the release of your Android app on Google Play and then for optimizing its presence on the app store once it's ready to download.
Posted by Guest Contributor | May 4, 2013, 10:21 PM PDT
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Android Jelly Bean ate my toast, the sequel: Revenge of the toast
If you miss toast messages in Android 4.2, follow this tutorial to learn how to create your own.
Posted by William J. Francis | April 30, 2013, 8:53 AM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Use Google Play badges to promote your Android apps
Learn an easy and free way to advertise your Android app that's in Google Play by following the steps in this quick tip.
Posted by William J. Francis | April 26, 2013, 10:01 AM PDT | Latest comment by kornett
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Four cloud tools to use for app development
Cloud integrations in app development are becoming more prevalent. If you don't know where to start in terms of tools, read these recommendations.
Posted by Joseph Parker | April 23, 2013, 6:47 AM PDT
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Use Android's chronometer timer widget for your apps
Look at this demonstration of Android's chronometer widget, and see if it's the right tool for the job.
Posted by William J. Francis | April 16, 2013, 7:41 PM PDT
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What Facebook Home might mean for Android developers and Google
The Facebook Home apps suite has some folks scratching their heads. Here's a brief overview of what it is and an explanation of whether it changes anything for Android developers.
Posted by Joseph Parker | April 6, 2013, 6:31 AM PDT | Latest comment by saranya raj
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Android v. iOS guide for newbies
If you're just starting out in app development and trying to choose between the Android or the iOS SDK, this basic guide might be useful.
Posted by Joseph Parker | April 4, 2013, 11:20 AM PDT | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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Corona Cloud introduces new possibilities for app developers
The launch of the Corona Cloud customizable platform and translator is generating talk about what else is possible with such app development tools.
Posted by Joseph Parker | March 27, 2013, 11:15 AM PDT
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Why Android Studio looks very promising (a hands-on review)
After using the Android Studio Early Access Preview for 48 hours, William J. Francis walks you through the install, some surprises he encountered, and more.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 28, 2013, 4:35 PM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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A quick tutorial on coding Android's accelerometer
The accelerometer is a hardware sensor used to detect a shake motion. William Francis shares the accelerometer code that he uses in his Android apps.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 16, 2011, 11:55 PM PDT
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Calling RESTful services from your Android app
Mobile developer William J. Francis demonstrates how easy it is to consume a RESTful service from your Android device.
Posted by William J. Francis | March 20, 2012, 7:55 AM PDT
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A newbie's guide to Android development
William J. Francis covers Android development basics, such as the necessary tools to get started and a typical project hierarchy.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 11, 2012, 8:41 PM PDT | Latest comment by elantech
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Project your Android phone's screen onto a larger display
Learn three ways to get your Android phone display onto a large overhead screen so you can show off your killer app during your next demo or presentation.
Posted by William J. Francis | April 18, 2012, 1:18 PM PDT | Latest comment by meister2681
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App store fees, percentages, and payouts: What developers need to know
Every app store takes a cut of a developer's sales. Find out how much of the earnings usually go to the app store and when you can expect a payment.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | May 7, 2012, 1:03 PM PDT | Latest comment by Andrew Huttle
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The ABCs of Android game development: Prepare the canvas
In the first installment of his five-part app developer series, William J. Francis creates a drawing surface and a framework for controlling and updating the contents of an Android game.
Posted by William J. Francis | February 2, 2013, 9:52 AM PST | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Android's indeterminate ProgressDialog tutorial
Delve into how to use the Android ProgressDialog class to create a better user experience.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 7, 2013, 1:01 PM PDT
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Pros and cons of cross-platform mobile app development tools
If you want to use platforms that allow development for both iOS and Android apps, keep these potential benefits and drawbacks of such tools in mind.
Posted by Joseph Parker | March 15, 2013, 11:58 PM PDT | Latest comment by Cyberience
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Use Android's AlarmManager to schedule an event
This app development tutorial is the most basic implementation of the powerful Android AlarmManager class.
Posted by William J. Francis | May 14, 2013, 11:53 AM PDT
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Use Android's gesture detector to translate a swipe into an event
When developing an Android app, you can use the intuitive Gesture Detector class horizontally, vertically, and diagonally to translate subtle motions into distinct events.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 30, 2012, 1:12 PM PDT
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Show a progress bar in your Android app for a better UX
Users expect mobile apps to be responsive, and when nothing happens, they feel frustrated. Learn how to give users a better experience by adding a progress bar to your Android app.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | March 6, 2013, 11:01 AM PST
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Android v. iOS guide for newbies
If you're just starting out in app development and trying to choose between the Android or the iOS SDK, this basic guide might be useful.
Posted by Joseph Parker | April 4, 2013, 11:20 AM PDT | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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Get started with Android fragments
After purchasing and using a Sony Tablet S, William J. Francis is sold on the idea of Android fragments. His tutorial shows how to create a functional fragment-based UI.
Posted by William J. Francis | March 14, 2012, 10:18 AM PDT | Latest comment by Aexyno
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Samsung Galaxy S4 stirs questions about Android customization
Can the Android OS be so customizable through fragmentation and app development that it ceases to be Android? Let us know what you think.
Posted by Joseph Parker | May 10, 2013, 11:53 PM PDT | Latest comment by Jennah Barnes
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Use Gson to work with JSON in your Android apps
In this Android tutorial, William J. Francis uses Gson to build up a standard Java entity and flatten it into JSON.
Posted by William J. Francis | July 3, 2012, 3:01 PM PDT
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Android's SeekBar your way
Learn how to customize the Android UI SeekBar widget by following this tutorial by mobile developer William Francis.
Posted by William J. Francis | February 14, 2012, 1:08 PM PST
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Working with Android's PopupMenu class
Android's PopupMenu widget takes all of the heavy lifting out of adding popup-like menu functionality in your apps. Here are the basics about PopupMenu.
Posted by William J. Francis | March 21, 2013, 2:42 AM PDT
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How app developers can get their pots of gold
There are more ways than ever to create and consume content. This is good news for software developers, who now have even more opportunities to strike it rich.
Posted by Steve Dryall | May 17, 2013, 4:02 AM PDT
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A dog limps into a saloon: A tutorial on Android's ViewFlipper widget
It can be tough to figure out the Android ViewFlipper widget's sliding in and out animation transitions. William Francis explains how to use the widget in your Android apps.
Posted by William J. Francis | November 1, 2011, 2:07 PM PDT
