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Android App Builder
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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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Get your app ready for Android's global ecosystem
These six tips from developer William Francis will help you make sure your Android app is up to muster in the global ecosystem.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 15, 2011, 8:46 AM PDT
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Dressing up Android buttons
Check out this Android button class tutorial from developer William Francis, who uses minimalistic code to produce the desired effect.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 12, 2011, 1:49 PM PDT
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Poll: How important is a handset to your app testing?
Justin James wants to know how big of a role using a handset plays in your app building process. Let us know by taking this poll.
Posted by Justin James | September 7, 2011, 9:48 AM PDT
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Implementing Google's Cloud to Device Messaging
Kyle Miller assures Android developers that the time it takes to enable Google's powerful Cloud to Device Messaging technology is well worth it.
Posted by Kyle Miller | September 6, 2011, 1:14 PM PDT
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Bite some bits from your bandwidth
Steve Dryall lists five ways that mobile developers can save bandwidth and time in their apps.
Posted by Steve Dryall | September 2, 2011, 11:59 PM PDT
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Eight ways to get more eyeballs on your app
With more than 425,000 apps in the App Store, your creation might get overlooked. Try implementing these methods for attracting more users to your app.
Posted by Steve Dryall | August 31, 2011, 9:48 PM PDT | Latest comment by stewart.noakes@...
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Capture the flag: A tutorial on Android's Canvas class and Touch event handler
Android developer William Francis takes a break from writing business apps and shows how to code a simple electronic game of capture the flag.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 31, 2011, 10:52 AM PDT
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Lodsys targets app developers over patent infringement claims
This is a survival guide for app developers who are in the midst of the Lodsys patent war.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 25, 2011, 1:10 PM PDT | Latest comment by birumut
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Five ways to improve the Windows Phone 7 UIs
If UI design is a stumbling block when you're writing WP7 apps, read a mobile developer's tips on how to make the process easier.
Posted by Justin James | August 24, 2011, 6:27 AM PDT
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Turning The Smurfs into gold without using magic
The Smurfs franchise has been retooled into a cross-media marketing masterpiece that Steve Dryall says represents the future of app marketing.
Posted by Steve Dryall | August 19, 2011, 2:42 PM PDT
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Take advantage of Android's time-saving toggle button
Are you aware that Android has a built-in toggle button? If not, developer William Francis can relate. Now that he knows about this gem, he's offering a three-step tutorial on how to use it.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 16, 2011, 3:29 PM PDT
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Poll: Are you integrating social networking into your mobile apps?
Appcelerator's latest quarterly mobile developer survey has a big focus on social networking and how it fits into mobile apps. Are you integrating social into your apps?
Posted by Justin James | August 15, 2011, 3:28 PM PDT
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Analysis of mobile development approaches
Which mobile development approach fits your needs? If you don't know, read this overview about the possibilities. Also find out which approach Justin James thinks is mobile developers' best bet...
Posted by Justin James | August 13, 2011, 11:54 AM PDT | Latest comment by bradleyj@...
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Three essentials for supporting your deployed apps
Android developer William Francis shares a few things about supporting smartphone apps in the field that he wish he knew from day one.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 10, 2011, 9:42 AM PDT
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First impressions of the jQuery Mobile framework
Kyle Miller calls jQuery Mobile an excellent framework for quickly creating a basic mobile website with minimal effort and styling. jQuery Mobile's pros and cons are outlined.
Posted by Kyle Miller | August 9, 2011, 11:21 AM PDT | Latest comment by westdccs
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There's gold in those hills (or valleys)
In this era of technological evolution, the stakes and the potential profits are high. Find out what every app developer needs to factor into their projects in order to maximize their chances of...
Posted by Steve Telsters | August 5, 2011, 7:02 PM PDT | Latest comment by jcfrivera
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Create your own Android sound board
When his teenager complained of being bored, William Francis seized the opportunity to teach him about programming. Here's the Android tutorial he wrote for his son to try.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 5, 2011, 3:22 PM PDT | Latest comment by lucasleal
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A cross-platform loading screen for mobile Java-enabled devices
Developer Heshan Perera describes how to use the Lightweight User Interface Toolkit for Java ME to create a simple dialog object that serves as a loading screen.
Posted by Heshan Perera | August 1, 2011, 1:56 PM PDT | Latest comment by Heshan Perera
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The challenges of building a cloud-based app
There are many reasons for making your rich app store its data/settings server-side in the cloud. The most compelling reason, in developer Kyle Miller's opinion, is convenience for the end user.
Posted by Kyle Miller | July 29, 2011, 11:30 PM PDT | Latest comment by michael.brim@...
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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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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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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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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
