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Android App Builder
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Browse Android's media gallery via intents
Developer William J. Francis digs a little deeper into the Android intent mechanism and shows how to browse, select, and display an existing image on your SD card.
Posted by William J. Francis | October 4, 2012, 6:32 PM PDT
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Linking directly to apps in Android app stores
Expand your Android app's reach by linking to app stores beyond Google Play. Tim Mackenzie covers mutually exclusive linking, custom URI schemes, and more.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | October 3, 2012, 7:31 PM PDT
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Poll: Do you develop Android apps for your enterprise?
Android developers, take this TechRepublic poll to let us know whether you're developing apps for your company.
Posted by Mary Weilage | September 28, 2012, 10:40 AM PDT
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Mobile ad formats for Android apps
Android developer Tim Mackenzie explains the differences between on-screen ads, intermittent content, and out-of-app ads, and discusses what to consider when selecting an ad format for your app.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | September 26, 2012, 6:27 PM PDT
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Indie developer hits number two on Amazon with his first Android app
Francisco Marzoa's first Android app, Luckiest Wheel, is a smash hit in the Amazon Appstore. He shares tips on getting your apps noticed in the market.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 20, 2012, 5:39 AM PDT | Latest comment by petersmith5544
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Support multiple languages in Android apps
Learn how to prepare your Android app for localization so you can offer it in more than one language, which will hopefully increase your user base.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | September 18, 2012, 9:23 AM PDT
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Android Developer Tools 20 introduces a new project wizard
Application templates, naming suggestions, an integrated version of Android Asset Studio, and more are available in Android Developer Tools 20's new project wizard.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 13, 2012, 6:09 AM PDT
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Building a slot machine in Android: ViewFlipper meet gesture detector
William Francis combines Android's ViewFlipper class with the gesture detector to simulate the spinning wheel on a game of chance. Follow the steps or download this fun project.
Posted by William J. Francis | September 7, 2012, 10:57 PM PDT
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Android library projects: Use common code in multiple apps
Android library projects allow you to easily create reusable code and resources. Learn more about library projects, including how to implement and use them.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | September 5, 2012, 3:52 PM 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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Four Android development platforms that will change your life
If you're ready to branch out into Android and build amazing apps, these platforms will save you hours of development work.
Posted by Grady Winston | August 27, 2012, 12:39 PM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Android's camera intent makes taking pics a snap
Learn how to fire up Android's built-in camera app from within your own program and return the resulting picture.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 24, 2012, 10:01 AM PDT
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Simple split-testing for ads in Android apps
Split-tests (or A/B tests) will help you determine which ad settings or ad networks get the most revenue, as well as other things, for your Android app. Here's how to set up a split-test.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | August 22, 2012, 7:07 AM PDT
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Implementation options for Android ads in code or layouts
When setting up Android ad requests, you can do so via the layout files or the code. Read about the advantages of each approach.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | August 20, 2012, 9:59 PM PDT
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Give your Android app users UI customization options
Not much of a UI guy? Then let your Android app users specify a color in your product. William J. Francis explains how in this nerdy proof of concept.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 14, 2012, 11:37 AM 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 | August 13, 2012, 9:44 AM PDT | Latest comment by michellevelasqu
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Android summer fun: Write a screen crack prank
Android developer William J. Francis combines techniques he has shown in several previous tutorials to make a functional screen crack prank.
Posted by William J. Francis | August 9, 2012, 7:41 AM PDT | Latest comment by authorwjf
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Android signing certificates for clients
Learn why Android signing keys are important and what to consider in terms of these keys when building apps for clients.
Posted by Tim Mackenzie | August 4, 2012, 11:30 PM PDT
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Spice up your Android apps with Google's vibrator service
Learn how to use Android's vibrator service to improve your app's UI and cause the device to shake and implement repeating, meaningful patterns.
Posted by William J. Francis | July 31, 2012, 6:24 PM PDT
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Android Jelly Bean makes notifications even fancier
Learn how to use Android Jelly Bean's notification builder class to create impressive notifications that support intents, images, and previews.
Posted by William J. Francis | July 25, 2012, 4:03 PM PDT
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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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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 karla111
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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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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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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 radleym
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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
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Bouncing a ball on Android's canvas
Enterprise app developer William J. Francis has fun with Android's animation classes in his bouncing ball tutorial.
Posted by William J. Francis | October 11, 2012, 11:17 AM PDT
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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
