How To: Building Android Application with easy steps–Part 1

What is Android?

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language.

Below are the steps to prepare the Android environment before really getting into the development:

Step 1. Download Eclipse

1.1 click Eclipse Classic

1.2 save the .zip file and extract it to your preferred location

Step 2. Installing Android SDK

2.1 start eclipse by clicking on the eclipse application extracted as shown in the above image.

2.2 now click on Help->Install New Software… option which will launch the below window:

2.3 now put https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ under “Work with” option and click on Add button.

2.4 type name ‘android’ in the new popup window and click OK

2.5 select All components and click Next

2.6 Click next in the next screen and then select “I Accept the terms…” and click Finish

the new window will popup to start downloading of the SDK ad shown below:

2.7 click OK on any warning message window

2.8 restart the eclipse

2.9. eclipse restart done and a new window shown to select where to install the SDK

select the location and click Finish

2.10 have patience, the installation step will take a while to download Android SDK as well as Google APIs.

Eclipse will now look like this…

2.11 make sure things are installed correctly.

click on Window->Preferences->Android

the details should show what you have just downloaded

Step 3. creating Android device

Android emulator runs on a specific device type. There are lots of android devices available on market.
The AVD Manager (AVD – android virtual device) have almost all of them configured. What you need to do is to create one of them in AVD Manager for your testing purposes. You can always create different device types and test the application before publishing to the android market.

Click on Windows->AVD Manager



Now click on New and fill the device information and click Create Device





At this moment, the eclipse is setup with the Android SDK and it is ready to be used.

Add-On: how to download and install

different version of the Android SDK?

So far we know that SDK version is used in creating the virtual device (using AVD Manager mentioned in Step 3 above). If there is a requirement to test the application on different device, then you need to make sure you have that version of the SDK available in your system. In order to download the new version, do below:

1. click Windows->Android SDK Manager
2. select required packages and then click “Install *** packages…”
3. in the next window, click on “Accept all” and click Install button
it will take a while to download and setup new SDK

In our next tutorial, we will go through the steps and create a sample application from scratch.

put your comments in case you have any questions for me to answer about these steps.

 

reference: http://developer.android.com/index.html

Android website have steps to follow in order to setup the SDK and start using it in eclipse or out of eclipse.

1. Preparing Your Development Computer
2. Downloading the SDK Starter Package
3. Installing the ADT Plugin for Eclipse
4. Adding Platforms and Other Components
    1. Available Components
    2. Recommended Components
5. Exploring the SDK (Optional)
Next Steps
Troubleshooting

See also

1. ADT Plugin for Eclipse


2. Adding SDK Components

How to turn your laptop into Hotspot WiFi

Today I came across a site connectify.me. At first I was surprised on how they have programmed the creation of personal hotspot capability which latest Windows OS provide.

Here is how it looks when the laptop acts as hotspot wifi…

The way Windows supports natively. Sometimes this process could be cumbersome for newbies.

hotspot wifi using windows Vista feature

Here comes the Connectify.me which just automates the process…

 

hotspot wifi using Connectify on windows

 

hope this is a useful information for some of my readers.

Apple iOS5 features

iOS 5 Software Update

This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

Notifications
    ◦    Swipe from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place with Notification Center
    ◦    New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen
    ◦    View notifications from lock screen
    ◦    Slide the notification app icon to the right on the lock screen to go directly to the app

 iMessage
    ◦    Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5 users
    ◦    Track messages with delivery and read receipts
    ◦    Group messaging and secure encryption
    ◦    Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi*

 Newsstand
    ◦    Automatically organizes magazine and newspaper subscriptions on Home Screen
    ◦    Displays the cover of the latest issue
    ◦    Background downloads of new issues
    •    Reminders for managing to do lists
    ◦    Syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook
    ◦    Location-based reminders when you leave or arrive at a location for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4

Built-in support for Twitter
    ◦    Sign-in once in Settings and tweet directly from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube
    ◦    Add location to any tweet
    ◦    View twitter profile pictures and usernames in Contacts
 

Camera improvements for devices with cameras
    ◦    Double click the home button when device is asleep to bring up a camera shortcut on iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
    ◦    Volume Up button to take a picture
    ◦    Optional grid lines to line up shots
    ◦    Pinch to zoom in the preview screen
    ◦    Swipe to camera roll from preview screen
    ◦    Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure, iPad 2 and iPod touch (4th generation) only support exposure lock

Photo improvements for devices with cameras
    ◦    Crop and rotate
    ◦    Red eye removal
    ◦    One tap enhance
    ◦    Organize photos into albums

Mail improvements
    ◦    Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts
    ◦    Indentation control
    ◦    Drag to rearrange names in address fields
    ◦    Flag messages
    ◦    Mass mark messages as flagged, read or unread
    ◦    Customize mail alert sounds
    ◦    S/MIME

Calendar improvements
    ◦    Year view on iPad and new Week view for iPhone and iPod touch
    ◦    Tap to create an event
    ◦    View and add event attachments

Game Center improvements
    ◦    Use personal photos for your Game Center account
    ◦    Compare your overall achievement scores with your friends
    ◦    Find new Game Center friends with friend recommendations and friends of friends
    ◦    Discover new games with custom game recommendations

AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S

Multitasking Gestures for iPad
    ◦    Use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen
    ◦    Swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar
    ◦    Swipe left or right to switch between apps

On-device setup, activation and configuration with Setup Assistant

Software updates available over the air without tethering

iCloud support
    ◦    iTunes in the Cloud
    ◦    Photo Stream
    ◦    Documents in the Cloud
    ◦    Apps and Books automatic download and purchase history
    ◦    Backup
    ◦    Contacts, Calendar, and Mail
    ◦    Find My iPhone

Redesigned Music app for iPad

Hourly weather forecast

Real-time stock quotes

Wireless sync to iTunes

Keyboard improvements
    ◦    Split keyboard for iPad
    ◦    Improved autocorrection accuracy
    ◦    Improved Chinese and Japanese input
    ◦    New Emoji keyboard
    ◦    Personal dictionary for autocorrection
    ◦    Optionally create keyboard short cuts for frequently used words

Accessibility improvements
    ◦    Option to light LED flash on incoming calls and alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
    ◦    Custom vibration patterns for incoming calls on iPhone
    ◦    New interface for using iOS with mobility-impairment input devices
    ◦    Option to speak a selection of text
    ◦    Custom element labeling for VoiceOver

Exchange ActiveSync improvements
    ◦    Wirelessly sync tasks
    ◦    Mark messages as flagged, read or unread
    ◦    Improved offline support
    ◦    Save a new contact from a GAL service

More than 1,500 new developer APIs

Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:
    •    iPhone 4S
    •    iPhone 4
    •    iPhone 3GS
    •    iPad 2
    •    iPad
    •    iPod touch (4th generation)
    •    iPod touch (3rd generation)

* Normal carrier data rates may apply. Messages will be sent as SMS when iMessage is unavailable, carrier messaging fees apply.

 

via Apple iTunes.

comparing Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color

In our previous post we compared “Apple iPad2 vs Amazon Kindle Fire”. In this post we are

trying to show how Kindle Fire, Nook and iPad2 are compared for Specification and Features.

 

 

via. pcmag.com