AndroidDevelopers
Latest
Android apps will update while you're using them
Getting locked out of an app while it updates is probably the very definition of a first world problem, but Google is addressing it anyway. The company is introducing a new API for Android that will allow users to continue using apps while an update downloads in the background -- or boot them out of the app when it's a critical update.
Google hopes license sharing will stop Android patent trolls
With over 4,000 different devices released in the last year alone, the Android ecosystem is massive. That kind of scale can lead to a lot of copyright confusion and patent squabbling on the platform, which Google would probably like to avoid in the future. So, to save everyone the licensing headaches and unnecessary lawsuits, Google has just announced PAX -- a short acronym for the long-winded "Android Networked Cross-License Agreement."
Marshmallow debuts in less than one percent of Android devices
Google's latest version of Android, Marshmallow, only started rolling out last month. As such, it shouldn't come as surprise to see that the current adoption numbers for it are extremely low. According to Android's Platform Distribution rates for the month of November, Marshmallow is running on a mere 0.3 percent of "active" devices. The data is collected from signals sent to the Play Store, which helps identify what Android version is on handsets or tablets. Lollipop (5.0 and 5.1), on the other hand, accounts for nearly 26 percent, while Kit Kat (4.4) is the most popular version with about 38 percent of the total. The slow adoption rates for Marshmallow are by no means Google's fault, however, since it is often carriers and manufacturers which fail to keep their phones up to date.
Ice Cream Sandwich takes a bite out of Gingerbread, represents 15.9 percent of Android devices
Two major updates later (three if you count the tablet-exclusive Honeycomb), and Gingerbread is finally starting to falter. According to Google's latest two week survey of devices accessing the Play store, Ice Cream Sandwich is on the rise, filling out 15.9-percent of the Android user base. That's a full five points ahead of Android 4.0's July score, and it's eating into the OS' other flavors: Gingerbread (Android 2.3) dropped by 3.4-percent, Froyo (Android 2.2) by 1.8 and Eclair (Android 2.1) by a meager half a percent. Google's latest confectionery update, Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), made an appearance as well, eking out a shy 0.8-percent of the market. Check out Google's collection of charts for yourself at the source link below or let us know where your devices falls in the comments.
Ice Cream Sandwich consumed by one in ten Android devices
The latest Dashboard numbers for Google's Android operating system have been released. The verdict? One in ten devices is leveraging Ice Cream Sandwich as their mobile OS of choice. The numbers, which are current as of July 2nd, put Gingerbread (Android 2.3) in first place with a 64-percent install base; followed by Froyo (Android 2.2) with 17.3-percent and ICS with 10.6-percent. Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), announced just last week at Google's IO Developer Conference, was not included in this instance of the report (as it is not officially available yet). Hit the source link to view all the stats, and feel free to let us know what Android codebase your handset is rocking via the comments.
Android devs: if you can't use your app with your eyes closed, open them and read this
Google's doing a lot to bolster its Android developers guide at the moment, with fresh design tips we covered yesterday and then a new section on accessibility arriving shortly after. The latter provides a bunch of suggestions on things like minimum button size (48dp or around 9mm), and also explains how to make use of free components like TalkBack, which gives a spoken description of an app's UI, and Eyes-Free Keyboard, which many users find easier than regular touch-to-click. These stock services work best with apps that have been designed with them in mind, so if we were presumptuous enough to command all devs to look at the source link, then we probably would. (Do it. Do it.)
Develop an Android app, get a free Blackberry PlayBook
Still wary of dropping $200 on a BlackBerry Playbook? How does "free" sound? That's what RIM is offering to Android developers today, as part of an overt attempt to spur interest in its App World platform. RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders announced the offer yesterday via Twitter, reminding devs to submit their apps by February 13th in order to qualify. On the one hand, it seems like a great way to push the PlayBook out on the market. On the other, it's sort of sad. Interested parties can find all the tools they need at the coverage link below.
Android Developers ready to hangout on Google+
The mobile ninjas over at Android Developers have announced a new medium for advice, collaboration and training: Google+. The collective will use the social networking site to help developers "meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience." Programming tips, SDK announcements and training offerings are all on the menu, and the group is promising to hold weekly "broadcast office hours" for live Q&A using the Hangouts feature built-in to Google+. Hit the source link to invite the coding co-op into your virtual circle of choice.
Android 4.0, meet your granddad x86
Isn't it nice when different generations get together without bickering? Google's x86 version of Ice Cream Sandwich is finally ready for developers and it promises to do exactly that, by playing happily with Intel and AMD's 33-year-old architecture rather than just those young upstarts from ARM. The union isn't entirely harmonious just yet: Ethernet and camera support won't function, while Wi-Fi, sound and hardware acceleration are currently AMD-only. Devs who remain unfazed by such trifles, however, can download the source code via the links below. [Family photo via Shutterstock]
Developer does the math: only 3.4 million Honeycomb tablets in the wild?
Google's rolling in the dough in no small part due to Android's success in the smartphone market. When it comes to tablets? Eh, not so much. Intrepid developer Al Sutton figures that only 3.4 million Honeycomb devices are currently in use, which pales in comparison to the number of slates sold by the competition in Cupertino. He arrived at the figure using Google's data -- Larry Page said that there are 190 million Android devices out there on yesterday's earnings call, and the Android Developers website shows that only 1.8 percent of 'droids accessing the Android Market during a recent two week period were running Google's tablet OS. Do the math, and that's just 3.42 million tablets running Android 3.x. It's hardly an official figure, but it does indicate that Android's got its work cut out for it the tablet space. That Ice Cream Sandwich better be mighty tasty if the bots from Mountain View are going to grab a bigger chunk of the market.
Lodsys shifts in-app purchasing target to Android devs following Apple response
We figured Apple's firm response to Lodsys earlier this week regarding its claims against iOS devs would prompt the patent holder to move on to its next target, and sure enough, it looks as if said target has been selected. Unfortunately, a group of Android app devs have now found themselves in the Texas-based company's crosshairs, which is citing the same patent infringement that Apple recently addressed, relating specifically to in-app upgrade purchases. As was the case with the last round of letters, Lodsys is demanding licensing fees from small, individual developers, who don't have the resources to fight back. Lodsys appears to be maintaining its trend of ignoring media requests, so we're keeping an eye on the patent troll's blog to see if anyone comes up to the surface to defend this latest round of allegations. In the meantime, plugging your ears while humming and ignoring the mailman might not be such a bad idea... you know, if you do this kind of thing for a living.
Disgruntled Android developer sounds battle cry, rallies troops, demands Market tweaks from Google (updated)
A dude making a living writing Android apps -- who, by all appearances, is an upstanding guy with actual quality software in the Android Market -- is taking Google to task this week for what he calls "unacceptable" treatment. His beef seems to originate from the unexplained pulling of one of his titles -- Rapid Download -- a fact that he discovered not through any sort of communication from Google, it seems, but by the fact that he noticed was no longer making any coin from it. He goes on to say that he was unable to get anyone in Mountain View to explain the situation until his third attempt, at which point he received some unhelpful "generic information" plus a threat tacked on that if he violated the rules again, he'd have all of his titles pulled. For someone whose Market apps are breadwinners, we can imagine that would be a little scary. Long story short, this particular developer decided he wasn't going to take it -- not after paying "over $14,000 in 'service fees'" -- and started a site to get his story public and enlist fellow devs unhappy with the way Google's been treating them. Now, we can't vouch for the accuracy of the guy's story, but if this movement and ones like it gather enough steam, it puts Google in a precarious position; the Market, after all, is the crown jewel in the company's strategy of allowing only approved devices to be the most relevant to consumers. Take away the absolute importance of the Market -- like, say, Amazon is trying to do -- and the power structure starts to shift. Update: If you look at the legacy Market posting for Rapid Download on AndroLib, we can immediately spot at least one thing that's wrong here -- the guy is encouraging users to infringe copyrights right in the product description. Whoops! Sure, Google should be more proactive in letting developers know where they went wrong... but if you don't see the problem in this, you probably have no business being a professional developer -- at least, not one that's claiming ethics on their side. Thanks, everyone!
Google sells out of Nexus Ones for devs, 'working hard' to get more; SLCD not alleviating backorders yet
The Nexus One retail situation has been pretty dire since Google humanely put down its own online store, leaving only paid developers with an easy option to get an unlocked unit (and only an AWS 3G version at that). Now, even that's been taken away -- at least temporarily -- thanks to unexpectedly strong demand that left Google to "blow through the (substantial) initial inventory in almost no time" and run up a backorder with HTC. Interestingly, Google specifically points out that HTC is doing a good job with manufacturing despite the AMOLED shortage, which leads us to wonder whether the SLCD version is shipping in quantity yet -- and considering how the Nexus One and Desire are well into midlife, we wonder whether it makes sense to even bother at this point when we've got next-gen products just around the corner. Good news is that Google still seems committed to getting Nexus Ones back in stock for developers, we just don't know when that's going to happen.
