One of the most exciting tidbits that’s come out of Google IO is the new development platform for Android developers, called Android Studio.We’ve noticed a fair amount of grumbling around the internets about difficulties using ADT with Eclipse in terms of stability, and there has been an almost audible sigh of relief in the many Android developer forums across the globe in reaction to the news that Android Studio is now built upon the IntelliJ IDEA IDE.
As with pretty much …
One of the most exciting tidbits that’s come out of Google IO is the new development platform for Android developers, called Android Studio.
We’ve noticed a fair amount of grumbling around the internets about difficulties using ADT with Eclipse in terms of stability, and there has been an almost audible sigh of relief in the many Android developer forums across the globe in reaction to the news that Android Studio is now built upon the IntelliJ IDEA IDE.
As with pretty much anything Google releases, the current version is very much an early preview (read: beta), but it’s already creating quite a buzz.
Some of the features you’ll find in addition to all the IntelliJ goodness that Google is touting include:
- Build support for Gradle
- Android-specific refactoring and quick fixes
- Lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility and other problems
- ProGuard and app-signing capabilities
- Template-based wizards to create common Android designs and components
- A rich layout editor that allows you to drag-and-drop UI components, preview layouts on multiple screen configurations
You’ll be glad to know our Android App Development training course will henceforth offer delegates the opportunity to do all the lovely juicy hands-on coding exercises using Android Studio (while still supporting ADT / Eclipse).
Samsung S4 picture leak?
Just so happens that I’m starting to think about my next phone. That it will be an Android beastie I have no doubt, but there’s a crop of nice hardware that should be released at just about the right time and I’m in that quandrary of what to go for again.
One of theose is the Samsung S4 and just ahead of the announced announcement date of March 14, it looks like some pictures may have already leaked out
Here’s one of’em:
Just so happens that I’m starting to think about my next phone. That it will be an Android beastie I have no doubt, but there’s a crop of nice hardware that should be released at just about the right time and I’m in that quandrary of what to go for again.
One of theose is the Samsung S4 and just ahead of the announced announcement date of March 14, it looks like some pictures may have already leaked out
Here’s one of’em:
To be honest it looks rather like an S3, but the rumoured specs (8-core, 2 Gb RAM, 13 megapixel camera and a slew of hands-free gesture / recognition features) would definitely mark it as a solid upgrade.
I’m also weighing up the Xperia Z and the HTC One though.
Choices choices!
Ubuntu for Tablet
I love the Nexus 10, it’s a fantastic Android tablet and the Jellybean-based AOKP Rom I’m running on it is swee-eet.
But I’m also a bit of a penguin-lover. Not a full-on “I only run Linux” person, I’ve got plenty of love for my Windows boxes too, and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an iPad. But I’ve got a special place in my heart for Ubuntu for its ability to breathe life into older kit (through variant distros such as Xubuntu) and one of my daily drivers is running Linux Mint 14 very nicely.
So the question is, will I …
I love the Nexus 10, it’s a fantastic Android tablet and the Jellybean-based AOKP Rom I’m running on it is swee-eet.
But I’m also a bit of a penguin-lover. Not a full-on “I only run Linux” person, I’ve got plenty of love for my Windows boxes too, and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an iPad. But I’ve got a special place in my heart for Ubuntu for its ability to breathe life into older kit (through variant distros such as Xubuntu) and one of my daily drivers is running Linux Mint 14 very nicely.
So the question is, will I jump on the Ubuntu boat when they release their Tablet version tomorrow (if rumours are to be believed)? Apparently the Developer Preview will be available from Feb 21st.
Watch Ubuntu’s head bod Mark Shuttleworth bang on about how sexy it’s going to be:
That does look pretty sexy.
Bored of money? Meet the Vertu Ti…
Vertu Ti – an elite-calibre Android Smartphone aimed at the sort of person who could probably afford to employ someone specifically to carry it around for them. According to Vertu, “The 3.7-inch sapphire crystal screen is the largest ever crafted by Vertu”. Apparently the screen glass is “virtually scratchproof, it has been tested to be four times stronger than other smartphones.”
If you had a spare £6500, would you buy 11 unlocked Galaxy Note 2′s?
Or maybe a second-hand Subaru Impreza STI tuned to 360hp?
…Or maybe even a garage?
What you really want is a Vertu Ti smartphone.
It’s an elite-calibre gadget aimed at the sort of person who could probably afford to employ someone specifically to carry it around for them.
According to Vertu, “The 3.7-inch sapphire crystal screen is the largest ever crafted by Vertu”.
Apparently the screen glass is “virtually scratchproof, it has been tested to be four times stronger than other smartphones.” …while the case is constructed and hand-finished in “Grade 5 Titanium”…sounds ideal for supermodel types who don’t want to ruin their personal communication device while vehemently getting their point across.
Pay attention Bond:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 @ 1.7GHz
- 1GB RAM
- 64GB of on-board storage
- 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera
- Bang & Olufsen soundsystem
- Android 4.0
- Military-grade laser
- Hidden flap for gold sovereigns
- Travel razor and authentic passport printer
Touchy-feely tablet at CES 2013
BBC’s Dave Lee interviews a representative from Tactus who demonstrates “what they believe to be the World’s first tactile touchscreen”. It looks pretty awesome:
Looking forward to seeing how this technology progresses…
Scribbled by Tom
BBC’s Dave Lee interviews a representative from Tactus who demonstrates “what they believe to be the World’s first tactile touchscreen”. It looks pretty awesome:
Looking forward to seeing how this technology progresses…
Scribbled by Tom
Do Robots play with electronic LEGO? Mindstorm EV3
Lego have unveiled their third generation programmable robotics platform at CES this week.
My kids are fortunately approaching the point where I can justifiably buy “Technical Lego” and pretend to myself it’s mainly for them, so I’m VERY excited about this new platform.
Snake Robot with IR sensor and 'intelligent brick'
It’s been nearly 25 years since I last built up my Car Chassis (8860), Bulldozer (856) and others; but the memories are still strong. So far in my parental life we’ve ploughed through Duplo, Police, Star Wars and Harry Potter Lego kits but these have …
Lego have unveiled their third generation programmable robotics platform at CES this week.
My kids are fortunately approaching the point where I can justifiably buy “Technical Lego” and pretend to myself it’s mainly for them, so I’m VERY excited about this new platform.
It’s been nearly 25 years since I last built up my Car Chassis (8860), Bulldozer (856) and others; but the memories are still strong. So far in my parental life we’ve ploughed through Duplo, Police, Star Wars and Harry Potter Lego kits but these have not slaked my thirst for some plastic limited-slip differential action…
The new platform is properly space-age. Previous incarnations of the Lego robotic platform allowed PCs to control the constructions using a simple programming interface, EV3 takes this one step beyond in providing programmable ‘intelligent bricks’ that are built into the construction – this can be programmed directly without using an external device, it can store programs created on a PC or similar device or allow direct remote control.
The ‘intelligent bricks’ are built around an ARM9 processor running Linux with 16MB of flash memory and 64MB of RAM, SD expansion slot, Infra Red sensor and USB, Ethernet and Wireless connectivity.
As before multiple ‘bricks’ can be combined to offer a more sophisticated level of control and behaviour; EXT allows four ‘bricks’ to be daisy-chained; one more than the previous platform.
Another exciting area is that Mindstorm EV3 has support for both iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth connectivity.
There are suggestions that the product will ship from Q3 2013 for a basic price of $399. Early Christmas present for the Framework office perhaps?
Scribbled by Ian
Ubuntu Phone OS is getting closer…
The Ubuntu bods have just made an announcement about their latest mobile project – Ubuntu: the Phone OS.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, with a relatively large user base and a mature ecosystem.
Canonical, the chaps behind Ubuntu, have been eyeing the mobile market for a while now, with overtures in partnership with the likes of Motorola to bring smartphones and desktop computing together (“WebTop” hasn’t really exploded yet but I reckon it’s only a matter of time before people expect to be able to plug monitors, mice and keyboards into their phones).
The Ubuntu bods have just made an announcement about their latest mobile project – Ubuntu: the Phone OS.
While it’s still early days, the tech specs are being bandied about the interent, and essentially Ubuntu will ride somewhat on the coat tails of that other Linux-based OS, Android, by borrowing drivers and suchlike in order to reach current hardware compatibility. Canonical have said though that they won’t be using a Virtual Machine like Android’s Dalvik VM, but allowing code to run directly on the hardware which could potentially give an extra kick of speed.
While Android apps won’t natively run on Ubuntu for Phones, word is that it should be relatively painless to create for existing Linux software using QML which could give the new phone platform a huge wealth of apps, right out the gates.
I’m certainly looking forward to giving this a whirl once flashable ROMs appear, and it will be very interesting to see which phone manufacturors partner up with Canonical to produce brand new handsets designed to make the most of Ubuntu’s capabilities.
Scribbled by Tom
Cyanogenmod 10.1 nightly now available for Nexus 10 (Android 4.2.1)
Smug Proud owners of the fantastically sexy Nexus 10 rejoice, the Cyanogenmod team have made available a pretty usable nightly build of CM10.1 for the N10.
So if like me you get itchy fingers if you haven’t flashed a new ROM in the last 24 hours, go grab it. Don’t forget to back up your current ROM before flashing a new one, and do be aware that your warranty will probably be …
Smug Proud owners of the fantastically sexy Nexus 10 rejoice, the Cyanogenmod team have made available a pretty usable nightly build of CM10.1 for the N10.
So if like me you get itchy fingers if you haven’t flashed a new ROM in the last 24 hours, go grab it. Don’t forget to back up your current ROM before flashing a new one, and do be aware that your warranty will probably be toast as soon as you muck with your custom Recovery and all that jazz.
Flash on!
Google Nexus 10 – first thoughts
Ian’s first thoughts on the new Goodle Nexus 10 Android tablet
Hi all,
Our Nexus 10 16GB Tablets arrived yesterday; the original delivery estimate took us into next week so we were pleasantly surprised to have some boxes to open.
Nice boxes too – decent packaging is a good start and comes as standard with an iPad.
First impressions in the hand were good. Very thin, reasonably light no uncomfortable edges and corners and the rubberised back feels nice and grippy.
After firing it up it took about 15 minutes to synch with my Google account and automatically download my core apps it prompted me to install a system update to Jelly Bean 4.2 which I did – if you’re firing yours up for the first time this week (16th Nov today) you may wish to wait a few days (more on that below!).
A quick web browse with Firefox was a major fail; I once managed a few minutes without a crash but mostly it only took seconds. This is the first 4.2-update related problem which has apparently been solved in the forthcoming Firefox 17 release which should hit the updates on Tuesday 20th November.
Mildly frustrating but surfing with Chrome was very snappy through our 24Mb/Wireless N web connection and the tablet renders text and graphics cleanly and quickly.
As I’d hoped the display is stunning. Completely gorgeous in fact.
I plugged the tablet into my Windows 7 desktop and there was an instant driver match for Nexus 10 which was nice. I uploaded a folder of high-res photos taken with my DSLR.
The image quality is superb, the colours are strong and vivid and the sharpness provided by 300 pixels per square inch is breathtaking. The Jelly Bean gallery app is great for browsing big folders of pictures and seems to offer some pretty sophisticated image editing tools.
I then tried to fire up iPlayer; no deal. The tablet has no flash support so the desktop website doesn’t work and the BBC Media App “is not compatible with your version of Android” (temporary Jelly Bean 4.2 fail number 2). Gah!
The standard Google Play eBook reader looks great in landscape with a double page view. The page-turn animation was good enough to have me flicking backwards and forwards for a minute or two. I couldn’t see an easy way to access a locally-stored folder of eBooks, so fired up FBReader (my usual smartphone eBook app).
FB Reader worked fine as usual but now I’d seen the open-book view of the Google app I felt I was missing out!
A few quick goes on the standard Android games (Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Winds of Steel, Osmosis) showed off the screen well.
In short – lovely hardware, overly new OS, no ground-breaking Android Tablet apps. Great purchase.
Scribbled by Ian
Titanium Backup just got Titaniumer…Update.zip FTW!
My joint-first favourite Android App Titanium Backup (the other being Tasker) was updated with a hugely powerful new feature – you can now create an update.zip containing apps+data, apps only or data only.
My joint-first favourite Android App Titanium Backup (the other being Tasker) was updated with a hugely powerful new feature – you can now create an update.zip containing apps+data, apps only or data only.
If you’re not an obsessive Rom flasher (like me), what this means is you can try out a brand-new version or flavour of the Android operating system on your phone, and before you’ve even loaded up the new ROM for the first time, pretty much all your data can be restored with an absolute minimum of fuss.
Other PRO-version features include:
- User & System apps supported
- Files >150 MB can be uploaded to Dropbox.
- Improved “Overview of app storage use” screen, shows app location & supports refresh / click / long-click.
- Improved fault tolerance for Dropbox upload.
- Fixed failure to un-protect backups on ext2/3/4.
- Winning all the things.
Great update…get it now!
Scribbled by Tom
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