The new G9 Tablets are coming out Sept 2011. These look very interesting for testing your app builds. They are Wifi but have an available dongle to give you 3G access (has a pay as you go plan if you don't have a contract).
They will be shipped with Android 3.1 with full access to the Android apps store. They are powered by a Texas Instruments Inc. OMAP™ 4 dual-core processor at up to 1.5 GHz. You can get either the Flash or 250 Gb hard drive option. The 8" version starts at $279. The 10.1" version starts at &349.
To get more detailed information, visit the website!
Get started creating Mobile Applications on a shoe string budget with little to no knowledge of how to develop apps. This blog is a diary of how I am going about achieving this task along with software, hardware, online services and gadget reviews.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Culture of Mobility
What is Mobility? Mobility is all about access. Not just devices. It can help gain and retain customers as well as employees. In my case, it can help a great deal with increasing the universities enrollment. Especially as we move on to word wide deployment. As we adapt to how we deliver education to other countries, we must look at what people expect from us. For example, Asia is huge on mobile devices. So we must accommodate these potential students. Generations Y, Z and Millennials grew up with this new technology and expect to use it at work and in an academic setting. They need to be able to bring their mobile device anywhere and everywhere. So having full time access to content is crucial.
Cloud computing is enabling Mobility to grow by increasing speed and quality. The Cloud is Cheaper, Better and Faster than the old Client/Server model. As the cloud network grows and develops, innovation, better design and the use of rich media will increase. This will demand an increase of the power of devices. We, as a people, have already begun to adopt this technology into our everyday lives. Desktop PC users will be far and few between.
Companies that are struggling at implementing this new Mobility concept may be facing a common obstacle. They are lumping it in with IT. Mobility should be it's own department, perhaps led by a Chief Mobility Officer and completely independent of IT and it's leadership. This is because Mobility must deal w/ multiple departments. IT is just one of them. Providing employees with company standard devices may also be a bad decision. The future may lead to companies giving employees a stipend to get the mobile device they want. That way, they are comfortable with the device and use it freely and more often. This would also reduce costs since the devices will not be controlled by the IT dept.
*Bender Consulting
Cloud computing is enabling Mobility to grow by increasing speed and quality. The Cloud is Cheaper, Better and Faster than the old Client/Server model. As the cloud network grows and develops, innovation, better design and the use of rich media will increase. This will demand an increase of the power of devices. We, as a people, have already begun to adopt this technology into our everyday lives. Desktop PC users will be far and few between.
Companies that are struggling at implementing this new Mobility concept may be facing a common obstacle. They are lumping it in with IT. Mobility should be it's own department, perhaps led by a Chief Mobility Officer and completely independent of IT and it's leadership. This is because Mobility must deal w/ multiple departments. IT is just one of them. Providing employees with company standard devices may also be a bad decision. The future may lead to companies giving employees a stipend to get the mobile device they want. That way, they are comfortable with the device and use it freely and more often. This would also reduce costs since the devices will not be controlled by the IT dept.
There are risks however. Currently, 60 million phones are lost or stolen per year. 99% of cell phone data is not backed up and Passwords and Remote Wipe are not a fail safe.* Dealing with security of the devices is may prove difficult. However, storing content on the Cloud may be solution for data backup. Perhaps all data will eventually be stored and streamed from the Cloud, making the device itself worthless to common thief. That is, of course, if the Cloud can be secured.
*Bender Consulting
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Smart Phones...Tablets...What's Next?
Are you trying to decide between the latest smart phone or a state of the art Tablet ( like the Toshiba Tablet )?? Well, there is a 3rd option! If you are one of the people who choose the "follow the middle path," you may like this option. Let me introduce to you the new Kyocera Echo.
Looks like a bulky phone ( not to mention a LOT like a Nintendo DS) but I can see a market for it.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bring Your App Ideas to Life
Whether you're a designer or a developer, this book will help you:
There may be "an app for that," but every app starts as an idea. Ideas can come from anyone-designers or developers, marketing managers or CEOs-and this book is about bringing those ideas to life.
iOS is a remarkable platform, both from a technology standpoint and as a pure business opportunity. With over 10 billion apps downloaded through the iTunes App Store, and over 50 million new iOS devices expected to ship in 2011, no other platform puts big business and individual developers on a level playing field like iOS does. Needless to say, if you have an idea for an app, now is the time to make it happen.
- Create basic user interface elements
- Understand navigation metaphors and practices
- Design for multiple devices
- Customize system UI elements
- Incorporate system-provided and custom animations
- Use touch- and motion-based gestures
- Create UIViews and UIViewControllers using Core Graphics
- Avoid rejection by the iTunes App Store
Bring Your App Ideas to Life
There may be "an app for that," but every app starts as an idea. Ideas can come from anyone-designers or developers, marketing managers or CEOs-and this book is about bringing those ideas to life.
iOS is a remarkable platform, both from a technology standpoint and as a pure business opportunity. With over 10 billion apps downloaded through the iTunes App Store, and over 50 million new iOS devices expected to ship in 2011, no other platform puts big business and individual developers on a level playing field like iOS does. Needless to say, if you have an idea for an app, now is the time to make it happen.
Whether you're a designer or a developer, this book will help you:
iOS is a remarkable platform, both from a technology standpoint and as a pure business opportunity. With over 10 billion apps downloaded through the iTunes App Store, and over 50 million new iOS devices expected to ship in 2011, no other platform puts big business and individual developers on a level playing field like iOS does. Needless to say, if you have an idea for an app, now is the time to make it happen.
Whether you're a designer or a developer, this book will help you:
- Create basic user interface elements
- Understand navigation metaphors and practices
- Design for multiple devices
- Customize system UI elements
- Incorporate system-provided and custom animations
- Use touch- and motion-based gestures
- Create UIViews and UIViewControllers using Core Graphics
- Avoid rejection by the iTunes App Store
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Get your free Amazon Cloud Drive and Player!!!
Get it Here!!
We are excited to introduce Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android. Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloud and play it on any Mac, PC, or Android device wherever they are. All customers start with 5 GB of free storage, and all Amazon MP3 purchases saved to Cloud Drive are stored for free. Right now, customers can upgrade to the 20 GB storage tier for free with the purchase of an Amazon MP3 album.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Google App Inventor: The Basics (Part 2)
Time for the 3rd and final 'basic level' tutorial, MoleMash. In the game MoleMash, a mole pops up at random positions on a playing field, and the player scores points by hitting the mole before it jumps away. This tutorial shows how to build MoleMash as an example of a simple game that uses animation.
This tutorial has less 'hand-holding' for the Designer part. However it is just re-enforcing what you learned in the last few tutorials. This one introduces the use of Sprites.
Next stage, the Blocks Editor, is a little tricky. *Tip> Find the xtra blocks in the Built-In Math menu. The lack of 'hand-holding' on this tutorial is essential. Therefore, I will not post any videos for this tutorial. If you are stuck, just search YouTube. However, I urge you not to cheat :)
Here is the outcome:
This tutorial has less 'hand-holding' for the Designer part. However it is just re-enforcing what you learned in the last few tutorials. This one introduces the use of Sprites.
Next stage, the Blocks Editor, is a little tricky. *Tip> Find the xtra blocks in the Built-In Math menu. The lack of 'hand-holding' on this tutorial is essential. Therefore, I will not post any videos for this tutorial. If you are stuck, just search YouTube. However, I urge you not to cheat :)
Here is the outcome:
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Google App Inventor: The Basics (Part 1)
Now that the intro tutorial is out of the way, it's time to run through the next 3 tutorials. So let's get going with PicCall . PicCall shows how you can use App Inventor to make apps that do actual phone things, like calling friends.
Since I am running an emulator, I will not be able to call anyone. But that's OK.
Done! It was like the intro tutorial w/ more added to it. I couldn't really test it but the emulator did try to 'call' the number I programmed in. On to the next.
PaintPot (Part 1) looks fun! Here are some vids that walk you through the tutorials. I suggest you watch them before you begin.
That was not bad at all! No on to Part 2 of this lesson. This project extends Part 1 of the tutorial to create both large and small dots, as a demonstration of how to use global variables.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Google App Inventor: Getting Started
Well, I decided to spend some time this weekend to take a closer look at Google App Inventor. First, thing to do is check the system requirements. It isn't much really:
Computer and operating system
Macintosh (with Intel processor): Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6
Windows: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
GNU/Linux: Ubuntu 8+, Debian 5+
Browser
Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or higher
Apple Safari 5.0 or higher
Google Chrome 4.0 or higher
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher
You also need to make sure your Java is updated. Before you can use App Inventor, you need to install some software on your computer. The software you need is provided in a package called App Inventor Setup. Follow the instructions for your operating system to do the installation.
Instructions for Mac OS X
Instructions for GNU/Linux
Instructions for Windows
I am installing AppInventor on my wife's laptop. If it runs well on it, it will have no trouble on my PC. I ran the .exe and all went fine. I did notice that there is only an Uninstall feature in my All Programs menu. So this must be browser based (makes sense). I guess it is time for Step 2, which in my case is to set up the emulator. The link for this takes you to a tutorial on building a simple app and provides you with the content.
Okay, the directions were a little messed up. They have the 'screen shots' out of order. So take note. If you are stuck, when you open the AppInventor, click on My Projects, next click New then name your project. Moving on, now I have the Designer page open. First part is creating an image button. Then moving on to the Blocks Editor, this requires a small download. It will then open automatically in a separate window. So far, so
good. This is the stage where you either connect to phone or start the emulator. This took about 1 minute to load up. When done w/ tutorial, in blocks editor, click the connect to device button and select emulator. Takes about a minute to load. Worked though :)
This is basically what you will end learning:
I will move on to the next tutorials later. Have fun!!
Computer and operating system
Macintosh (with Intel processor): Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6
Windows: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
GNU/Linux: Ubuntu 8+, Debian 5+
Browser
Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or higher
Apple Safari 5.0 or higher
Google Chrome 4.0 or higher
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher
You also need to make sure your Java is updated. Before you can use App Inventor, you need to install some software on your computer. The software you need is provided in a package called App Inventor Setup. Follow the instructions for your operating system to do the installation.
Instructions for Mac OS X
Instructions for GNU/Linux
Instructions for Windows
I am installing AppInventor on my wife's laptop. If it runs well on it, it will have no trouble on my PC. I ran the .exe and all went fine. I did notice that there is only an Uninstall feature in my All Programs menu. So this must be browser based (makes sense). I guess it is time for Step 2, which in my case is to set up the emulator. The link for this takes you to a tutorial on building a simple app and provides you with the content.
Okay, the directions were a little messed up. They have the 'screen shots' out of order. So take note. If you are stuck, when you open the AppInventor, click on My Projects, next click New then name your project. Moving on, now I have the Designer page open. First part is creating an image button. Then moving on to the Blocks Editor, this requires a small download. It will then open automatically in a separate window. So far, so
good. This is the stage where you either connect to phone or start the emulator. This took about 1 minute to load up. When done w/ tutorial, in blocks editor, click the connect to device button and select emulator. Takes about a minute to load. Worked though :)
This is basically what you will end learning:
I will move on to the next tutorials later. Have fun!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Getting Started
Okay, I have no smart phone, no money for one either. I have never created a mobile app in my life. Now what?
Well, list my goals, of course :)
Well, list my goals, of course :)
- Obtain Money for smart phone
- Choose the platform you wish to develop for
- Have a phone and mobile plan chosen
- Consider looking into tablets as well
- Get information on what you need to know for platform development and distribution
- Learn the best method, for you, to get your feet wet.
Pretty straight forward, right? I'm sure I am missing a step or two but I will learn that along the way. So how do I achieve these goals? Well, lets start w/ the first one.
Obtain Money
Since I do not wish to get another job and eBay has devalued all my sci-fi collectibles and comics, I must look at my skill set. I have a very strong background in Computer Art, 3D Modeling and Advertising. A freelance advertising gig usually pays well if you can get a long term client. So that is what I will pursue. I actually already have a potential client meeting scheduled for next week. Everyone asks me to build them a website. However, I am NOT a web developer. So I send them away. Now a days, that doesn't matter much for a lot of clients. They want something small and simple that I could pull off with a template. Pretty easy. No coding required. You could do it as well. Just something to throw out there.
While waiting to get going on a freelance 'career', I can get started on the other goals.
Choose the platform you wish to develop for
I am going w/ the Android OS. It is very popular and catching up to the iPhone, cheap and easy to publish to, and most Tablets are using it.
Have a phone and mobile plan chosen
My work offers a discount at Verizon and Sprint. So I picked a cheap plan w/ limited talking minutes but unlimited data use. I can buy my phone at Amazon Wireless for 1 Penny!!! Can't beat that. I really like the R2D2 Android Phone 
Consider looking into tablets as well
I have looked at many tablets. I kept in mind that I did not need mobile plan to test apps on. Plus, there are many that handle WiFi just fine. Some do not, I was originally interested in the Archos 7.1 Internet tablet. After much research, I found it would not be for me. One thing to look at is whether or not you are 'allowed' to test your apps with the device. If it has a straight Android OS, you should be fine. I have my eye on the Toshiba Tablet ;)
Get information on what you need to know for platform development and distribution
First thing I am looking at is the Google App Inventor , You can start to learn this software and develop mobile apps using their app emulator. ( haven't tried it yet but plan to soon ). Another cool service is with AppsGeyser . I could easily take this blog and just convert it to app w/ this service. Did I mention that these services are FREE? There are a lot of books out there as well. For example, here is one for creating apps and
games for the iPhone:Click Here!
Learn the best method, for you, to get your feet wet.
Well, I hate to say it, but I am not that far enough along w/ that to offer any helpful suggestions. All in good time.
In Summery, I plan to move forward with this endeavor and continue to post my findings here. I hope some of you will find it helpful. I know not everyone wanting to create Mobile Apps is an experienced programmer. Don't feel bad, I am in the same boat. Please feel free to contribute to this blog. I appreciate your advice as well.
Obtain Money
Since I do not wish to get another job and eBay has devalued all my sci-fi collectibles and comics, I must look at my skill set. I have a very strong background in Computer Art, 3D Modeling and Advertising. A freelance advertising gig usually pays well if you can get a long term client. So that is what I will pursue. I actually already have a potential client meeting scheduled for next week. Everyone asks me to build them a website. However, I am NOT a web developer. So I send them away. Now a days, that doesn't matter much for a lot of clients. They want something small and simple that I could pull off with a template. Pretty easy. No coding required. You could do it as well. Just something to throw out there.
While waiting to get going on a freelance 'career', I can get started on the other goals.
Choose the platform you wish to develop for
I am going w/ the Android OS. It is very popular and catching up to the iPhone, cheap and easy to publish to, and most Tablets are using it.
Have a phone and mobile plan chosen
My work offers a discount at Verizon and Sprint. So I picked a cheap plan w/ limited talking minutes but unlimited data use. I can buy my phone at Amazon Wireless
for 1 Penny!!! Can't beat that. I really like the R2D2 Android Phone Consider looking into tablets as well
I have looked at many tablets. I kept in mind that I did not need mobile plan to test apps on. Plus, there are many that handle WiFi just fine. Some do not, I was originally interested in the Archos 7.1 Internet tablet. After much research, I found it would not be for me. One thing to look at is whether or not you are 'allowed' to test your apps with the device. If it has a straight Android OS, you should be fine. I have my eye on the Toshiba Tablet ;)
Get information on what you need to know for platform development and distribution
First thing I am looking at is the Google App Inventor , You can start to learn this software and develop mobile apps using their app emulator. ( haven't tried it yet but plan to soon ). Another cool service is with AppsGeyser . I could easily take this blog and just convert it to app w/ this service. Did I mention that these services are FREE? There are a lot of books out there as well. For example, here is one for creating apps and
games for the iPhone:Click Here!
Learn the best method, for you, to get your feet wet.
Well, I hate to say it, but I am not that far enough along w/ that to offer any helpful suggestions. All in good time.
In Summery, I plan to move forward with this endeavor and continue to post my findings here. I hope some of you will find it helpful. I know not everyone wanting to create Mobile Apps is an experienced programmer. Don't feel bad, I am in the same boat. Please feel free to contribute to this blog. I appreciate your advice as well.
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