Posts Tagged ‘Google’
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
So far the main problem of Android application developers has been the fragmentation of applications for various screen resolutions. Now thanks to Google efforts, this problem has been solved. For these purposes, Google has launched the special library – Android Compatibility Package which is available for downloading to all users.
Not so long ago the launch of Fragments API intended for Android 3.0 was announced. The new API interface should have automatically scaled applications according to the screen size of the device, thus, mobile application developers didn’t have to create several versions of one application for the devices with various screens.
The main drawback of Fragments API was the fact that it wasn’t compatible with the Android operating system lower than 3.0. Now the possibility to use API is available for the users with the Android 1.6 operating system and higher.
This innovation is especially up-to-date against the rapid growth in Android devices at the market. As it is expected, the year 2011 will become the year of Android and apart from smartphones, the market will be flooded with the wave of tablets.
As reported, new libraries can be installed using SDK, the standard tool of updating.
Tags: Android, Fragments API, Google, SDK, smartphones
Posted in Mobile Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Android developers have established their own trade union and have stated seven requirements to Google concerning the terms and conditions of cooperating with Android Market.
What do developers want?
- Abolish a 32% tax on applications
- Fix the viewing options: now Android Market can be viewed only in two ways: Most Recent and Top Selling.
- Open bag tracking
- Increase possible ways of payment
- Introduce the clear rules and the description of the appellation process concerning the deletion of the application
- Direct contact with the team of developers of the Android Market
- Transparency of algorithms (since the open source codes of the Market are closed, sometimes it isn’t clear how the search functions have to work, why the application doesn’t always get into the list “Most Recent” and how the list “Featured Apps” is made).
According to the trade union leaders, the execution of these demands will considerably improve the working conditions of mobile application developers as well as restore the ecosystem and provide better conditions for users.
“If the proposed conditions are not satisfied, we’ll move our applications to the alternative platforms and will use other open platforms instead of Android Market. Moreover, we’ll talk other Android developers out of creating Android products and will constantly work on destroying any statements from Google about the openness of this platform”, reported the statement.
Tags: Android developers, Android Market, Google
Posted in Mobile Development | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
Google has launched a web version of its online apps store – Android Market. Now the new service is available at the address market.android.com. There every user can download free or paid mobile applications. But in order to choose and use the resource, you will need to have an account in Google. After choosing the application, you’ll have to select your model of the smartphone or phone where you’d like to install the application.
Of course, the new service is designed well and has a selection according to categories and genres of the offered content. Mobile application developers have got a chance to sell their content inside their applications. The possibility to convert the price of applications into various currencies is an exciting feature as well.
Google confirmed the information that the distribution of paid applications will start in the nearest future via the Android Market service. It means the Android Market will get many new mobile applications which will be characterized not only by high quality but the price as well. As some experts think, the given development of the service will place the Android Market on the same level as the famous App Store from Apple.
Tags: Android Market, App Store, Apple, Google, mobile application developers, mobile applications, paid applications
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Google is still working hard to customize and improve its mobile system – Android OS. Recently, the company released the new version of Android with the number 2.3 and the name Gingerbread and the new version Android 3.0 Honeycomb was also announced. This version (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) will be oriented on tablet computers. 
In particular, at the exhibition CES 2011 the company was talking about the new version of Android OS – Android 2.4 Ice Cream designed for smartphones.
Not so long ago Google released the preliminary version of SDK for Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Just to remind, SDK is a set of components intended for mobile application development. There are many innovations in this latest version but we’d like to mention the support of devices with big screens, new options for creating 2D and 3D effects, the support of multinuclear processors, and the improved support of the Bluetooth technology. You can get acquainted with the full list of ‘innovations’ on the official website of the android developers.
The first devices with the new Android OS should appear in the nearest future.
Tags: Android 2.4 Ice Cream, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Android OS, Google, mobile application development, SDK
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, December 11th, 2010
The device is only a working prototype. The real commercial Chrome OS devices will appear on sale only in the first quarter of 2011. The new device has a 12.1-inch screen and in the presented version it is intended for working at the American market, the mobile operator Verizon Wireless being the WiFi/3G internet provider for this phone. 
The executive director Erick Schmidt said that the given device is not for sale but the company is ready to provide it for testing to various business users.
Google says that the presented model is the quickest netbook: it needs only 3 seconds to download the main parts of the system, and the full download will take 7 seconds. At present even Apple Mac OS can’t boast of such figures.
Schmidt also admitted that the basis of the new system is the Chrome browser and the nucleus Linux. He also said that the number of Google Chrome users has reached 120 mln people.
The company has also announced the opening of the online store for web application developers and users – Chrome Web Store. The store will allow users find, install and buy web applications similar to those that Google offers on its other paid platforms. By its structure and functions, Chrome Web Store will be similar to the Android Market or the Apple App Store. Thus software development companies will have one more chance to sell their applications online.
Tags: Android Market, Apple App Store, Chrome Web Store, Google, Google Chrome
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, November 15th, 2010
In the third quarter of 2010 the volume of smartphones sold has doubled in comparison with the same period of 2009. In general, in July – September about 80.5 mln smartphones were sold, reported the analytical company Gartner. 
The most popular mobile platforms became Symbian, Android and Apple iOS with the figures 36.6, 25.5 and 16.7 per cent correspondingly. At that, the market share of the Google OS Android has increased by seven times.
The analytics from Gartner have conducted the figures according to the general number of sold mobile phones. However, in the third quarter of 2010 about 417 mln new mobile devices were purchased. At this, this figure has increased by 35% for the last year.
The biggest mobile phone manufacturers are Nokia, Samsung and LG. The market share of the Finnish company was 28.2%. All together in July – September more than 117 mln Nokia mobile phones were sold around the world. The figure for Samsung was 71 mln mobile devices.
Tags: Android, Apple iOS, Gartner, Google, LG, Nokia, Samsung, Symbian
Posted in Mobile Development, Success Stories | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Recently more details on the most expected operation system of the autumn Android 3.0 Gingerbread have been released. As it has become known Google decided to enable the VoIP protocol support in the invention and to make available the chat between sessions. The graphical 3D solutions will undergo big changes and they’ll be presented in the new design. The design has been paid much attention to as Google has listened to the critics that in terms of design Android gives way to its competitors (iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian).
According to some magazines, the icon design has been also changed beyond recognition. The main color of the platform is green and the task panel got a grey color, however, orange is still present.
Gingerbread is also known to support the SIP protocol which is required to the popular IP-telephoning. The release date of the Gingerbread hasn’t been announced yet but it is expected to happen in November or December 2010. Although some resources insist that Android 3.0 won’t be released before 2011, we are sure that Google won’t postpone the release of the platform as many mobile application developers have already prepared their devices for the new operating system.
Tags: Android, BlackBerry, Gingerbread, Google, iOS, Symbian
Posted in IT World, Mobile Development | No Comments »
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
The general director of Google, Eric Schmidt, offered Stephen Alop, the director of Nokia, to use the mobile operation system Android on their new devices. According to Schmidt, Android can be a ‘temporary’ solution till Nokia develops its own operation system MeeGo. Nokia is planning to present MeeGo by the end of this year, although there are rumors on the Internet that the company is behind the schedule with releasing this platform. Moreover, yesterday it became known that the director of the Development Department had left the company Nokia.
MeeGo is a mobile operation system based on Linux. The company Nokia promised to show the platform at the end of the year and the devices based on it at the beginning of the next year. However, the analytics think that such devices are not likely to appear till the summer of 2011. Mobile application developers have been creating Android applications for several years already and if Nokia uses this platform, it will win more popularity for its phones.
Tags: Android, Google, Linux, MeeGo, mobile development, Nokia
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
The Internet store Google Android Market where users can download for free or buy applications for their Android smartphones steadily expands the volume of available soft, however, the company is facing tough critics from the side of users and mobile application developers because the paid options of the Android Market are limited.
The analytics say that in comparison with the App Store, in the Android Market only some percent of applications are paid and it scares serious mobile application development companies and developers who got used to getting financial reward from their software. The main problem in realizing the commercial strategy in the Android Market is the fact that only 13 countries can get paid applications from the store: USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland.
The company promises to expand the geography of paid applications availability but the details are not announced. The reliable sources from Google inform that by the end of the year paid applications at the Android Market will work at the other 46 markets.
Tags: Android Market, App Store, Google, smartphones
Posted in Mobile Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
According to the AndroLib site, the users of the online apps store Android Market have downloaded from the store various applications more than a billion times. The counter situated on the site shows that every single moment about one hundred applications are downloaded from the catalogue.
Now more than 93,000 apps for Android are on the Android Market servers. Till the end of the year the number of applications for the mobile platform from Google in the Android Market will exceed 100,000 items. Only in June the range of products in the Android Market increased by 15,000 positions and following the results of July this figure reached 20,000 apps.
Android apps developers from 9 countries intensively add products to the store and according to the present day tendency mobile phone applications development will only grow.
Tags: Android, Android Market, application development, Google, mobile apps
Posted in IT World, Mobile Development | No Comments »
