Develop Bugs

[Q] why do the apps suck...

Im not dogging android im not trying to be a negitive nancy though i know somone will still smack me for it anyway....
(first and for most I DO NOT LIKE APPLE ITS TOO MUCH OF A TRENDY CULT) but they know how to-do some stuff the right way....
why does the android market suck so much I have had the hero now the evo and have LOVED both phones more then you want to know... but i just relized what me and my ipod touch compadrays lack... every week hes like OMG NEW APPZZZ and im like barcode scanner FTW??? or robo defence ftw............
im just estaticly happy we have such a great group of devs*xda-devs* because that makes the whole experience for me at this point because the exciting apps arnt exciting any more.......
if you read nothing else read this(what i want this post to be about) Why arent new apps popping up all the time... it seems like android phone are selling faster then they can keep them on the shelves but we cant seem to get developers to provide me with happs for me to spend my money on?

I am not sure how long you have had your EVO for, but outside of the top Free Apps, there are a few apps of interest, but it really is dependent on you. I will give you a list of what I use and why.
ADB Wireless - Needs no explanation.
Air Control Light - One of the best time wasters and is really addictive.
Album Art Grabber - gets all of your missing album art (Paid for)
Android Mate - a simple way for removal of apps you don't want w/o using ADB
Astro File Manager - have been using this one since G1. Its a good choice between that or ES File manager. (Paid for)
Better Cut - for individual shortcuts and main screen Icons.
Call Block - Needs no explanation.
Carr Matey - Great when your in a huge parking lot to help remember where you left your car.
Chrome to Phone- easy way to send Links/numbers/addresses from your desktop to your phone.
Dialer One- Great dialer replacement. I actually prefer the dialer in CM6 but it is not Sense compatible.
Documents To Go - Great to view Word/Excel and other M$ Docs as well as PDFs (Paid for)
Lets Golf - Great Game (Paid for)
Pandora - A must have. Is more valuable than a FM Radio App.
PhoneMyPC - Great for controlling my PC while I am not home. I can pull up documents on my PC and email them to myself, or turn stuff on, monitor my appt with my web cam and so on.
Solitare - Best game in the world
Robo Defense - Great Time waster
Truphone - VoiP Wifi to Wifi for speaking to my kids in Germany. Free!
Trillian- best IM program ever.
You really have to be in "need" of a program before someone actually designs one to fill that need. So basically your statement is why is there not cool programs. Name some of the programs you want/need, and then someone will tell you what might work for you. Also remember that Apple has 1-2 years on Android, and due to the fact that they only have to program for 1 phone basically, it is a lot simpler not needing to be compatible with 15 different phones.

I have to somewhat agree with you. I came from an iPhone and bought the EVO without even touching an android running phone before. While I do love android - most apps really, really, suck. You just have to find the apps that aren't complete **** - look at it as an adventure.
Thanks for the list above, too.
Oh, and in all my experances of freelance computer work...Overall, Java just sucks.

There's definitely some better apps on iPhone.. I miss my Mafia wars app, haha.. I'd much rather have android though.
Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using XDA app.

Its what your used to. Everyone talks up the iphone apps and they certainly have the most popular ones (biggest market) but I soo prefer android over apple.
My current phone game is alchemy (not available on iphone)

thanks guys
I dont really have any particual needs my "needs" are PEGGLE and apparently zombies vs plants is also an awesome game.... they need to make an idiot proof music loading platform that will also assist me in finding games..... i just get soo sad when i see apps in the iphone/pad/touch marketplace that kicks ass,
I REALLY apreciate the list of games.... i downloaded some stuff off that list and am about to get my game on when i stop writing it....... ok I thought of my one and only true need::::​
Castle Crashers Android
​

Hrshycro said:
Oh, and in all my experances of freelance computer work...Overall, Java just sucks.
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This statement just pisses me off. Java is a powerful cross platform language. I will take it as "like just your opinion man" and move on.

jkinnison90 said:
There's definitely some better apps on iPhone.. I miss my Mafia wars app, haha.. I'd much rather have android though.
Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using XDA app.
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..but there is a Mafia Wars app in the market.

rulermon said:
I dont really have any particual needs my "needs" are PEGGLE and apparently zombies vs plants is also an awesome game.... they need to make an idiot proof music loading platform that will also assist me in finding games..... i just get soo sad when i see apps in the iphone/pad/touch marketplace that kicks ass,
I REALLY apreciate the list of games.... i downloaded some stuff off that list and am about to get my game on when i stop writing it....... ok I thought of my one and only true need::::​
Castle Crashers Android
​
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Is pay 10 bucks easily for cc on android. I don't think I've ever put as many grind hours into a game like I did cc and never will again. Best beatemup ever
All spelling errors thanks to xt9 on my Evo!

fapstick said:
This statement just pisses me off. Java is a powerful cross platform language. I will take it as "like just your opinion man" and move on.
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Java is a powerful cross platform language, but I have to agree that I haven't seen a lot of really blow your mind apps built with it (in the UI department at least. I've seen some amazing programming feats done with it, but UI usually is lacking in Java and Android apps) I think it has a lot to do with Java not being a very nice language to use. I'm having a horrible time learning it compared to other languages I'm working on. Of course I'm a programming noob, but still, C++ is so much easier to learn than Java.
Anyways, it has a lot to do with experience. I don't think a lot of Android programmers are really experienced Java devs, so that could explain some of the lack of appeal in a lot of normal Android apps.
From my own experience, a lot of the big name devs are making some great apps now with great UI's like Nook, Gameloft Games, Tweetdeck, etc. So I think the platform is beginning to mature, but there will always be crappy apps. Personally, I don't mind UI's as long as they aren't a pain to navigate and perform the functions well. Android apps are by far much more useful than their iPhone counterparts because of all the extra access and interoperability they have. If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of apps that build on other apps to get jobs done. Plus the way Android handles background tasks (unlike the iPhone with only allows about 5 different basic services to run) is amazing. There are so many useful things Android apps can do that the iPhone can't even touch when jailbroken.

fapstick said:
This statement just pisses me off. Java is a powerful cross platform language. I will take it as "like just your opinion man" and move on.
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The platform benefit died long ago. Code for it now hardly more portable than C. It's simply rarely used that way as well as having so many branches for a particular platforms extensions. A language is only cross platform if you can actually run or build programs easilyfor multiple platforms. Dalvik really shoots that one down pretty damn fast.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

superlinkx said:
Java is a powerful cross platform language, but I have to agree that I haven't seen a lot of really blow your mind apps built with it (in the UI department at least. I've seen some amazing programming feats done with it, but UI usually is lacking in Java and Android apps) I think it has a lot to do with Java not being a very nice language to use. I'm having a horrible time learning it compared to other languages I'm working on. Of course I'm a programming noob, but still, C++ is so much easier to learn than Java.
Anyways, it has a lot to do with experience. I don't think a lot of Android programmers are really experienced Java devs, so that could explain some of the lack of appeal in a lot of normal Android apps.
From my own experience, a lot of the big name devs are making some great apps now with great UI's like Nook, Gameloft Games, Tweetdeck, etc. So I think the platform is beginning to mature, but there will always be crappy apps. Personally, I don't mind UI's as long as they aren't a pain to navigate and perform the functions well. Android apps are by far much more useful than their iPhone counterparts because of all the extra access and interoperability they have. If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of apps that build on other apps to get jobs done. Plus the way Android handles background tasks (unlike the iPhone with only allows about 5 different basic services to run) is amazing. There are so many useful things Android apps can do that the iPhone can't even touch when jailbroken.
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Exactly my point. Thank you for typing it out. Couldn't have typed it better myself. While Java is powerful, it's buggier than all get out. Everybody I know in the info systems world also hates it. I don't care for it it's really buggy and the UI is usually outdated, confusing and doesn't look good at all - usually.
When I've ran into client's problems, it requires a complete uninstall of it or the multiple installed updates, then reinstalling the newest update, or an older update because what they want to use doesn't work with the newest java update. :| It's especially annoying when they are trying to use two different java related programs and one only works with the newest update and the other one only works with an older update - just makes me day.
I'm not programmer, but why are the apps for android programmed with java? Android is based of linux, right? Are there not other prog langs that work with linux?
Come to think of it: There's not very many products that google has made that are very aesthetically pleasing to look at or use, but they work.

Hrshycro said:
Exactly my point. Thank you for typing it out. Couldn't have typed it better myself. While Java is powerful, it's buggier than all get out. Everybody I know in the info systems world also hates it. I don't care for it it's really buggy and the UI is usually outdated, confusing and doesn't look good at all - usually.
When I've ran into client's problems, it requires a complete uninstall of it or the multiple installed updates, then reinstalling the newest update, or an older update because what they want to use doesn't work with the newest java update. :| It's especially annoying when they are trying to use two different java related programs and one only works with the newest update and the other one only works with an older update - just makes me day.
I'm not programmer, but why are the apps for android programmed with java? Android is based of linux, right? Are there not other prog langs that work with linux?
Come to think of it: There's not very many products that google has made that are very aesthetically pleasing to look at or use, but they work.
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You can code with C or C++ if you use the NDK (Native Dev Kit). Im not sure if you can do the whole app that way or just parts but it just seems more difficult. But I learned java in a highschool class, and despite its failures, its easiest for me to use.

I definitely recommend looking for new apps using App Brain. As long as you're not strictly looking for games, I've found a lot of jewels in there I never would have found in the regular Market app.

The thing that gets me most is not the lack of apps, but the inconsistency among apps.
1. Most apps carry their own theme and UI and does not blend well with the rest of Android.
2. Software updates tend to roll out slower than the iphone counterparts.
3. Resolution of the icons in some apps are blurry looking. Again this is because of differences between the resolution available for Android phones.

xeroxsmm said:
I definitely recommend looking for new apps using App Brain. As long as you're not strictly looking for games, I've found a lot of jewels in there I never would have found in the regular Market app.
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I would agree. There are a lot of bad apps out there but there are some really good ones I found with App Brain.
Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using XDA App

I hadn't clicked on this thread yet because I totally expected some rant about something silly but I have to admit I do completely agree with the OP in that the market is not a good way to find apps. It's the place to GET apps but the "top" lists, paid and free, haven't changed much since I got my Hero last December..
I have never had an iProduct of any sort, and likely never will so I don't have any experience for comparison but I think the android apps are alright, no complaints other than FINDING them..

1. Google's Market needs upgrades, nothing major. Just add more and better ways to find applications. Sad a search giant has had difficulty getting this done.
2. Get AppBrain's application.
3. Android uses a Java flavored language, but not Java or even Java ME. This is why Oracle is foolishly suing Google.

RE #3 - I'm beginning to wonder myself whether they should have used Python or Ruby over Java.

bludragon742 said:
RE #3 - I'm beginning to wonder myself whether they should have used Python or Ruby over Java.
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They aren't using java, thats what he was saying with point 3. Android uses a different language which is similar to java, but not java.
Also java > *. Java is used in phones, cars, sterio systems, tvs, gaming systems, etc..
Try to find a electronic unit where java hasn't been used in

Microsoft Research Touch Studio

I've recently come across the Touch Studio app and I'm loving everything about it so far. The only thing I haven't been able to find is an English forum with ideas and example codes, yes I know most of the code in Touch Studio is still fairly simple and self-explanatory but it would be nice to see what others are managing with it.
I have come across a Swiss site that has a few nice codes and some other awesome stuff. It would be awesome if we could start something like that here. I've now stopped playing in my spare time (sorry devs) and messing around with Touch Studio. This is just another thing that seperates WP7 from the rest, hope MS keeps up the good work.
For those who have never seen Touch Studio before you can find more info here:
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/touchstudio/

So is it a good place for someone who hasn't done any code or programming a good place to start? Can you use what you write for the phone it is on or does it still have to go to marketplace before it can be used and you have to download what you wrote from the marketplace to use it yourself? Answered. Do you have to get a dev permit(or whatever it is called) from MS to use the program at all? Answered.
Sorry just listened to podcast 48 on Social Times and the stuff you write is only on the phone, not sharable currently. So just the first question for anyone that have used it.

I have coded a few apps for personal use on my phone, and I would suggest microsoft visual studio for coding apps for WP7. There are great tutorials on the microsoft app hub website for first-time coders. I cant post links, but search microsoft app hub and have a look around that website. Very helpful

Yeah, as you noted the apps you write are only useable on your phone. But the latest version has an option for you to share the code.
I'm not sure how easy it would be for someone with zero experience. I did some very basic programming in Visual Basic 4 ages ago so I have the basic understanding of the simplest commands (e.g. IF THEN WHILE etc.). I don't think it is that hard to understand and should only take an hour or so to fully grasp the concept. There are some excellent tutorials online as well.

(Why) is TouchStudio no longer downloadable?
meegulthwarp said:
I've recently come across the Touch Studio app and I'm loving everything about it so far.
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Folks, I have been wanting to try out developing some codes ever since I became aware of Touch Studio (a week or so back). Any idea why Touch Studio is NOT downloadable of late? It appears in Zune and you can read the description but no download facility is available. If the information helps - am using HTC Mozart, T-Mobile, based in Germany. Many thanks!

I was able to download it and run it. Using Samsung focus mango beta 7712

@Jason: Thanks Jason; I'll await the official Mango update (no clue when in Germany / T-Mobile); may be it will work out fine automatically thereafter. I got a comment from TouchStudioApp on Facebook: "we are sorry for the inconvenience; please stay tuned for the next update". Have asked them whether it's Mango or the next TouchStudio app they are talking about.

Yeah, I guess they took it offline till Mango, hope they have something exciting in store with the new APIs and such that Mango will bring.

well, i would love to see someone uploading the xap
edit: downloaded touchdevelop

Just recieved an update for TouchStudio it is now called TouchDevelop. Now it is at v2.0. The whole interface has been redesigned, you can now download and post scripts within the app and they have also revamped various other things. Slightly confusing at the moment but will have a look tonight to work the whole thing out.

[Q] Copyright-clean Android?

Is there an Android build for the HTC Touch Pro 2 that has no copyright problems? I downloaded the FRX06 build, but system.ext2 contained some of the apks that Google doesn't allow to be distributed without their permission, e.g., Gmail, Maps and Market. I know I can delete the apks, but (a) I feel bad even downloading something that contains unlicensed copyrighted materials; and (b) I worry whether there are additional unlicensed copyrighted files like various libraries.

I can't answer your question and sorry to go OT, but are you the ar pruss of palm fame?

fortunz said:
I can't answer your question and sorry to go OT, but are you the ar pruss of palm fame?
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Yes, that's me. My Palm TX is aging, and I am considering Android as a development platform. (iOS is not an option--I don't want to develop for a closed device, plus I don't have a Mac.) Specifically, I am thinking of making a decent mid-to-high-end astronomy app--there is nothing in the Android world that is as powerful as the best PalmOS astronomy apps. But before I spend money to buy an Android device, I'd like to try out Android and hence am thinking of booting my wife's HTC Touch Pro 2 into Android. I'm kind of afraid of what a no-stylus interface is like.

Glad to have you around, I used to see your name cropping up everywhere in the old days. As I recall, nvbackup was never topped as THE backup utility to use on garnet.
I'm no dev, but I've been trying out Android on my TP2 as well while waiting for a tilting screen slider to come with android. Really only heard about the closed apk contraversy recently. I suppose there could be a cleaner build somewhere. If no one drops in here, you might have more luck finding out what you need in the android dev sub forum or in the xdandroid chat: http://xdandroid.com/wiki/Chat

[Project] View GeoLocations with Augmented Reality

hello forum people, well basically it’s like the Tittle says, I am currently developing a application that can save GeoLocations, then view them in augmented reality, it’s a school project and i wanted to see if someone else had developed something similar With "Windows phone 7" I’ve been searching allot of examples and stuff to get the main idea, but still not much luck, there are lots of good Android apps (like the ones I’d like to find) to guide myself in developing this app.
Project description.
-Must save geolocations with a desktop application developed in C# with visual Studio 2010.
-Augmented Reality app developed with Visual Studio (WP7), must display the text in the Geolocation with a short description.
little example.
Save a geolocation of a building, in that building there will be a meeting at 8:00 PM, the augmented reality app must show the building, the distance in Meters and the meeting description.
If someone knows of a similar project, or likes the idea post your comments, this is mainly for help, I am a bit stuck in my developing.
Actually I’ve been just testing different types of augmented reality apps and codes.

What about Nokia City Lens?

I cant try this app yet, because in mexico is not yet released. but could be a good Example, cant view the code thou.. =(

rafa8595 said:
I cant try this app yet, because in mexico is not yet released. but could be a good Example, cant view the code thou.. =(
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I'm from Mexico, you can "suscribe" to Nokia Beta Labs (betalabs.nokia.com) and you can get the app.
Sorry if you want some code, it is a Nokia closed project.

rafa8595 said:
hello forum people, well basically it’s like the Tittle says, I am currently developing a application that can save GeoLocations, then view them in augmented reality, it’s a school project and i wanted to see if someone else had developed something similar With "Windows phone 7" I’ve been searching allot of examples and stuff to get the main idea, but still not much luck, there are lots of good Android apps (like the ones I’d like to find) to guide myself in developing this app.
Project description.
-Must save geolocations with a desktop application developed in C# with visual Studio 2010.
-Augmented Reality app developed with Visual Studio (WP7), must display the text in the Geolocation with a short description.
little example.
Save a geolocation of a building, in that building there will be a meeting at 8:00 PM, the augmented reality app must show the building, the distance in Meters and the meeting description.
If someone knows of a similar project, or likes the idea post your comments, this is mainly for help, I am a bit stuck in my developing.
Actually I’ve been just testing different types of augmented reality apps and codes.
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Click to collapse
I can refer you to a little app that the company i am working with, ARLab, developed thanks to our SDKs, it's called ARPicBrowser. It's a bit similar to what you're talking about. It's not the same but it could bring you some insight. It is also open source, which is why i thought it would help you out. Here you can access the source code. By the way, if you're interested in augmented reality development you can check out our SDKs. You might find them useful.

Thanks!
Right now im at school, with the school Desktop PCs I can't test the code, but when i arrived home i will check on this, Thank you.
I just glanced the links you posted, is this only available to IOS & Android? no WP7 support?

rafa8595 said:
Right now im at school, with the school Desktop PCs I can't test the code, but when i arrived home i will check on this, Thank you.
I just glanced the links you posted, is this only available to IOS & Android? no WP7 support?
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Well, this is indeed an android forum XD but in any case, we do not have WP7 support now. It is in our roadmap but we don't have neither a release date nor anything too well planned about it as yet. Sorry

Yelamos said:
Well, this is indeed an android forum XD but in any case, we do not have WP7 support now. It is in our roadmap but we don't have neither a release date nor anything too well planned about it as yet. Sorry
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too bad i thought it had WP7 support because you posted it here, and here is suposed to be the Wp7 Soft Dev place.
Thanks anyway =).

Please explain what porting is. I'm still confused after countless google searches.

I'm called for a job interview this Monday. They need someone to port some programs children play with on the web to Android. It's educational software that looks accessible to children.
My only experience with porting is working with Unity and going back and forth from PC to my Android phones. My problem is I don't know how porting is done exactly.
Let's say I want to port a Java program to Android. Do I have to create a layer of coding around the original Java source code and make it work with Android? Or is it just modifying the original source code to fit the new platform?
I searched multiple forums and countless google searches. I'm going insane. Please help me!
Thank you! :laugh:

Well I guess it depends. Unless you are using a cross-platform framework (e.g. Xamarin), then it would involve re-writing the code in Java.
If you already have some Java back end code (e.g. some servlet implementation), then I would just create an interface to this module and leave it as it is. No point in rewriting working code in a language that already runs on Android (unless your one of these people who can't help themselves and has to refactor everything to death).

i dont think there is much for u to do, if the games are web based, just build a laucher that links to the games, otherwise look for similar games in android version and install them as a package on all phones.
Sent from my U8150 using xda app-developers app