Another quick Android tutorial. I couldn't find an easy or correct method of launching a browser when you click on a homescreen widget. Well, here it is... public class clickWidget extends AppWidgetProvider { @Override public void onUpdate( Context context, AppWidgetManager appWidgetManager, int[] appWidgetIds ) { RemoteViews remoteViews = new RemoteViews( context.getPackageName(),…
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This is a really geeky app! You know USSD? They're the codes you can type in to your phone to send messages back and forth to the networks. You've probably seen something like *#147# to display the last caller. My second app presents a series of buttons which call the USSD commands - so you don't have to remember if it's the HLR or VLR which is queried by *#103#. Useful, I know.... You can …
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I've been playing around with Android. It's a great platform for development. I really appreciated the speed to release of the Android Market - it's instant. Having worked with iPhone and Ovi stores where approval can take days or even weeks, it's great to have the freedom to publish immediately. The first app I've created is "Advanced Test Card". You can download it by scanning in this QR…
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Once again my wrath is targeted at The Guardian, Barclays and Apple. Three massive companies - each one of whom could have stopped this advertising disaster. Mistake #1 Take a look at this rather charming advert on the Guardian's mobile site. The more astute among you will recognise the problem. I'm being advertised an iPhone game when I'm browsing the site using an Android phone. This is…
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I'm in the process of moving all my contacts from BlackBerry to Android. I've been moving contacts from phone to phone for close to 10 years - but I've never found a problem like this. Getting my contacts from BlackBerry to Google was simple. I exported a VCF of all my contacts from Outlook and imported them to Google. Simplicity. Everything worked. Syncing back to Android was easy - input…
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I was mightily disturbed to receive an email from Google apparently telling me I had purchased a Nexus One phone. Had I been hacked? Had my credit-card details been used to buy a phone? Were Google sending me one for free? Hello! Your new Nexus One phone has many cool and useful features. Learn more by clicking on the links to watch brief YouTube videos directly on your phone: Take…
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ARRRRRGGGGHHHH! Dead BlackBerry Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Due to a crazy taxi driver (are there any other kind) and a violent swerve, my BlackBerry Bold 9000 is no more. Bereft of life, it rusts in pieces, and other such Pythonesque metaphors. Arse. I truly feel like I'm missing an extension to my body. There's a symbiotic relationship which develops between a geek and his phone.…
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Feast your eyes on these beauties. Amarillo Roll is a 3D game in the same style as Super Monkey Ball. You tip your phone to move the armadillo around the course. The graphics are stunning. Reminiscent of early Xbox games. The one thing the photos don't do is convey the speed of gameplay - it's fast! The game is a tech demo from Qualcomm. You can download Armadillo Roll directly from the…
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I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else. It would appear that the mobile version of YouTube now includes links to QR codes, so you can share the video with your friends. I've only seen this using the Android browser, I'm not sure if it's available on other devices. Browsing http://m.youtube.com/ at the bottom is a new link A link to a QR code Clicking on it takes you to a QR code The QR …
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My new gaming addiction is Prime by 59Pixels. The premise is very simple. There are blocks bouncing around the screen. You have a limited number of shots to remove a set number of them. Each shot creates an explosion which, if it touches another block, causes that to explode. This can cause a helpful chain reaction. One of the many wonderful things about this game is how it pits you …
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I'm continually frustrated with Nokia. They make truly excellent hardware but always seem to produce the most disappointing software. The N95 & the N810 are perfect examples of this. Powerful and innovative computers let down by shoddy software. So, when I heard that some clever hackers had ported Google's Android OS to the N810, I leapt at the chance to reinvigorate my sadly neglected…
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[Disclaimer: This event was generously sponsored by Vodafone. I am a Vodafone employee but this post does not reflect the opinions of Vodafone. I helped arrange this sponsorship and am, therefore, highly biased.] A quick review of MobileCampBrighton. Brighton is such a delightful city that it's hard to begrudge it stealing one's Saturday morning lie-in. As I wandered the laines looking for The…
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