October 1, 2010 - Digital Construction Delivers Another Successful Android Project
October 1, 2010 - Digital Construction completed another
successful Android project, this time re-creating an existing
iPhone application for the Android platform.
After a demonstration the client said: "I really like how you replicated all the functionality of the iPhone App, yet gave the Android version a look and feel that will be comfortable to users familiar with the Android ecosystem".
The application is a tool for members of a national political lobbying organization that puts real time information and content a finger press away.
The application was tested on four physical Android devices, and many virtual devices, including a tablet format. It scales to all form factor sizes and is compatible with all Android platform versions after 1.5, representing 99.9% of Android devices (source: Android Developers Blog, see images below). Most new applications in the Android Market do not support Android 1.5 because backward compatibility is tricky, in this case involving reflection and other advanced techniques to access undocumented libraries. Because 1.5 still represents 10% of Android users we felt it critical to find a way to support that user base, which we did.
The application takes advantage of Android's custom animations, graphic resources, and internet streaming. User data persists between application runs to make the application user friendly. Several User Interface techniques common on the iPhone platform but not on Android were re-created because they provide a more polished feel. User messaging Android guidelines were followed.
The development lifecycle made use of the Android Exerciser Monkey:
The Monkey is a program that runs on your emulator or device and generates pseudo-random streams of user events such as clicks, touches, or gestures, as well as a number of system-level events. You can use the Monkey to stress-test applications that you are developing, in a random yet repeatable manner.
(Source: Android Developer Docs)
Code, documentation, and application files were delivered to the client in late September. Public release of the application is expected later this year.
"Although our primary focus is on our clients in the real estate industry, doing back end architectural work, this was a really fun deep dive into Android application development. The diversity of hardware and platform versions makes Android development a challenge we embrace, and the results in this instance speak for themselves. The application is fast, full featured, and beautiful. In some ways it is better than its sister application on the iPhone!" said Mark Scheel, principal of Digital Construction.
Digital Construction is excited to consult with you about your Android development needs. Contact Us with your project ideas!
After a demonstration the client said: "I really like how you replicated all the functionality of the iPhone App, yet gave the Android version a look and feel that will be comfortable to users familiar with the Android ecosystem".
The application is a tool for members of a national political lobbying organization that puts real time information and content a finger press away.
The application was tested on four physical Android devices, and many virtual devices, including a tablet format. It scales to all form factor sizes and is compatible with all Android platform versions after 1.5, representing 99.9% of Android devices (source: Android Developers Blog, see images below). Most new applications in the Android Market do not support Android 1.5 because backward compatibility is tricky, in this case involving reflection and other advanced techniques to access undocumented libraries. Because 1.5 still represents 10% of Android users we felt it critical to find a way to support that user base, which we did.
The application takes advantage of Android's custom animations, graphic resources, and internet streaming. User data persists between application runs to make the application user friendly. Several User Interface techniques common on the iPhone platform but not on Android were re-created because they provide a more polished feel. User messaging Android guidelines were followed.
The development lifecycle made use of the Android Exerciser Monkey:
The Monkey is a program that runs on your emulator or device and generates pseudo-random streams of user events such as clicks, touches, or gestures, as well as a number of system-level events. You can use the Monkey to stress-test applications that you are developing, in a random yet repeatable manner.
(Source: Android Developer Docs)
Code, documentation, and application files were delivered to the client in late September. Public release of the application is expected later this year.
"Although our primary focus is on our clients in the real estate industry, doing back end architectural work, this was a really fun deep dive into Android application development. The diversity of hardware and platform versions makes Android development a challenge we embrace, and the results in this instance speak for themselves. The application is fast, full featured, and beautiful. In some ways it is better than its sister application on the iPhone!" said Mark Scheel, principal of Digital Construction.
Source note: For historical purposes here are two graphical depictions of Android Platform distribution as of October 1, 2010. Application was tested on a Motorola Cliq (Android 1.5 and 1.6) and HTC Evo (Android 2.1 and 2.2), as well as other physical and virtual devices.
Digital Construction is excited to consult with you about your Android development needs. Contact Us with your project ideas!
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Photo © 2008 Mark Scheel