CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-19 18:26:30 (1 comments, 51 reshares, 82 +1s)

Today’s #AndroidDev #Protip from +Ellie Powers is about understanding your app ratings and the users that post them.

Many developers want to understand how they can improve low user reviews, but don’t know that the Google Play Developer Console provides you with detailed statistics about user reviews.

To access this data, go to the Google Play Developer Console, select the app you’re interested in, and go to the Statistics page. From the menu at the top, choose “Daily average rating” or “Cumulative average rating.”

These graphs allow you to see how your app’s rating varies with the following dimensions: Android version, device, country, language, app version, and carrier. You’ll see the top 10 values for each dimension in the Developer Console UI, plus a big group of “Others.” To see these “Others” who have lower ratings, click “export asCSV.”

When you la... more »

2013-06-19 14:25:44 (10 comments, 106 reshares, 288 +1s)

After a one-day delay, Android Design in Action: Navigation Drawers is just about ready to get started! Tune in now on YouTube.

#AndroidDesign   #ADiA  

2013-06-17 23:08:44 (5 comments, 38 reshares, 129 +1s)

This Week in Android Development is back! +Reto Meier delivers all the Android Development news you need distilled into just over 3 minutes of condensed knowledge.

Link
This Week in Android Development June 17th 2013

2013-06-17 16:32:31 (11 comments, 46 reshares, 98 +1s)

#BizDevBytes  : Google Play for Education

As Google expands its education offering to Android, +Shazia Makhdumi provides an overview of the Google Play for Education program. Developers will learn how the program works and how to leverage the unique business opportunities in creating educational apps for the K-12 market.

To learn more visit developer.android.com/edu


To learn more visit developer.android.com/edu

YoutTube: Introducing Google Play for Education

#androiddev  

2013-06-17 14:43:58 (0 comments, 13 reshares, 32 +1s)

Today’s #AndroidDesign #Protip by +Roman Nurik is about creating assets for different screen densities.

Remember to provide your assets for all UI elements in each major density bucket, including MDPI (160dpi), HDPI (240dpi) and XHDPI (320dpi). If you want the app to look super-sharp on some of the newer devices, you should consider adding XXHDPI (480dpi) resources as well.

Some quick math
Any time you work with on-screen UI elements, it’s important to size them in DIP (or dp) units. To convert between dp and pixels, simply use this formula:

px = dp × density ÷ 160

It’s also helpful to remember the ratio between the different densities.

MDPI : HDPI : XHDPI : XXHDPI = 2 : 3 : 4 : 6

Designing with vector shapes and large artboards
Because you will need to create assets for different screen densities, it isbest to ... more »

2013-06-17 14:43:00 (6 comments, 15 reshares, 54 +1s)

Today’s 60-second #AndroidStudio #Protip from +Roman Nurik is about deploying your app to multiple devices at once.

One of our favorite features from IntelliJ IDEA that has found its way into Android Studio is the ability to deploy your Android app to multiple devices at once. It’s super easy:

1. Connect all your Android devices to your computer. You may need a USB hub if you run out of USB ports.
2. Press Run (Ctrl+R or Shift+F10 in default configurations).
3. Select the devices you want to deploy to in the Chooser dialog and press Run. Hit ⌘+A or Ctrl+A to select them all. If you don’t see the Chooser dialog, you may need to visit Run → Edit Configurations… and set the Target Device option to Show chooser dialog.
4. Watch as your app starts on each of the devices you selected!

And by the way, if you’re using the new Gradle-based build system,remember that... more »

2013-06-17 14:23:56 (28 comments, 188 reshares, 440 +1s)

Today’s 60-second #AndroidStudio #Protip from +Roman Nurik is about deploying your app to multiple devices at once.

One of our favorite features from IntelliJ IDEA that has found its way into Android Studio is the ability to deploy your Android app to multiple devices at once. It’s super easy:

1. Connect all your Android devices to your computer. You may need a USB hub if you run out of USB ports.
2. Press Run (Ctrl+R or Shift+F10 in default configurations).
3. Select the devices you want to deploy to in the Chooser dialog and press Run. Hit ⌘+A or Ctrl+A to select them all. If you don’t see the Chooser dialog, you may need to visit Run → Edit Configurations… and set the Target Device option to Show chooser dialog.
4. Watch as your app starts on each of the devices you selected!

And by the way, if you’re using the new Gradle-based build system,remember that... more »

2013-06-14 20:49:59 (12 comments, 80 reshares, 201 +1s)

+Chet Haase is back with another episode of Devbytes!

#DevBytes : Animating ListView Deletion
Animating changes to ListView items can be tricky, with views getting recycled as the contents of the ListView change. This episode covers one approach to animating swiping of items out of the list and animating the views around that item to close the resulting gap.

An earlier version of this technique was described in the talk "A Moving Experience" at Google I/O 2013: Google I/O 2013 - A Moving Experience

YouTube:
DevBytes: Animating ListView Deletion

Code: http://developer.android.com/shareables/devbytes/ListViewRemovalAnimation.zip

#androiddev  

2013-06-14 20:43:47 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 25 +1s)

Hi Folks - we're experiencing some issues with YouTube, so we're delaying today's premier of DevBytes Backstage until next Thursday.

By way of apology, we'll be posting the DevByte +Chet Haase recorded for this episode later today, and he'll join us next Thursday for an extended animations Q&A; so, keep sending through those questions!

2013-06-14 19:08:25 (19 comments, 78 reshares, 211 +1s)

We've created a community specifically for Android development tools. Join the discussion if you're interested in tools or have questions or tips around Android Studio, the Android eclipse tooling, the emulator, etc.

2013-06-14 19:06:01 (8 comments, 28 reshares, 79 +1s)

We've just released Android Studio 0.1.5. 

Relative to 0.1.3, this release contains only bug fixes and infrastructure work, as well as a merge with the latest IntelliJ 13 development branch.  

(0.1.4 had a blocking bug so we did not release it.)

2013-06-14 17:18:19 (7 comments, 51 reshares, 97 +1s)

Looking for a way to remotely verify your app’s in-app purchases through Google Play? Check out the new Purchase Status API, available to all developers starting today.

The Purchase Status API lets your backend servers query Google Play for the status of your in-app and subscriptions purchases. It's a RESTful API that’s easy to integrate with any standard web stack, and it gives you a powerful way to verify purchase authenticity and improve reporting and reconciliation. 

To get started, set up a project in the Google APIs Console and get a Client ID and shared secret to present when calling API. See the document below for details.

Link: http://developer.android.com/google/play/billing/gp-purchase-status-api.html

#AndroidDev  

2013-06-18 03:51:50 (0 comments, 24 reshares, 139 +1s)

Join +Nick Butcher, +Adam Koch and +Roman Nurik as they discuss various elements of Android Design. This week, members of the Android Design team at Google will do a deep-dive on the new navigation drawer pattern.

2013-06-13 15:05:00 (6 comments, 36 reshares, 116 +1s)

Today’s #AndroidDev #Protip by +Bruno Oliveira is about signing in to your games.

“Okay, I implemented the new Google Play game services API. But… why can't I sign in to my game?” If you're asking yourself that question, read on.

In order to figure out sign-in issues, it helps to have a general understanding of how the sign-in process works. What happens when a user tries to sign in to an Android game? The server needs to figure out these four things:

1. Which game is making the call?
2. Is the game legitimate?
3. Which user is trying to sign in, and are they really who they say they are?
4. Are they allowed to sign in to this game?

The answer to question 1 is just the package name. Say, com.example.foo.

The answer to question 2 involves a two-step process. To determine if that game is legitimate, the serverlooks at... more »

2013-06-13 15:37:54 (57 comments, 137 reshares, 173 +1s)

Today’s #AndroidDesign #Protip by +Roman Nurik is about creating assets for different screen densities.

Remember to provide your assets for all UI elements in each major density bucket, including MDPI (160dpi), HDPI (240dpi) and XHDPI (320dpi). If you want the app to look super-sharp on some of the newer devices, you should consider adding XXHDPI (480dpi) resources as well.

Some quick math
Any time you work with on-screen UI elements, it’s important to size them in DIP (or dp) units. To convert between dp and pixels, simply use this formula:

px = dp × density ÷ 160

It’s also helpful to remember the ratio between the different densities.

MDPI : HDPI : XHDPI : XXHDPI = 2 : 3 : 4 : 6

Designing with vector shapes and large artboards
Because you will need to create assets for different screen densities, it isbest to ... more »

2013-06-13 19:52:46 (6 comments, 6 reshares, 49 +1s)

The first episode in a new series of fireside chats where +Reto Meier and +Ian Ni-Lewis will interview some of your favorite members of the Android team. 

Our first guest this week will be none other than +Chet Haase himself. If you've got questions specifically about Graphics and Animations, Chet will be answering them live on air. Please leave your questions in the comments below, or you can even join the live Hangout that we'll be creating. 

See you then!

2013-06-11 14:14:42 (1 comments, 12 reshares, 36 +1s)

Today’s #AndroidDev #Protip by +Ellie Powers is about uploading and correctly classifying tablet screenshots in your Google Play app listing.

Screenshots are a critical part of your Google Play listing. They play a pivotal role in a user’s decision to install (or not install) your app. And users really want to see how the app will look on their device, so providing the appropriate screenshots is really important too. Tablet users can also filter the apps and games list to show only apps designed for tablets, and you don’t want to be left out of that list, either.

We’ve seen a huge number of developers design their apps for tablets and upload tablet screenshots. If a tablet user doesn’t see a tablet screenshot for your app, they’ll assume it isn’t designed for their device, and will likely move on to one of those other apps while browsing Google Play. 

So makesure to upload ... more »

2013-06-07 16:29:03 (10 comments, 62 reshares, 210 +1s)

+Chet Haase is back with another episode of 
#DevBytes  : Custom Activity Animations

Window animations provide an easy way to animate transitions between activities. The animations can be customized to some extent, but there's only so much interaction between the launching and launched activities that you can take advantage of with the standard window animations.
This episode covers a different technique for fully customizable animations.

This and other animation techniques were discussed in the talk "A Moving Experience" at Google I/O 2013: Google I/O 2013 - A Moving Experience

YouTube:
DevBytes: Custom Activity Animations

Code: http://developer.android.com/shareables/devbytes/ActivityAnimations.zip

#androiddev  

2013-06-06 22:43:40 (102 comments, 276 reshares, 1039 +1s)

We've just released Android Studio 0.1.3 with a number of fixes around Gradle project support, editor support, and user reported crashes.

There is a new toolbar action for syncing Gradle file state with the IDE; source and layout editors now properly handle Gradle flavors and build types, and lint warns and can fix hardcoded packages in custom attribute namespaces.

For more details, see
http://tools.android.com/recent/androidstudio013released

2013-06-06 21:24:12 (4 comments, 71 reshares, 168 +1s)

Developers, take a few minutes to give your Google Play developer account this 8-step checkup. Doing this from time to time will keep your account in good order and help you deliver a more successful product to users.  

LInk: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/06/google-play-developer-8-step-checkup.html

#androiddev

2013-06-05 18:10:25 (7 comments, 20 reshares, 102 +1s)

Bangalore-based developers redBus.in are bringing the sophistication and convenience of air-travel booking to bus transit. Hear how Android is helping them deliver a superior travel experience to millions of daily bus riders in India. 

#androiddev

Video: http://youtu.be/O8i4HUw7JYA

2013-06-04 14:28:07 (25 comments, 71 reshares, 288 +1s)

Android Design in Action: I/O App + Sharing + Fullscreen UIs is starting in just a few minutes!

2013-06-03 17:18:50 (17 comments, 125 reshares, 273 +1s)

Building an Android app and want a quick way to add a cloud backend for your data? Mobile Backend Starter gives you everything you need to rapidly set up a backend for your app, without needing to write any backend code.

Mobile Backend Starter includes a server that stores your data with App Engine and a client library and sample app that make it easy to access that data. You can also add Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), set up continuous queries, and use Google authentication. 

Check out the post below for details.

Link: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/06/bootstrap-your-apps-cloud-services-with.html

#io13

2013-05-31 22:45:19 (4 comments, 24 reshares, 144 +1s)

Join +Nick Butcher, +Adam Koch and +Roman Nurik as they discuss various elements of Android design. This week, we'll highlight some design touches in our very own Google I/O 2013 Android app and do quick deep dives on sharing content on Android and interacting with the system bars in fullscreen UI situations.

2013-05-30 22:25:41 (76 comments, 138 reshares, 372 +1s)

We've just released Android Studio 0.1.2. This releases fixes a couple of critical issues in 0.1.1 along with more fixes to the Gradle integration.

Edit: To install, invoke Help > Check for Update from within Studio.

2013-05-30 19:41:12 (28 comments, 84 reshares, 156 +1s)

The #android plugin for #gradle has been updated to version 0.4.2 with the following changes:

- Fixed incremental support for resource merging.
- Fixed issue where all pngs would be processed in parallel with no limit on the number of thread used, leading to failure to run aapt.
- Fixed ignoreAsset support in aaptOptions
- Added more logging on failure to merge manifests.
- Added flavor names to the TestServer API.

Additionally we have released 2 new SDK components: Android Support Repository, and Google Repository. These components are Maven repositories and the Gradle plugin automatically add them to your list of repositories. They gives you access to the following artifacts:

com.android.support:support-v4:13.0.0
com.android.support:support-v13:13.0.0
com.android.support:gridlayout-v7:13.0.0

and
... more »

2013-05-30 18:24:53 (8 comments, 110 reshares, 124 +1s)

With the excitement of I/O behind us, it's time to sit back, relax, and watch all the sessions we missed during the event. To make that easier, we've collected all the Android sessions together on the Android @ Google I/O 13 page on the Android Developer site.

For more details, and more ways to watch and listen to Android content from I/O, check out this blog:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/05/watch-android-google-io-2013.html

#Android   #IO13   #AndroidDevelopersLive  

2013-05-28 17:20:37 (56 comments, 150 reshares, 546 +1s)

We've just pushed Android Studio 0.1.1, Tools 22.0.1 and ADT 22.0.1.  The ADT update fixes an important bug around library handling as well as Gradle project export.  And the Android Studio update fixes a large number of bugs reported in 0.1. Keep that feedback coming!

We're still heavily working on the Gradle build integration with the IDE. Layout and resource editing is still only enabled for the main resource folder (not the flavor folders yet), but this will hopefully be supported by the next update.

2013-05-28 14:28:23 (15 comments, 49 reshares, 299 +1s)

#AndroidDesign #ADiA #io13  

Android Design in Action: Google I/O 2013 Recap is starting in just a few minutes!

2013-05-24 20:34:16 (61 comments, 69 reshares, 283 +1s)

We have just released version 0.4.1 of our #gradle based build system, fixing a number of issues:

- Renamed 'package' scope to 'apk'. Variants are 'debugApk', 'releaseApk', 'flavor1Apk', etc...
  Fixed an issue that prevented to add package-only dependencies.

- Fixed the APIs to get the list of applicationVariants, libraryVariants, and testVariants which always returned an empty list on 0.4.

- Fixed issue in Proguard where it would complain about duplicate Manifests.

Note that if you are using #AndroidStudio  the New Project Wizard will still create projects using version 0.4, so you'll have to update them to 0.4.1 manually. 

We have also updated the documentation at http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system to match 0.4.1

2013-05-24 19:46:19 (0 comments, 10 reshares, 60 +1s)

Join +Nick Butcher, +Adam Koch and +Roman Nurik as they discuss various elements of Android Design. This week, we'll recap all the Android design-related sessions, labs and news from the Google I/O 2013 conference, held in San Francisco from May 15 to May 17.

2013-05-21 17:33:59 (26 comments, 58 reshares, 308 +1s)

As we did last year, we're making the Android sessions from Google I/O 2013 available for your listening pleasure via the Android Developers Live podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AndroidDevelopersLivePodcast

We'll continue to update the podcast daily with new sessions as we convert them. 

2013-05-20 18:25:50 (52 comments, 480 reshares, 1551 +1s)

There were over 30 #Android  sessions at #IO13 , about half of which where live streamed, but all of which were recorded. Those videos are now available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure - and all have been collected here in this handy playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWz5rJ2EKKc9WGUwq2gQ-coU3fSyexgOx

We've also created a few smaller, more easily digestible playlists including:
Android Design:
 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWz5rJ2EKKc-qVhMuAprIFYFbCotdgJKq
Android Development:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWz5rJ2EKKc9rkwO9yBosRvkQBJd5utmR
Google Play services:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWz5rJ2EKKc_1yoh25u-OilR1YAL_374S
Android Distribution:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWz5rJ2EKKc-1WjgQqL0B4OQtbLfhMlB2

2013-05-17 19:06:45 (3 comments, 14 reshares, 74 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Subscription Billing and Tablet Design

The Evernote team discusses their approach to monetization and how using Google Play billing has significantly reduced customer churn.  They also discuss how focusing on the tablet experience has helped grow their business.

BizDevBytes: Subscription Billing and Tablet Design - Evernote

#io13  

2013-05-17 19:03:32 (3 comments, 11 reshares, 67 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Going Global

+Koh Kim and Yoshitsugu Hirotaka explain how you can expand to Korea and Japan. Learn some pro tips on localizing and publishing your game or app. 

BizDevBytes: Going Global

#io13  

2013-05-17 18:59:31 (2 comments, 12 reshares, 62 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Listening to Users on Google Play

+James Jerlecki of TextPlus discusses how the TextPlus team uses customer feedback in the product development process. Everyone from the engineering to product team at TextPlus monitors feedback to make TextPlus great.

BizDevBytes: Listening to Users on Google Play - Text Plus

#io13  

2013-05-17 18:52:25 (4 comments, 10 reshares, 41 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Keeping Users Engaged and Coming Back

Building great products is key, but to ensure that your users love and actually use them is critical. Kushagra Shrivastava from our marketing team talks about how you can boost engagement and keep users coming back to your product.

BizDevBytes: Keeping Users Engaged and Coming Back

#io13  

2013-05-17 18:40:46 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

If you're still at Google #io13 , make sure you come and try out the simultaneous multiplayer experience on level 3. It's along the far wall next to the Google Play EDU area. 

2013-05-17 18:02:30 (12 comments, 15 reshares, 67 +1s)

At Google I/O we announced some great new features in Google Play to help take control of your app publishing, gain insight into your users, and expand your app’s success globally.

One of the features you'll want to check out is a new Designed for Tablets view of Google Play's top charts. This new view highlights your tablet-optimized app for tablet users, and you can be part of it just by addressing any Tablet Optimization Tips listed for your app in the Developer Console.

Other new features include beta testing and staged rollout, for controlled distribution to users; localization improvements, including being able to purchase translations right from the Developer Console; new analytics and monetization features, including revenue reports in the Developer Console; test purchases for In-app Billing, and more.  

See the postbe... more »

2013-05-17 00:09:49 (14 comments, 74 reshares, 303 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Building a Beautiful Android App

Sam Shank, and Justin Shultz from HotelTonight discuss how they built a beautiful Android app. They share how incorporating Android Design Guidelines and optimizing for tablet devices is helping HotelTonight grow.

BizDevBytes: Building a Beautiful Android App - HotelTonight

#io13  

2013-05-17 00:04:03 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 43 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Responsive Brand Focused Design 

+kate harris and +Farah Assir discuss how re-designing their app to follow the Android design guide led to a more intuitive user experience and drove explosive user growth.They also discuss how the app allows the New York Times brand to shine while adhering to Android design principles.

BizDevBytes: Responsive Brand Focused Design - NY Times

#io13  

2013-05-16 23:56:40 (5 comments, 17 reshares, 93 +1s)

#BizDevBytes : Beyond the Design Guide

+Chris Arvin discusses Expedia's approach to Android design and highlights how additional "nice-ities" in the app experience drive customer loyalty and user growth.

BizDevBytes: Beyond the Design Guide - Expedia

#io13  

2013-05-16 22:07:32 (6 comments, 18 reshares, 148 +1s)

I've just come off stage after presenting my #IO13 session, Android Protips 3: Making Apps Work Like Magic.

The video should be up soon, but in the meantime you can check out the slides along with some notes in this gallery.

Oh, and if you did watch - please take a moment to rate my session and provide some feedback: https://developers.google.com/events/io/sessions/326454327

Hope you all enjoyed it!

2013-05-16 19:21:58 (6 comments, 23 reshares, 138 +1s)

Some of the most exciting Android announcements at Google I/O this year are part of Google Play services release v3.1.

New APIs include the new Google Play games services, updated location APIs, new Google Cloud Messaging features, and Cross-Platform Single Sign-On for Google+.

Google Play services 3.1 is already rolled out to Android devices across the world.

Link: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/05/social-gaming-location-and-more-in.html

2013-05-16 19:48:17 (4 comments, 13 reshares, 122 +1s)

Our second #BizDevBytes  features CEO and Co-Founder of Any.DO +Omer Perchik.

Any.DO has taken user engagement to new heights by deeply integrating with the OS. 

BizDevBytes: Maximizing Engagement - Any.DO

#io13  

2013-05-16 18:47:11 (15 comments, 37 reshares, 188 +1s)

We're very excited to announce a new video series we call #BizDevBytes . 

These short episodes highlight strategies for success with a strong focus on the business side of things.

In our first episode +Kristin George, head of product at TuneIn discusses how you can help drive user engagement with thoughtful design.

BizDevBytes: Driving Engagement with Design - TuneIn 

#io13  

2013-05-15 21:39:40 (25 comments, 14 reshares, 275 +1s)

Hopefully you're all enjoying day one of our live-streamed #IO13 . Don't forget that if you can watch a session, you can provide feedback -- so please rate the sessions you watch to help us create even better IO next year!

https://developers.google.com/events/io/

2013-05-15 21:02:40 (162 comments, 291 reshares, 1000 +1s)

Introducing Android Studio: An IDE built for Android.

Today at Google I/O we announced a new IDE that’s built just for Android, and it’s available now as an early access preview. 

We’ve collaborated with JetBrains, creators of of IntelliJ IDEA, extending the Community Edition.  We’ve customized it for Android developers, from integrating a new build system to adding powerful editing and UI builder features all designed to simplify and optimize your Android app development.

If you’re interested in trying Android Studio, you can download it today for free. The download bundle includes includes everything you need, including the IDE, the latest SDK tools, the latest Android platform, and more.

Link: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/05/android-studio-ide-built-for-android.html

2013-05-15 19:17:23 (178 comments, 736 reshares, 1726 +1s)

#DevBytes :  Android Studio

Earlier today we announced Android Studio. In this #DevByte , +Tor Norbye gives a quick preview of the IDE based on the community edition of IntelliJ. 

More info:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html

2013-05-15 16:47:17 (29 comments, 18 reshares, 68 +1s)

+Ellie Powers revealing new feature for the Google Play Developer Console, including the highly anticipated Beta Testing support.

Optimization tips to learn how you can make your apps more successful.
App translation service to get professional translations directly in the developer console.
Referral tracking to understand the effectiveness of each of your referral channels.
Revenue graphs provide rich graphs on revenue within the developer console.
Beta testing and staged rollouts so you can test your new releases with smaller groups of users.

#IO13   #Android