Tag Archives: nexus one

The apps on my Nexus One

by Serge Jespers on 04. Jun, 2010 in android

People have asked me which apps I use on my Nexus One quite a few times already so I thought I’d do a blog post on it.

Adobe AIR & Flash Player 10.1
I don’t think this needs too much explanation ;-) Having Flash Player 10.1 in the browser really is a blessing. When breaking news happens I can just open up the browser, browse to my favorite news site, and watch the news videos. When I’d like to play a game, I can just browse to Miniclip, Kongregate or any other casual gaming site and play the game in the browser. If I like the game I can later get the game as a standalone app built on top of the AIR runtime. With AIR on my Nexus One I can use the skills that I already know to build my own apps with ActionScript 3 and use the tools that I’m used to. Love it! If you have an Android device that runs on Eclair or Froyo you can get AIR on your device today! If you have Froyo on your device you can just get Flash Player 10.1 Beta in the Android Market!

Astro File Manager
I love that I have complete control over my file system. Astro helps you manage your files on your SD card, can make backups on the device, shows you which files and folders use the most storage space, and much much more.

Beautiful Widgets
One thing I really like about HTC’s Sense UI is the home screen weather/clock widget. The Nexus One doesn’t have the Sense UI but with Beautiful Widgets I can still have that weather/clock widget. As a frequent traveller I also like that it automatically updates the time and weather to wherever I am based on my GPS coordinates. With just one click on the home widget it shows me a 5-day forecast. It also comes with a bunch of other widgets. Those allow you to quickly change a setting with one click on the widget. I have the “silent”, “plane”, “wifi” and “bluetooth” widget on my second homescreen so I can quickly switch those on or off.

Chroma Circuit
Chroma Circuit is one of the first Flash-based games that was compiled as an AIR for Android application. It is very addictive ;-) Since it is a Flash-based app you can also play this in your browser today. On the Nexus One it takes full advantage of the new multi-touch API available in AIR 2.0 and Flash Player 10.1. (This application is currently only available in private pre-release.)

Photoshop.com Mobile
Want to change the exposure, saturation or contrast on a photo? Maybe add a quick effect or a border around it? Photoshop.com Mobile does exactly that. You simply pick an image from you camera roll, edit it and share it with your friends on Photoshop.com, Twitter or Facebook.

doubleTwist
doubleTwist just released a media player application a few days ago. It looks absolutely gorgeous and is very easy to use. I like it so much that I think it should be the default media player app on every Android device. As an added bonus, it integrates seamlessly with the doubleTwist desktop making syncing my media library as easy as it was on my iPhone.

NewsRob
As a regular reader of my blog you know that I am a news junkie. Google Reader is one of the first sites I open up in the morning. When I am on the road I use NewsRob. It syncs all my unread articles from Google Reader and allows me to read them on my phone even when I’m not connected.

Dropbox
I absolutely love Dropbox! I have all my Flash/Flex projects files on it as well as all my presentations, AS3 libs I regularly use, documents, … I use it a lot! The mobile app allows me to quickly send a link to a file to a colleague and allows me to review my slides on the go.

Evernote
Another app I use a lot. I use Evernote for various things. For instance when I park my car at the airport, I take a quick picture of where I actually parked it and store that in Evernote. When I use Twitter on my Nexus One and see a link to a site I want to check out, I just click the “share” button and add that tweet to Evernote. By the way… I really love how different apps are connected on Android. That share menu is available in a lot of apps and it just lists all the applications that can accept stuff to share. So with that same menu I can send that tweet via email, to Facebook, in an SMS message, … Love it!

Finance
I keep a close eye on the stock market. I use Google Finance in the browser on the desktop and in this app on my Nexus One. The app also comes with home screen widgets and I have a couple of those installed. These home screen widgets are really one of the major advantages of the Android platform. They update automatically and so you always have the latest info on your home screen.

Foursquare
Besides being a news junkie, I think I am also a social networking junkie… I joined FourSquare a few months ago but never really got in to it. I’m giving it another shot now. I love the tips people can leave about a certain venue/location.

Gridshock
Gridshock was also originally a browser based game built with Flash. I’m running it on the Nexus One as a standalone application on the AIR runtime. Very addictive! ;-) (This application is currently only available in private pre-release.)

Hello Proximus
This app is pretty simple but very useful. The app monitors my data usage. It tells me how many MB I have left in my overpriced data plan. It shows you exactly how much you have left on your national and roaming plan.

Let’s Golf
I used to play this game on my iPhone and wanted to see how well it performed on my Nexus One. It rocks! I bought it in Gameloft’s online shop which circumvents the need to get access to the Android Market. (Officially you still can’t get access to the Market in Belgium! Google needs to fix this ASAP!)

Qrossfire
Another AIR based game that originally started out as a browser based Flash game… I currently play this one the most. (This application is currently only available in private pre-release.)

RunKeeper
A few months ago I started running again. There are a lot of apps on the Android Market that keep track of your exercises but I like the UI on this one. Writing this reminds me that I should get back in to gear. It’s been a few weeks since I was last out running…

Tripit
I said this many times before but will repeat it again: If you are a frequent traveller, you have to use Tripit! I don’t think I could do this job without it. I really like the UI on their Android version much better than their iPhone version. It’s easier to read and just feels nicer.

Vignette
Vignette is one of those special effect camera type apps. It has 55 different LOMO, toy camera, tilt-shift and Polaroid style effects and 17 different frames.

WordPress
This also doesn’t need much explaining. I love how their Android version even allows me to get notifications of new comments.

These are just a couple of apps I use regularly. Besides these I also use the stock email and calendar app which now (in Froyo) works with our Exchange setup. I also use tethering quite a bit. Being able to share your 3G connection as a wifi access point is just amazing and it works very well. I also use the Twitter for Android and Facebook for Android app a lot and I really love how this data is also linked with your contacts. The navigation feature in Froyo is also a big plus although it is not available in Belgium (Please fix this Google!). I used it in London a few weeks ago and was really impressed. I have a Tom Tom with US maps on it for when I travel to the US but that’s going up for sale now.

So far there hasn’t been a single day that I missed my iPhone or any of the apps I used on it… Oh… wait… I’m lying. I miss the iPass app! As a frequent traveller I have access to iPass, a roaming service for wifi hotspots. I have it on my laptop but also used to have it on my iPhone. And I could also use an Android version of Concur, the system we use for expenses.

Read full story • Comments { 4 }

Android week: Win a Google Nexus One!

by Serge Jespers on 19. May, 2010 in android

So today is my birthday… ehr… I mean… Today is the start of Google I/O! To celebrate both occasions, I am giving away a Google Nexus One to one of my readers.

I’m sure you all know that Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2 are coming to mobile devices. In order to win the Google Nexus One I want you to tell me which site(s)/app(s)/game(s) (built with Flash) you are most looking forward to using on your mobile device. What have you been missing on your current mobile device? Which application do you want to build with AIR for Android? Just leave a comment below and I will pick a random winner from all entries on Friday May 21st at 12pm GMT.

Easy, huh?

Just a few simple rules:

  • The Google Nexus One phone is unlocked and ready to be used anywhere in the world.
  • I will ship the device anywhere in the world using Fedex.
  • This contest is open to anyone anywhere unless prohibited by law in your country.
  • The winner will be picked randomly.
  • Entries can be submitted until Friday May 21st 11:59am GMT.
  • If you win, you will be notified by email. That means you have to enter a valid email address when you post a comment! If the email bounces, I will pick a new winner.
  • In order to fight spam, the comments on this blog are moderated. Don’t panic if your comment does not appear immediately.

Looking forward to your comments!

UPDATE: This contest is now over. The winner is Patrick Welfringer. Thank you all for your comments!

Read full story • Comments { 712 }

Declaring this week “Android week”

by Serge Jespers on 17. May, 2010 in android

February 9th 2010: The last day I used my iPhone. Or: The day I discovered Android. Or: The day I switched to the Google Nexus One. Well… You get the idea.

I was an iPhone user from the moment it came out. Before I continue this post, I want to repeat what I’ve been saying all along: Apple has done a fantastic job with the iPhone. I was very happy with my iPhone and never thought I would last more than a few days without it. Especially since I was so accustomed to having all my apps and my music there. But you know what…? Most of the apps I often used are also available on Android. And in all honesty… some of those apps look better on Android than they do on the iPhone.

Take Tripit for instance. If you are a frequent traveller, Tripit is your best friend. It was the first application I installed and when I first launched it, I immediately noticed how sexy the UI was. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the iPhone UI isn’t sexy. Trouble is that every app that uses the iPhone design guidelines looks just like the next one. It’s refreshing to see application designers/developer being creative with their UIs again. (And yes, I do know that there are some very creative UIs on iPhone apps as well). In this particular case, the app even becomes easier to use. The icons, dates and times are a lot clearer compared to the iPhone version.

Even though I (and some of my colleagues) thought I wouldn’t last longer than a few days without my iPhone I am now entering my 14th week without it. But back to the title of this post… With Google I/O just a few days away and some really exciting announcements coming up, I officially declare this week “Android week”. I am going to blog about Android at least once a day and you can even win a Google Nexus One on my blog this week!

So… Happy Android week everybody!

Also read “Android week: On switching to Android“.

Read full story • Comments { 19 }

Speaking at DroidCon: First Android mobile conference in Belgium

by Serge Jespers on 29. Mar, 2010 in Events, mobile

As most of you know, I switched to a Google Nexus One about 7 weeks ago. (Hmm… That reminds me… I really should finish that blog post I’m writing so you can get an idea how I get on with the N1 coming from 3 years of using Apple’s phone). I absolutely love that the Android platform is an open platform where developers can really use every single API and build any type of application without anyone breathing down their necks. I love that Android devices are soon going to get Flash Player 10.1 and even AIR for standalone applications. That will enable me to build applications without having to learn anything new. And I love that Android is not just about mobile phones.

I am really excited to be speaking at DroidCon, the first ever Android mobile conference in Belgium, next Friday in Brussels. The speaker lineup is really impressive and offers a great variety of topics. With speakers from Google, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, all mobile telco’s in Belgium and application developers this should be a very interesting day.

I will be talking about Flash Player 10.1 and AIR2 coming to Android devices but I realize that the message is a lot stronger when you see it. So I’ll also be showing Flash Player 10.1 in action on my Nexus One and AIR2 on the Motorola Droid.

Tickets are still available on http://www.droidcon.be. Hope to see you there!

Read full story • Comments { 5 }

The HTML5 Flash Marriage: Geolocation source

by Serge Jespers on 08. Mar, 2010 in Flash Player, html5

Last Friday I blogged about how HTML5 and Flash could also just work together. A few people have asked if they could get the source files. I just packaged and uploaded the FLA, ActionScript class and HTML files. Download the zip file here.

A few people have also noted that the demo doesn’t work across different platforms even when using the same browser. While I wanted to demonstrate how Flash and HTML5 can coexist and even complement each other, it is (sadly) also a demonstration on how HTML5 is being implemented differently across browsers and operating systems. Feel free to post a comment if you know about fixes or workarounds in the JavaScript to make it work on more browsers.

Read full story • Comments { 4 }

The HTML5 Flash Marriage: Geolocation

by Serge Jespers on 05. Mar, 2010 in Flash Player, html5

I probably don’t need to tell you that there’s a lot of buzz (and fuzz) about how HTML5 is going to kill Flash. You probably know how I feel about this… I think the web is big enough for both of them… Even better… I think they could potentially complement each other!

Geolocation is a good example. HTML5 is going to get a geolocation API that works just beautifully even on devices with no GPS. Flash based applications will (currently) only get access to geolocation APIs when targeting the AIR runtime on mobile. Some browsers (I only know of Firefox 3.5 on Mac and the WebKit browser on the Nexus One) already support the HTML5 geolocation API… So why not use that to get geo information into your Flash based application?

It’s actually extremely easy to do…

But first a little bit of background as to why I was looking for this functionality. I’m actually building “this demo app” that needs the geolocation in order to have the functionality I was looking for. I want this app to work in as many places as possible. With the Flash Platform I can build this for my browser and my desktop. For the Apple phone I can export it as a native app and for the Nexus One I can use the device browser with Flash Player 10.1.

Now… How does it work? The HTML5 geolocation API is extremely easy to use and, like I said earlier, you don’t even need to have a GPS enabled device.

function getGEO()
{
	// First check if your browser supports the geolocation API
	if (navigator.geolocation)
	{
		alert("HTML 5 is getting your location");
		// Get the current position
		navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position)
		{
			lat = position.coords.latitude
			long = position.coords.longitude;
			// Pass the coordinates to Flash
			passGEOToSWF(lat, long);
		});
	} else {
		alert("Sorry... your browser does not support the HTML5 GeoLocation API");
	}
}
function passGEOToSWF(lat,long)
{
	alert("HTML 5 is sending your location to Flash");
	// Pass the coordinates to mySWF using ExternalInterface
	document.getElementById("mySWF").passGEOToSWF(lat,long);
}

In my Flash application, I’m using ExternalInterface so I can communicate between JavaScript and my SWF. When my Google Maps component is ready, I call the GetGEO JavaScript method:

ExternalInterface.call("getGEO");

When the JavaScript method gets a result from the geolocation API, it will pass it on to the passGEOToSWF method. In my Flash application, I just listen for that method call and then call the code to update the map.

ExternalInterface.addCallback("passGEOToSWF", onPassGEOToSWF);

If you don’t have an HTML5 ready browser, check out this video of the application running in Firefox 3.6. Even cooler is that this also works in the browser on my Flash Player 10.1 enabled Nexus One (Please note that the network is slower on the N1 and thus it isn’t able to keep up with loading new map images. This has nothing to do with Flash Player 10.1 or the application.):

If you have Firefox 3.5 or newer installed, you can give it a try yourself: http://www.webkitchen.be/geolocation. I’m sure there are other browsers out there that also already have the geolocation API but this is the only one I tested on the Mac.

Hopefully this gives you a good idea of how HTML5 and Flash can also just work together (instead of killing each other ;-)). Flash on!

UPDATE: While writing this blog post, @robertbak pinged me on Twitter saying that he wrote a library to use in your Flex applications. Check it out on the Flex Exchange.

UPDATE: For the source files check out this blogpost.

Read full story • Comments { 39 }

Android catching up fast!

by Serge Jespers on 18. Feb, 2010 in mobile

Google is selling 60.000 Android devices every day. According to MobileCrunch, that works out to about 5.4 million handsets per quarter, or 21.9 million per year. And the rate is growing rapidly, according to Eric Schmidt who kicked off the Mobile World Live Keynote initiative yesterday.

Android is also not just about handsets anymore. I’ve seen a bunch of tablets running Android as well. The Android OS is free and open source and most of all… you’re in complete control of what you install on it and how you use the web on the device. Very soon you’ll be able to grab Flash Player 10.1 and AIR from the Android Market and install it on your Android device to not only get a full web experience in the device’s browser but also get the power of AIR for standalone applications.

Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt talked about why this is important in his Mobile World Live Keynote while Eric Tseng (Senior Product Manager for Android) demoed Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One. He actually summed it up very nicely by saying: “The line is blurring between mobile phones and desktop computing… One of our main goals when we embarked on smartphones at Google was to really mirror the desktop web browsing experience – but for many of you and you know who you are – there’s been a critical component missing – Flash!“. But you don’t have to take my word for it… You can watch it here yourself!

I was telling a few colleagues earlier that I wish I could take a few weeks off and just build Flash/AIR apps for Android. Because now I can use the skills that I already know to create apps for these devices… Android really is the first mobile OS that can really compete with Apple’s mobile OS and the fact that it is going to have Flash Player and AIR very soon is just the cherry on top! Flash on!

Read full story • Comments { 8 }