Android's Planet

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
       




How to install Android SDK 1.6 on Ubuntu 9.04


Google has recently released version android SDK 1.6. This tutorial will teach you how to install it on ubuntu 9.04.

1 Installing JavaAndroid SDK is built around Java . So, you have to install Sun Java before trying to install Android. Look at this post for details about installation of sun java development kit on ubuntu 9.04.

2) Download android sdk. The current version ( 1.6 R1 ) is available as a tar.gz file from google. Look at this link. You will be prompted to accept android licence and if you accept it, you will be redirected to another link which will permit you to download the sdk. ( It is around 222MB)
3) Unzip the tar.gz file .
I unzipped it to my home folder with the following command

$ tar -xzvf android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1.tgz

All the files were unzipped to a folder named android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1
If you look at the directory now , you will see the following files and folders.

$ ls android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1

add-ons docs documentation.html platforms RELEASE_NOTES.html tools

The tools for android development is under the tools directory.4) Test drive the android emulator

Since all the android tools are kept under android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1/tools, we must modify the PATH environment variable so that it includes the above directory too.Open a terminal and execute the following.
fermi @Jaunty:~$ PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1/tools
fermi @Jaunty:~$ export PATH
You can also add the above line to your ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc , so that the setting is available always.

My PATH variable looks like this after the above command.

fermi @Jaunty:~$ echo $PATH
/home/fermi/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/home/fermi/android-sdk-linux_x86-1.6_r1/tools

Now you can test fire your set up . It is a good idea to keep all your android related files in a separate folder. I created a new folder named ANDR for experimenting. All the commands below are executed in that folder.

The virtual phones created by android SDK are called AVDs ( android virtual device) .Let us start the experiment with a virtual SDcard and a Virtual Phone.

Let us create a virtual SDcard

mksdcard 2048M SDCARD
$ If you look at the contents of the folder you will see a 2GB file named SDCARD

FERMI_PHONENext, create an android virtual phone named .

$ android create avd -n FERMI_PHONE -t 2
Android 1.6 is a basic Android platform.
Do you wish to create a custom hardware profile [no]

Press enter to choose no. You will get back the following message.

Created AVD 'FERMI_PHONE' based on Android 1.6, with the following hardware config:
hw.lcd.density=160

Now start up android emulator.
$ emulator @FERMI_PHONE -sdcard SDCARD

Your virtual phone pops up as below. ( Another window which asks you to participate in a survey also pops up, you can close it.)


Wait for a moment , your screen will change to the one shown below.


You can press menu button to unlock the phone.


You can flip the phone with CNTRL+F11


Now let us browse on the android phone.



The easiest way to start development on android is via eclipse. The eclipse version shipped with jaunty is some what old. ( Version: 3.2.2-5ubuntu3) . You need a later version for installing the ADT ( android Development tools ) for eclipse. I downloaded Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) from the eclipse site and installed it . Then completed the following steps.
  1. Start Eclipse, then select Help > Install New Softare.
  2. In the Available Software dialog, click Add....
  3. In the Add Site dialog that appears, enter a name for the remote site (e.g., "Android Plugin") in the "Name" field.

    In the "Location" field, enter this URL:

    https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

    Click OK.

  4. Back in the Available Software view, you should now see "Developer Tools" added to the list. Select the checkbox next to Developer Tools, which will automatically select the nested tools Android DDMS and Android Development Tools. Click Next.
  5. In the resulting Install Details dialog, the Android DDMS and Android Development Tools features are listed. Click Next to read and accept the license agreement and install any dependencies, then click Finish.
  6. Restart Eclipse.
Now modify your Eclipse preferences to point to the Android SDK directory:

  1. Select Window > Preferences... to open the Preferences panel
  2. Select Android from the left panel.
  3. For the SDK Location in the main panel, click Browse... and locate your downloaded SDK directory.
  4. Click Apply, then OK.
Now your development environment is ready.

For running a hello world application, read this tutorial from the developers guide. Here is a screen shot of my hello world
 application.

5 )Starting development with SDK.




Nexus One: the first smartphone with Google
By Matthew Roesler Hamann
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Learn all about the launch of the Nexus One, the first smartphone designed by Google.

The year 2010 has just begun and after several months of speculation and news about the cold-awaited Google smartphone arrives at last on January 5, the day that Google officially announces the launch of the Nexus One, or Google Phone, as has been called by the public.

Until then the news had been published were no more accurate and clear information about this device that promises to shake the world market, not just smartphones, but electronics in general. It had not been released official images and users were limited to those blurry, leaked by the network in recent weeks.

First official information

The first official information about the Nexus One are limited to the specifications of the device, as it is no surprise to anyone, will be sold with Google Android 2.1 as the native operating system and touch screen of 3.7 inches, and a resolution of 480x800 pixels.

3D interface

The smartphone which is manufactured by HTC (the same company responsible for the Hero and the Magic) also has a 1GHz processor, 512 MB ROM and 512 MB of RAM, and has a microSD memory card, 4 GB, which can be expanded to up to 32 GB. The integrated digital camera to Nexus One is 5 megapixels and flash native has composed of LEDs.

Google Android

The Android operating system was the first smartphone to be open source, ie, to have the source code released to anyone who wanted to change it. Android is financed by Google and, therefore, is fully compatible with the main services of Google Mobile, and Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Search, Google Calendars as well as other less well known by users like Scoreboard, My Tracks and Sky Maps.


The War of the Smartphones

The launch of the Nexus One brand to ignite a war technology that promises to bring good results to users: Apple vs. Google. The companies have been facing battles are indirect for some time, and recently passed the Google Chrome Apple Safari in the list of browsers used.
With the launch of Google Phone, both will compete directly in the market for more affordable, Google intends to dominate space belonging to the iPhone.

The problem that Google could face in this regard will be imposed by itself. Apparently, the device will initially be sold in the United States in just two packages.

One of them will cost $ 180, but will require a contract in two years with T-Mobile, the other will not require anything, that is, the device will be unlocked, but it will cost $ 530, a fairly salty and higher than the iPhone.Enfim revealed

Google's event began at 10 am on Pacific Time, 16 hours GMT. Shortly after the start, Google executives began to announce the growth that the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a group that takes care of Android, obtained in 2009. After 16 minutes elapsed, there is one of the most anticipated announcements.

"The next step in the evolution Android"

Finally comes the official logo of the Nexus One, the Google executives call "superphone. It's finally revealed that he is the fruit of a partnership with HTC, which has launched six mobile phones with Android and now launching what promises to be the culmination of a partnership between Google and HTC.

Peter Chou, HTC's CEO, says the device that has screen 3.7-inch AMOLED, and has said that the Nexus One has Snapdragon processor 1 GHz, the most "powerful" category. It has light sensors and approach, to facilitate the visualization of information. The Nexus One also has compass, GPS, LED indicator for new messages and accelerometer.

The multimedia playback features ensure compatibility with various types of files. For images: JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG. For audio: AAC, AMR, MIDI, SMF, OGG, WAV and MP3. For video: H.263, MPEG-4 and H.264.

The camera is really 5 megapixels, LED flash, 2X digital zoom and also records video in MP4 with a resolution of 720x480 pixels. The audio system allows connection to Bluetooth devices and has a system of noise suppression. Images released by Google shows that the device has only 11.5 mm thick, which means little more than 1 cm, and weighs only 130 g.








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