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Verizon Prepaid plans gain ‘Always-On Data”

AndroidGuys
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Verizon Wireless recently rolled out a new feature for its Prepaid customers which gives them unlimited access to data. Well, sort of.

Called Always-On Data, it lets subscribers use data at 2G speeds if they go through their allotted monthly bucket. Now, hitting your cap of 4G LTE doesn’t end your Facebook browsing and Pokemon Go, but it slows it down for the remainder of the bill cycle.

Do note that there’s not a ton you can do with that sort of speed – 128Kbps. You’ll certainly not enjoy streaming video and music could be spotty, but you can at least stay connected to emails, messaging, and other basic functions.

prepaid-pricing-table-071416

Verizon Prepaid plans start at $30 per month, but you’ll have to get either $45 or $60 options if you want more than basic Wi-Fi connectivity. The $45 option provides 2GB monthly data while the $60 nets you 5GB and adds in unlimited talk to Canada and Mexico.

Slither.io: Brings back memories of early mobile games (Review)

AndroidGuys
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I remember my first phone. It was 1999, I was 17 and it was the Nokia 3210. It was pretty sweet at the time. It had a heck of a battery life, an excellent signal, and the original phone game…Snake. My friends and I competed constantly to see who could get the highest score. It was really the Pong of mobile gaming; the game that got it all started.

Fast forward to 2016, and we have Slither.io. If these were Terminator models, Snake would be the T600 while Slither.io would be the T3000. All movie references aside, it may not be from the same makers, but the inspiration is there and it’s a hit.

Developer: Lowtech Studios

Cost: Free (Remove ads for $3.99)

slitherio2

Gameplay

Slither.io has the same feel as Agar.io in respect to the end goal. Playing against others from around the world to grow the biggest snake on the board.  Well, Agar.io uses circles, but you get the gist. You accomplish this by collecting dots from the play area.

Now this is where Slither.io and Agar.io part ways. In Slither.io, the size of your snake doesn’t matter when killing your opponents. Just trap your opponent by making them run into you and they die. Then you can enjoy feeding on their shiny carcass, which is the other way you can grow your snake. But if you hit them, then you will turn into shiny dots on which the rest of the Slither.io world will feed.

The dots you consume are all worth various points and grow your snake to those appropriate amount of points. The bigger the dots, the higher the points. The higher the points, the longer your snake will become. The longer your snake, the higher on the leader board you are.

You have three different control modes to choose from that include Joystick, Arrow, and Classic. Joystick mode gives you a virtual joystick to control your snake in the bottom left corner of the screen. The Arrow mode lets you control your snake by sliding your finger in the direction you want to go in and having it follow you like an eager puppy looking to play.

Both Joystick and Arrow modes have a boost button that allows you to use up the points you have gained to temporarily go faster. The length of the boost depends on how many points you have. The longer you use it, the more points you lose. The end result being your snake also gets shorter. If you use all your points, you will be at zero and your snake will be back to starting size, so use the boost wisely.slitherio5

In classic mode, you must double tap boost and you control your snake by tapping the screen in the direction you want your snake to go in. That’s it for classic, short and sweet.

Slither.io gives you two types of gameplay, online and versus the A.I. Both are self-explanatory so no real need to dive into that too much. However, there is one thing I noticed on the play online tab. There is a “WiFi recommended” label on it, which leads me to believe it uses a lot of data in that mode. So be aware of that when not on WiFi.

Review

When first playing this game, it did give me the warm fuzzies. I have a special place in my heart for Snake if you couldn’t tell from the intro. I have seen a few copy cats of the original, and you would think that would be good enough. Not so much. This felt like someone cared enough to take a classic and bring it back to life in a new way.

Now I have no way of knowing if that was the inspiration, but in my head, I’m going to think it was. In any case, this is a fun little game that can keep you occupied for a while. The graphics are done well, and the animations are smooth.

I’m a little torn when it comes to the financial portion of this game. On the one hand, they give you tons of skins to change the look of your snake, and that’s a good thing. It would be easy to charge $.99 for skin packs and people would pay, but as far as I can tell they don’t.

On the other hand, the ads that pop up after gameplay are extremely annoying as it takes a bit to go away. I know they have to make money, but the ads could be integrated better. If you find the adds a bit too annoying, you can just pay to have them removed, but that’s going to cost you $3.99, which I think is a bit pricey.

Summary

At the end of the day, people love to play games and a little bit of nostalgia helps. If you’re young enough, then Snake probably has no real meaning to you, but you can still appreciate this game. If you are old enough to remember the classic Snake, then you will enjoy this even more. It should also be noted that this game can also be played on your computer as well at Slither.io.

Download Slither.io in the Play Store

Why I finally switched to Google Keyboard

AndroidGuys
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I’m the type of guy who finds something he likes and sticks with it. At restaurants, I order the same food every time, or if I’m feeling adventurous, I will alternate between two options. The same goes for apps on my phone. I will spend a long time finding the right app, but once I find it, I rarely stray. That brings us to my multi-year love story with Fleksy, and why I finally switched to Google Keyboard.

Background

After a short period with SwiftKey a few years ago, I discovered Fleksy, and my world changed. Back then, I was extremely dissatisfied by the speed and accuracy of swipe typing. Regardless of the keyboard I used, swiping to type just took longer and resulted in more mistakes.

FleksyFleksy was different from everything else. When you made a mistake, you could just swipe up or down to select the autocorrected word you wanted, and it worked the same way with punctuation. Fleksy improved my typing speed immensely, and I gladly paid for every upgrade I could get.

Unfortunately, I recently heard that Fleksy was abandoned by its developer. Although that was partially incorrect, it has been acquired by Pinterest, which gives me about as much hope for updates as developer abandonment. I’ve gone through all the stages of grief and recently came to the moment of acceptance. It was time to move on and find another keyboard instead of watching my beloved Fleksy wither away into glitches and bugs. But which one? I hadn’t looked at other keyboards in years!

Thankfully, our own Derrick Miyao wrote a review of Google Keyboard in April that popped into my mind during this time. Right as I was about to leave Fleksy, I heard that an update for Google Keyboard brought a theme feature, and that was enough to push me over the edge. I have made the switch to Google Keyboard, and here are my reasons why.

Swipe Typing

Google Keyboard Swipe TypingI know what you’re thinking. I was just crapping on how much I hated swipe typing in the past, and I did. However, in the past two days of using Google Keyboard, I have seen a drastic change in the accuracy and speed of swipe typing. I can now match the speed I was getting with Fleksy, and I do not miss having to insert spaces manually. I do miss swiping up and down to select the correct word or change punctuation, but my typing experience with Google Keyboard has been pretty sweet so far.

Gestures

My favorite part of Fleksy were all of the gesture commands that made typing faster. While Google Keyboard does not have the same gestures, I have found new ones to love. The ability to precisely move the cursor by sliding along the spacebar is nothing short of a miracle. With large hands like mine, pinpoint accuracy on a touchscreen is basically impossible.

Also, being able to delete multiple words in a single swipe is amazing for people like me who change their entire sentence halfway through. By sliding left from the backspace button, you can select how many words you want to remove and remove them all instantly.

Themes

Google Keyboard ThemeingThe option to add themes is nothing new to the wide world of alternate keyboards, but it is still something I enjoy because it allows further customization and expression. As I was deciding whether or not to jump to Google Keyboard, I thought about how much I was going to miss the option to theme, but thankfully, Google read my mind and added the feature right when I needed it.

The coolest part about theming in Google Keyboard is the option to add your own photo as a keyboard theme, which gives an even more personal feel to your phone.

Stable Developer

After Fleksy, I vowed never to lose an app due to developer withdrawal (or company purchase) ever again. Since this keyboard is owned by Google, I feel pretty confident in placing my trust in Google’s hands. I do not see them dropping support anytime soon, and that means I will not have to make such a tough decision for a while.

Little Things

The ability to change the size of the keyboard is fantastic. I like to devote as little screen as possible to my keyboard so there is more room to read what I am typing. The regular size of the Google Keyboard was too large for me, but there is an option in the settings to change the size to smaller or larger than the default. I immediately chose the smallest size, and it is the perfect height for me.

Google Keyboard PreferencesAlthough my large hands basically guarantee I’ll never have to use it, having the option for One-handed mode is great. This mode will shrink the keyboard and offset it to the left or right of the screen to make typing with one hand on large phones much more manageable.

When I used an emoji in Fleksy, it would automatically go to the front of my Recents, and if I used other emojis from the Recents panel, that first emoji would still remain at the front regardless of how often I used it. In Google Keyboard, the Recents panel for emojis is ordered by the most recently used emojis as it should be. This may sound insignificant, but I have already found it to be useful.

Final Thoughts

So that’s it then. I have made the switch to Google Keyboard and made it the default on all of my devices. The question remains if Fleksy were to be “brought back to life”, would I leave Google Keyboard? Honestly, it depends. If Pinterest respects the ideas behind Fleksy and continues it with frequent updates, I might consider it again although I am skeptical about future support.

But for now, I am absolutely loving Google Keyboard. If you have been devastated by the Fleksy news and are looking for a keyboard replacement, I highly recommend checking out Google Keyboard. It has come a long way, and best of all, it is still free!

How to customize the colors of Google Keyboard

Andrew Orr
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0

Google is rolling out the ability for users to customize their Google Keyboard on Android. First noticed at Google I/O, this feature appeared in the Android N Developer Preview 3. Now Google is giving this ability to everyone, even if you’re not on the N preview.

Not only can you change the color of the keyboard, you can also set one of your own photos as a theme.

googlekeyboard_themes
Credit to Droid Life

New Changelog

  • Themes: Customize keyboard with favorite photos or colors
  • Gesture typing & suggestions in: Albanian, Arabic, Basque, Bosnian, English (Australia), English (India), Esperanto, Irish, Javanese, Mongolian, Montenegrin (Cyrillic, Latin), Nepali, Portuguese (Africa), Sundanese, Tajik, Tatar, Zulu
  • Layout support: Burmese, Southern Sotho, Turkmen, Urdu, Welsh, Xhosa
  • Add recent emoji to suggestion strip
  • Bug fixes, including passwords with Talkback and missing key labels
  • Support Android N

To change the theme, just head into the keyboard settings and either choose a pre-made option, or create your own theme.

Download Google Keyboard here: Android

How to invite anyone to your Hangouts group in the new update

Jason Botha
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Although Hangouts is one of the less appreciated messaging apps out there, it’s certainly not  a bad one. In fact, Google regularly updates it with new features and fixes. The newest update brings the ability to invite people to your group without having to manually add them, and without having to have them in your contact list.

The feature works by creating a shareable link that one can share anywhere, anyhow. Once a Hangouts user clicks on the link, they’ll be added into the group as a regular user.

Although the feature may not have reached your device yet, some lucky users may already have the feature enabled. Follow these steps on an Android device to create a link:

Screenshot (175)

The process does not differ much if you’re using a computer:

Screenshot (176)

It’s a shame that Hangouts is not a more popular app as it delivers a great user experience. Do you agree?

A gallery of Android launchers we’re currently using

AndroidGuys
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Like you, dear reader, we here at AndroidGuys are huge fans of Android and its breadth of customization. We love few things more than changing things up because they simply don’t suit our needs. Or, perhaps we’re bored and new a fresh coat of paint. Perhaps you simply don’t like the icons that come with your phone. Well, you can change that.

Android allows you to change many things, but sometimes the phone manufacturer only allows us to do so much with its software. This aspect of the software or user experience is called a launcher. For a detailed look at what a launcher is, read this post. For the sake of this article, simply know that a launcher is a way to change the way your phone behaves from the main screen.

Launchers are a unique way to totally customize your phone; there are a number of them on the market with plenty of personalization. While most offer options such as icon pack support others may have special features like drawers that slide out.

“Stock”

Sometimes you’ll hear the word stock used as it pertains to Android. There are two ways you might interpret this so we’ll do that here. Stock Android means it’s the leanest and cleanest version of what Google releases for phones. A “stock launcher” is the one that comes in your phone. Note that the launcher could have another name, though. Samsung’s UI is known as TouchWiz or TouchWiz Nature UX while other past and present stock launchers include HTC Sense, LG Home, and Xiaomi Mi. They come with the phone, yes, but they are not the same as what comes in a pure Android experience.

Scared?

If you’re worried that these changes to your phone might be permanent, don’t. Launchers work the same as any app: uninstall it and you’re back to where you started. No harm, No foul.

We’ve decided to show off the launchers we’re currently using on our daily drivers. What you’ll find below is , whether it the launchers already on our phones or the ones we get from the Play Store.

Action Launcher 3

Scottie Rowland: What I enjoy about Action Launcher 3 are the many ways you can theme your phone. For me, the best feature is its auto theme ability. It’s able to pick up on your wallpaper and give you appropriate colors for your phone automatically.

Then there are the two different slideouts from the left and right. Quickdrawer (which I leave turned off) houses all your apps, while sliding out from the right gives you the Quickpage. The Quickpage lets you stash apps and widgets of your choice. There are too many things about Action Launcher to mention in a couple of paragraphs, but these are the main reasons I use Action Launcher 3. Download Action Launcher 3

Google Now Launcher

Derrick Miyao:  My launcher of choice is the Google Now Launcher on my Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. While I do appreciate Samsung’s recent effort to dial back TouchWiz, I prefer the simplicity of Google’s design of its user interface better.

I truly love the Google Now Cards which keep me notified of what is in my calendar, what’s going on around me, when my next flight is scheduled for, stock ticker updates, seven-day weather forecast, and the latest news that is important to my interests. I also like the Google Now Launcher for keeping my app drawer in alphabetical order, something TouchWiz does not do automatically, with the four most recently used apps at the top.

While there are other launchers that are much more customizable like Nova, they are too much work and effort for me to dial in the way I want. I know customization is the beauty of Android for enthusiasts, but for me, the beauty of Android is simplicity and customization how I want it, when I want it.

No matter which Android smartphone I am using, the first thing I do is install the Google Now Launcher and so should you.

Daniel Treccagnoli: I, too, like Google Now Launcher. It’s essentially Google’s version of stock Android and I like the basic look and feel that it offers. The Google Now access from the left-most screen is very handy and something I use often. The overall aesthetic of the Google Now Launcher just feels perfect to me.

Download Google Now Launcher

ADW Launcher

Josiah Ward: I originally started using ADW for a review I did and have since come to love the customization on it. I have even installed it on all my devices. As opposed to the simple ability to change the icon pack or grid size on other custom launchers, ADW lets you customize everything. You can customize the colors of it with a theme, create your own widgets, change the folder style, customize gestures.

On my setup, I added a clickable icon on my persistent search bar as a shortcut to Slack and applied the theme Durgon. There are so many other things you can change within the settings that I haven’t even dove into yet. Download ADW Launcher | Beta Link

Nova Launcher

 

Scott Webster: For me, Nova Launcher is a great way to ensure that every single phone I test and use has the same user interface. I’ll often load this on a device once it becomes my daily driver. The flexibility and customization are among the best I’ve ever seen, and I find new ways to set up all the time. Import and exporting my layouts is a breeze; I can pick up exactly where I left off with a previous phone.

As for this particular look, it’s a single screen that tucks everything into the app drawer. Once in there, however, you’ll find apps organized into different groups. All of the Google apps are in one place, all of the UI stuff for the phone and any watches, is in another. This layout can be known to confuse other people, but I love it. Download Nova Launcher

LG G4 Home

Jason Botha: I am still using my stock G4 launcher (Home) as I feel that it fulfills all my needs. It’s fast and has all the built in features that other launchers cannot offer. I am not really interested in changing my icons and theming my screen; I’d rather have something a bit more simple. It works for me, and it works perfectly.

I have on several occasions tried other launchers like Nova but found myself returning to the G4 launcher.

I think it’s simply a case of personal preference. I like the G4 software. I like the default icons. I love the stock widgets and features that LG has locked down and as such are not available with other launchers.

Like I said, I try to mix it up a bit but always find myself returning to the stock launcher.

Oxygen OS

Matt Adams screen shot

Matt Adams: I use a stock launcher. Currently I’m rocking the OnePlus 3 so the stock Oxygen OS is my launcher of choice. I don’t need much customization, just enough room to place the folders and icons I want at the bottom and a nice clock and weather widget at the top. My widget currently is from Trident collection and is called Royal Vintage. It’s pretty customizable but I like to keep it simple, just like the rest of my homescreen. I don’t load up on icons or crazy themes. I like to leverage the best thing about Android, the app drawer, to keep my interface organized.

Wrap up

So there you have it, these are the launchers that some of us at AndroidGuys use. As you can see everyone has a little different taste when it comes to how our phones look and act. That’s what’s great about Android – we are free to change things as we please.

AT&T is bringing back its buy one, get one free deal

Andrew Orr
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0

Starting tomorrow July 16 AT&T is bringing back its BOGO deal for AT&T Next and AT&T Next Every Year, just in time for the school season. Phones included in the offer are Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB, Samsung Galaxy S6 active 32Gb, LG G5 and LG V10, among others.

Details

  • In order to be eligible you need to jump through a few hoops, such as:
  • Buying both phones an either an AT&T Next Every Year or AT&T Next plan. For business customers, you need to be on a Equipment Installment Plan (EIP)
  • Both phones need to be from the same manufacturer, and be aware that the total amount of credit varies by manufacturer. The first phone can be a new line or an upgrade, while the second phone needs to be a new line.
  • You can buy the phones on any combination of AT&T Next (30-month contract for up to $695 or $23.17 a month), AT&T Next Every Year (24-month contract for up to $695 or $28.96 a month), or for business customers only, EIP (24-month contract for up to $695 or $23.17 a month) or EIP (36-month contract for up to $695 or $19.31 a month)
  • You can add both phones to a qualified service plan like the AT&T Unlimited Plan, or a Mobile Share Value plan starting at $70/month for both phones

att_next

Additionally, when you buy a Samsung Galaxy phone you can get a free Samsung Galaxy Gear S2 for free or a Samsung Galaxy Gear S2 classic for $50 on a two-year agreement. Both phones will also be compatible with NumberSync.

This offer is available for both new and existing customers and expires August 31.

Check out these 10 awesome accessories for your Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus

Matt Adams
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0

The Motorola Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus are two of the best new budget phones on the market. The phones are two of the first from Motorola under new owners Lenovo and we’ve been pleasantly surprised at what we’re seeing. You’ll see our full review of the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus soon, but first lets take a look at some of the best accessories out for the phones right now!

Cases

LUXCA Slim Fit Case – $8.99

LUXCA’s slim fit case looks a lot like something you might see from of the big boys like Spigen. A high quality case with a brushed metal finish, this case is stylish and will protect your phone from small drops and falls. This slim case is compatible with tempered glass screen protectors (which we have below!) and has a raised edge to protect that screen even if you don’t use a screen protector.

LUXCA slim fit

ANLI Dual Hybrid Case – $2.98

This dual hybrid case from ANLI provides the best of both worlds, style and protection. The case is has a protective hard shell to protect the phone from drops and falls while the outer layer looks great and resists fingerprints. And, at only $2.98, how can you go wrong?

ANLI hybrid case

Suensan Leather Folio – $10.98

This simple leather texture case from Suensan is designed to make your phone look great while protecting the screen. The buttons of your phone stay uncovered for easy access and the case can double as a kickstand to make media viewing a breeze.

Suensan folio

A Plus Slim, Clear, TPU case – $6.99

A Plus’ clear TPU case is a great option if you want to protect your new G4 or G4 Plus but don’t want to cover up the design of the phone. With this clear case you get scratch and fall protection, but not all the bulk that comes with most cases. The case is soft so it adds some grip and the buttons are exposed for easy access.

A Plus TPU

Screen Protectors

Sparin Tempered Glass Screen Protector (2 pack) – $7.99

Tempered Glass Screen Protectors are one of the cheapest accessories around but provide some of the best value. The thought of a destroyed screen is never a happy one, so why not spend a couple bucks to prevent it from ever happening? Sparin has a two-pack of glass screen protectors for the G4 and the G4 Plus that ticks all the boxes.

Sparin screen protectors

Cables

JETech Rankie micro USB cables (3-pack) – $6.99

If you need a couple of cheap, good cables, consider this three-pack of three-foot long cables from from JETech Rankie. The cables are compact, heat-resistant, and have stainless steel connector heads that slot in easily but securely and fit most cases.

Rankie 3 pack

 

Anker assorted length micro USB cables (5-pack) – $9.99

Anker is one of the most well known names in cell phone accessories for a pretty good reason, because they just put out good products. This 5-pack of cables features one six-foot cable, three three-foot cables and one one-foot cable that should cover all of your needs, whether thats charging in your car, next to your bed or at yoru desk.

anker five pack

Memory cards

SanDisk Ultra 64GB micro SD card – $22.51

We were very pleased to see that the Motorola Moto G4 and G4 Plus included a micro SD card slot. If you’re in need of a card to take advantage of the slot it’s hard for us to recommend anything other than this SanDisk 64GB card. Its a class 10 card which means your read and write speeds will be fast enough to record full HD video and high quality images straight to it. The price ($22) for the amount of storage you get (64GB) is also a great value.

sandisk 64gb

Batteries

Anker 20000mAh high capacity battery – $39.99

Since the Moto G4 and G4 Plus don’t have removable battiers, you may want to pick up an external battery pack to make sure you’re never short on battery life. Nothing sucks worse than your phone dying on you while you’re using Google maps to get around. This Anker 20000mAh battery will get you roughly five full chargers (give or take based on inefficiencies) and won’t break the bank at under $40.

anker 20k

Anker PowerCore Edge 20000mah battery – $44.99

I probably sound like a schill for Anker at this point, but I really do love their products. The PowerCore Edge takes all the power of the previous entry and puts it into a really great looking, slim package. If I was going to take a battery on vacation, it would probably be this one since space in my bag is so limited. You get a couple USB charging ports to charge up your G4 or G4 Plus and a tablet at the same time. You can expect to get about five charges from this battery too.

anker edge

So, that concludes our list. Are you going to pick up any of these accessories for your brand new phone? Let us know if you find anything else worthy down in the comments and we’ll add it to our list!

Image and graphic tips for building Android apps

AndroidGuys
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0

When it comes to building apps, perhaps the most important element is the app’s look, as it is obviously the first thing that consumers see when they are considering downloading it. Therefore, if you want your app to be downloaded by as many people as possible, you need to ensure that the quality of the graphics is top notch.

The essential graphic elements

The way an app looks is vital because it is the first way a consumer interacts with you and your offerings and goes towards establishing the quality of the product. Any app that fails to demonstrate good, clear and clean design, attractive and user-friendly layouts that work perfectly on any device, and high-resolution images and graphics is almost fated to fail. You should also consider how any text within your app will appear, so you will need to utilize sharp, clear fonts at a reasonable size set against a complementary color palette rather than one that will be garish and hard on the eyes. It is a small element but one that has proved popular with users and that is to give your graphics rounded corners rather than sharp-edged points.

Sourcing images

As it is essential that when you build an Android app the images are of the highest quality, it is important that you aim for professional graphics, whether that means investing in photographic equipment or design software that will allow you to achieve this high standard, or by buying suitable images from online stock photo libraries, such as www.dreamstime.com. You should also only use graphics that are appropriate in terms of size to the devices they will be used on.

Color palettes

To just return to the type of graphic or image element you should use for a moment, be aware that lighter pixels use more power than dark pixels on active matrix displays, so you should factor this power usage into your graphic choices when designing your app. Also consider how your graphics will display in both indoor and outdoor conditions, because as most apps are used in mobile situations, you have to appreciate that some of your users will be operating in broad daylight and they will not think very well of your app if they cannot actually see it clearly.

Scaling graphics for consistency

One of the biggest elements you may have to contend with when it comes to building an Android app is scaling, i.e. ensuring that any graphic looks as good when enlarged as it does when the size of a thumbnail or smaller. Android does this by considering two things: the size of the screen the app is being viewed upon and the pixel density of the screen in pixels-per-inch (ppi). Android classes devices with a screen size of 3-4 inches as being ‘small’ or ‘normal’ (i.e. cell phones), any device larger than 4 inches as ‘large’ (small tablet) and any device larger than 7 inches as ‘extra-large’ (large tablets). The screen density will matter most in terms of scaling and consistency with graphics and images. You need to provide size- and density-specific resources when uploading your app to Android, because otherwise Android will take the app as it is, without scaling, and the result will be a ‘best match’ to the nearest size/density resources rather than the perfect fit you should be aiming for.

Types of images and graphics

You should also choose which format of image or graphic to use when building your Android app. Android actually works better with PNG for bitmaps, but it will accept a JPEG. It will possibly reject a GIF, however. But PNG and JPEG are not necessarily interchangeable, as there are pros and cons to both. For example, a JPEG will work better for images or graphics that need to be reduced by up to 50%, which is important if your app is graphic-heavy. With a PNG, you can have a bigger file size and you do not lose quality. With a PNG you can also have transparency, which you cannot have with a JPEG. Which format you use will depend on the type of app you are building. For instance, PNGs are best for apps with icons, simple graphics and artwork, few colors and text-heavy, while JPEGS are best for those that utilize photographs and other realistic types of images that combine a lot of colors and those with gradients.

Labeling graphics

It will also help you to label your graphics appropriately when developing your app and in the debugging process. If you have used the size and density-specific resources mentioned previously, then you can add relevant and visible labels to these so that when you perform the debugging process, you will be able to see straight away what resources were loaded with the app and which Android will be using.

Configure

Mobile devices, which are what most apps are designed for, are different from desktop computers in that they are usually high-density displays. For this reason, you should always configure your Android app emulators to mimic the values of real devices and set them to scale to the density of the device they will be used on.

Testing

When it comes to the testing stage of your newly built app, you should test it on a real device rather than just relying on a test drive performed on your computer. If you do not try your app out on a proper device, you may not be able to tell whether your layouts and other scaling aspects, such as graphics or images, react appropriately. You should also test that your app works properly when reacting to Android defaults.
Building an Android app is a complex business, but when done correctly, has the potential to be a supremely financially rewarding business. Just remember to consider your user at all times to develop an Android app that meets all their expectations in terms of functionality and appearance.

Manufacturers should have anticipated the smartphone plateau

Josh Noriega
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1

Android has had quite the journey. It’s good to reflect sometimes, and it’s crazy thinking that the first official Android smartphone, the HTC Dream, launched almost eight years ago. Eight. Years.

I personally joined the Android bandwagon with the HTC Evo 4G in 2010, and I remember the space being so exciting those days. There were so many improvements to be had, and manufacturers were constantly playing with new designs. Sure, we were like beta-testers for them, but it was nonetheless fun for technology enthusiasts. Who remembers that neat Xperia Play phone, that had slide-out game controller?

The 2011 Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was the only smartphone ever to have a slide-out game controller.
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was the only smartphone ever to have a slide-out game controller.

Fast forward to today and we are seemingly at the pinnacle of the smartphone goal. It’s much harder these days to find a bad Android phone. Processors are speedy, RAM is ample, displays generally look great, and even the lower costing phones are achieving a premium construction. This is great, but I’m sure that I’m not the only long-standing Android user that misses the smartphone dynamic that used to be. 2016 is the first year that I’ve gotten genuinely bored of Android phones, and it’s awful.

OnePlus 3 featured
We should be in love with the OnePlus 3‘s solid metal construction, but we’re bored instead.

What happened?

The problem is that when our thirst for better performance/quality was quenched, there was nothing to replace it. And now manufacturers are struggling for our attention. You’d think the following question would’ve been raised a long time ago: How will we still be able to sell smartphones when all their components have gotten as good as they’re gonna get? Isn’t a business’ survival largely based on its strategy for the future?

To be fair, we have seen some efforts this year for smartphone innovation, such as the modular concepts from LG and Moto. But I don’t understand why their implementations feel like the companies just realized in the year before, “Oh crap, we need to do something different!”

For instance, why on Earth does the G5 still only have two modules, one of which isn’t even offered in the U.S. The modular idea should’ve in the game plan years ago, so that it would be ready in years to come. Companies should be smart enough to know that whipping up a half-assed idea just doesn’t pay off. This might sound like I’m digressing into a rant, but the point is that without a long-term plan, you’ll fail.

But…

Benefit of the doubt can be applied in this situation. We are spectators after all, speculating what companies are doing. There’s tons that we don’t see behind the scenes, and I’m sure that companies aren’t as dumb as I’m suggesting. However, that in turn implies a scary situation. Ideas aren’t solidifying. Maybe they’re too challenging to turn into a reality, or maybe they’re too risky. Whatever the reason, without something interesting, consumers will just stick their current devices and deliver a blow to the mobile industry.

But hey, that wouldn’t necessarily be as bleak as it sounds. Smartphones would just have to launch less often, when the company has had time to develop an innovation. A lot of tech out there don’t go off of a yearly refresh cycle. It totally makes sense that smartphones should adopt the same philosophy; they’re no longer changing enough to justify it.

What else can smartphones do?

A valid concern to this whole subject is that smartphones just cannot be engineered any further. I’d love to disagree and bring in Tony Stark to blatantly prove you wrong, but reality is against me. Smartphones have such tight spaces and restrictions to work with; you can tell that companies are reaching deep to find another use for them.

That said, I believe modularity is what could save smartphones. Smartphones cannot do any more themselves, but if you append functionality with dedicated devices, then the door blows open. It’s a tricky game, though. Consumers don’t like complicated gadgets. I believe this is a big reason why Google’s Project Ara has yet to take off.

Motorola Atrix and Lapdock system, from 2011.
Motorola Atrix and Lapdock system, from 2011.

There are also neat concepts that we’ve been exposed to that failed instead of evolved. Anyone remember the Motorola Atrix and its smartphone/laptop hybrid system? I hated when Motorola dumped that capability. How cool would it be to dock our Android phone on a laptop and run Chrome OS off of it. Android better watch out, because Microsoft’s Continuum system is looking to capitalize on that ability.

Or how about folding displays? I would’ve liked to see the Kyocera Echo’s idea pushed forward by the larger manufacturers. We’ve seen evidence that Samsung is developing it, so here’s hoping that it’s far down the development process.

Alleged foldable display smartphone concept from Samsung.
Alleged foldable display smartphone concept from Samsung.

Do you agree?

You’ve heard enough from me. What do you think about the situation? Are you also bored with today’s smartphone space? What would reignite your interest?

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