One of my biggest complaints following Google’s integration of SMS into their Hangouts app (seen first on the Nexus 5 and then subsequently on all handsets following the update to the Hangouts app on the Play store) was that if I wanted to send a group message, I was forced to do so as MMS, […]
Continue Reading... 2 Comments.Update: Since writing this article, it would seem as though English UK is now supported. I’ll leave the article here as it may be of relevance to other languages. I read about an issue with the constant-listening feature of the Nexus 5, where saying “OK Google” would not work if you had any language other […]
Continue Reading... 7 Comments.I managed to order a Nexus 5 about 5 minutes after they became available on the Play store. (The Nexus 4 was still listed as a device, but there was a banner advert for the Nexus 5). It has arrived this morning (I would have had it earlier had I not ordered it to work). […]
Continue Reading... 1 Comment.Google discourages the use of the <compatible-screens> option in the AndroidManifest XML file, but there are certain occasions when it is very useful. For example, in a picture gallery-based app, it is desirable to split the application into multiple apk files so that someone with a low resolution handset does not need to download a […]
Continue Reading... 1 Comment.Update 20/07/2015: For quite some time now, the app has become unusable under Android Lollipop (it still works fine under iOS 8). When launched in Android, the app force-quits immediately. The fix to the problem is to uninstall and re-install the app – though this is pretty annoying. Given that Lollipop was released almost a year […]
Continue Reading... 12 Comments.When developing an Android app recently, I wanted to make a change such that I could add a button to the ActionBar as I was using a context menu to access a single option. It seemed to me that a dedicated button with an obvious icon would make more sense than the current setup. Initially […]
Continue Reading... No Comments.Pros Speed (38ppm) OS Compatibility (offering Android/iOS printing among others) Current cash back offers make it great value (printer can be had for free) High detail printing Duplex printing out of the box Cons Cost – Expensive without cash back offers (£170) High priced consumables Pointless buttons – I have not yet found a use […]
Continue Reading... 2 Comments.For quite some time I have been wanting to get into writing apps for the Android platform. Over the years, I have completed a tutorial here and a tutorial there, but have never really had a project which has resulted in me committing to writing an app which would be feature-rich enough to end up in the […]
Continue Reading... No Comments.Upon recently entering the Google Play store, I was greeted with a large banner advertising “The Simpsons: Tapped Out” game (I am aware that it has been available on iOS for some time). Looking further into the game it looked to be something along the lines of a SimCity-style game – something I had been […]
Continue Reading... No Comments.Another OTA update was pushed out for the Galaxy S3 in the last couple of days. It’s probably the fifth update (I can’t remember if there has been one between this one and the last one I wrote about). I am not entirely sure of what the purpose of the update was (most likely a […]
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