Corner Geeks 21: The Android Journey

Listen to @mfirdaus‘ journey into Android from the world of iOS

 

Android_Robot_200Show Notes

  • Customisation
  • Notifications
    • Lock screen notifications on iOS are better
    • Android doesn’t provide the same API as iOS does and requires that the lock screen to know the app first before being able to show a notification for it.
    • Android 4.1’s advanced notifications don’t seem to be in all apps
  • Fragmentation
    • Default Android apps overridden by manufacturer customisation (e.g. Samsung camera app / S Planner instead of the standard camera / calendar app found on Nexus devices)
  • Responsiveness & Web Browsing
    • iOS generally has a better snappiness and responsiveness but with Project Butter in Android 4.1, Android seems to be on par (at least on newer devices)
    • iOS seems better in terms of performance and responsiveness for web browsing and PDF viewing
    • Older iOS devices will probably be better than current mid-range and budget Android devices
  • File System
    • Android has a full file system that all apps can read all files.
    • iOS has a limited file system. All apps have their own file system readable by their own app but there are some shared file systems ‘folders’ such as the photos
    • iOS has certain files grouped/tied into different apps: photos in Gallery, PDFs in iBooks. Simple but provides easy access vs Android that requires a file manager.
  • Sharing
    • Android sharing intents allow passing files from one app to another via a standard sharing method. Makes workflows simple and straight forward
    • iOS can only share to limited apps (Twitter, Facebook, Email)
    • Advanced iOS sharing doesn’t seem to be fully implemented properly in all apps (open a PDF in Safari has an “Open in…” button which doesn’t show if the PDF is opened in iBooks)
    • Share via HTTP: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.MarcosDiez.shareviahttp
  • Apps
    • Still many iOS first or iOS exclusive apps
    • Not many Android only / exclusive apps
  • App Development & Testing
    • Android easier to develop on actual hardware: you can develop and copy files to any device
    • iOS requires a jailbreak or USD$99/year for a developer account just to use / test it on a physical device
    • iOS requires a Mac, Android is cross platform (Windows, OS X, Linux)
  • Other things not mentioned
    • Default Apps
      • Android can define default apps and keyboards, e.g. you can download a new browser and set it as your default browser when opening any link.
      • iOS it can’t be changed at all
      • Android keyboard customisations are very powerful and you could download a keyboard that suits your needs more. Personally I like Swift Key due to their arrow keys on the keyboard which I find easier for editing typos.
    • Direct File Transfers
      • Possible without specialised apps
      • NFC, WiFi direct, Bluetooth enable it via “Share option” in file managers
    • Updates
      • iOS has a solid and better OS upgrade path
      • Android upgrade path is slow especially for non Nexus devices. Even for Nexus devices, the update is not instant (can take a few weeks to roll out)
Credits:

The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

Podcast music by www.lucadebernardi.com

Corner Geeks 20 – Google I/O 2012 – Part 3 – The non-Android Bits

Google I/O 2012 links: I/O websiteDay 1 videoDay 2 video

  • Day 1
    • Google+ Events
      • Party mode that shares all photos to the event page
      • Calendar integration: ensure to disable showing events that you have been invited to and not accepted to show in calendar
    • Google Glass Explorer Edition
      • US$1500. Sky diving, bike stunt, repelling approved
  • Day 2
    • Chrome for iOS
      • iPhone & iPad
      • With features like tab syncing, and password synchronization
    • Google Drive
      • Now available for iOS and Chrome OS
      • Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on images – can search for text in photos
      • Intelligent image search (e.g. search for pyramid and it can retrieve photos with pyramids in it)
      • Built into ChromeOS
    • Google Docs Offline
      • save changes when offline and uploads when online
    • Google Compute Engine
      • Amazon EC2 competitor

Corner Geeks 15: WWDC 2012 – Part 1 – iOS 6

  • New Maps application with turn by turn directions, traffic reports and flyover aerial view
  • A better Siri
    • Sports, movies and restaurant integration
    • Ability to post to Facebook and Twitter
    • Application launching
    • Eyes Free for voice control features while driving
  • Facebook Integration: similar to previous Twitter integration but better with added contact and calendar integration
  • Passbook: a ticketing/coupon application to consolidate all items in one location (with time and location integration)
  • Better photo sharing
  • Improved Safari: tab syncing to the cloud and other iDevices and offline reading capability
  • Facetime over cellular
  • Coming in the fall to the iPhone 3GS/4/4S, iPod touch 4th generation, iPad 2 & the new iPad

Read more about iOS 6 at Apple.com

 

Streaming KristalFM on iOS Devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch)

So recently KristalFM relaunched their website with the ability to listen through webstreaming but alas they forget that not all devices have Flash.

So based on Zulfadly’s request and some research and my previous research for streaming UBDFM on iOS device here is the same method but for Kristal FM

  1. Open Safari
  2. Go to http://202.152.84.115:801/kfm(open in a new page/tab)
  3. Click done, and add it to the Home Screen

This URL should work in any stream application (VLC for Windows, OSX, Linux / StreamFurious for Android). Hope that helps people

Creating a Brunei Apple App Store Account Without a Credit Card

As mentioned in our episode of Corner Geeks 8: The Brunei Apple App Store, the video below documents how to create a Brunei account without a credit card.

Do note:

  1. not all apps seem available (e.g. WhatsApp) but most seem there.
  2. no music / movies / TV shows available
  3. AV mentioned that they currently selling Brunei iTune gift cards

The gist of the process:

  1. Load the App Store in iTunes
  2. Search for a free app (e.g. Angry Birds)
  3. Download the free app
  4. Sign up from the dialog box
  5. Select "None" as a "Payment Method" section during the registration

I still think getting a US iTunes Account is still the best option as it is completely unrestricted. You can create a US account without a credit card, using the same method above but select US instead of Brunei. You will need to buy gift cards online though, and I have bought iTune gift cards from both PC Game Supply and Jerry Cards with good results so thus far. See which works best for you and join the ecosystem that has yet to be rivaled (especially outside the US).

Corner Geeks 8: The Brunei Apple App Store

A ‘live’ / non-Skype Corner Geeks recording this week as I sat down with @mfirdaus as we discussed the Brunei Apple App Store while also passing him the InstallESD.dmg file for Lion. We hope that this is the start of more services being opened to Brunei and perhaps a legal way for people to get music, movies and TV shows in the future.

Show Notes

  • Apple brings the iOS and Mac App Store to 33 new territories, including Brunei!
  • We can register with a Brunei Credit Card
  • AV Electronics, the premium reseller of Apple products, says they aren’t currently selling Brunei iTunes gift cards
  • Registration without a credit card is possible with the same hack/work around to register a US account without a credit card (try download a free app in the App Store and create an account from there)
  • Brunei just has an App Store, not a full iTunes store with Music / Movies / TV Shows
  • Not all apps available in the iOS App Store: e.g. WhatsApp (could be developer’s setting when publishing app or some other unknown restrictions)
  • Prices shown in store are in US dollars
  • App ratings are reset meaning Brunei apps could make it to the recommended list
  • Sources for US gift cards: PC Game Supply / Jerry Cards (I have bought once from each of these sellers before and can verify that they work)