February 2011 - Posts

• Mobile Connections Event - early bird pricing ends February 25th

  Meet me in Vegas at the Mobile Connections Event. Come to my Android session, Intro to Android Using MonoDriod. Early Bird Ends Friday! Get $300 in total savings, use code LinkedIn. Register today at http://bit.ly/e5iY5K Posted Feb 22 2011, 07:30 PM by wallym with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Community News, monodroid, android, monodroid development

• Motorola Xoom Pricing

  Looks like Motorola has come out with updated info on their pricing for the Xoom.  It seems that the rumors of $1199 are not true.  Thanks to Motorola for attacking this issue. Posted Feb 17 2011, 02:30 PM by wallym with 1 comment(s) Filed under: android

• I won't by buying the Motorola Xoom after all - Reads like a bucket of FAIL

  A couple of weeks ago, I first heard about the Motorola Xoom.  A 10" Android tablet running Honeycomb (Android 3.0), dual coor ARM, 1 gigabyte of memory for processing, dual cameras, 1.5 pounds, the press loves it..  It sounds great and that it would be a worthy competitor to the iPad 2 that  is due out in the early spring from Apple.  Since I am working on a book on Android programming, it makes complete sense to purchase a wifi version.  I wanted to have an Android tablet along with Honeycomb in our book, so the Motorola Xoom makes complete sense.  Unfortunately, the last few weeks have convinced me that the Xoom is not the right product.primarily due to Motorola not understanding the marketplace.  Here are the issues: Wifi.  Where's the wifi version?  I don't need 3g/4g, just wifi.  I don't think its been officially been announced and is just being mentioned in passing.  While I get that most vendors don't like to discuss wifi only products because they are slightly lower margin, i'm not buying a 3g/4g device, so I won't automagically buy a 3g/4g because that's what is being pushed.  I might buy a device that has wifi and 3g/4g, but I'm not going to like it. Locked Wifi.  This past week, I read that if you don't purchase Verizon service with the device, the wifi won't work.  That's so full of FAIL. Pricing.  I first heard that the Xoom would be $799, which is $30 less than a comparable iPad with 3g.  Ok, I can get that.  Its priced less than  a comparable iPad.  What do I do when I want a lower end device with wifi only?  I don't want to pay for the 3g/4g support. Pricing II.  Now, just this morning, I read that the Motorola Xoom is $1199.  I suspect that this is some pricing game so that they can drop the price to $799.  Given that Apple seemed to go out of its way with the iPad 1 to not require that buyers purchase contract service through AT&T.  This pricing game with this locked wifi game, who's looking out for me, the customer?  Seems that Motorola is pricing the product out of my price range.  Motorola seems to have  forgotten that when you are attempting to go against an established company, you must undercut them slightly on price.  A better solution would be to produce  Wifi and 3g versions of the product that are slightly cheaper.  A 4g version could be priced at the same due to the 4g support.  Pricing the product significantly above the iPad pricing doesn't seem to be the best idea. Overall, I love the feature set that I have read about with the Xoom.  Unfortunately, this just seems like a big bucket of FAIL to me.  I'm going to wait to see what happens with the iPad 2.  It seems that Apple has a better feel for what users need without playing games.  I won't be buying a Xoom if all of these rumors are true. Ok, so I now read where the Xoom tablet will have much more realistic pricing.  Thanks Motorola for handling this issue before it ballooned too far out of control. Posted Feb 13 2011, 07:00 PM by wallym with 1 comment(s) Filed under: android

• What does the Microsoft and Nokia alliance mean for developers?

  Nokia and Microsoft just officially announced a strategic relationship.  One of the key things is that Nokia will use Windows Phone 7 instead of Symbian or Meego.  I was at lunch on Friday trying to think through what this means for me as a developer.  While at lunch, I got an email from Anne Grubb at DevProConnections magazine asking me my thoughts.  I was honored to be asked for my opinion and then to be quoted in the article along with such industry notable figures as Dan Wygant and Tim Huckaby.  Personally, I think that this will results in some interesting results.  I'm still trying to understand what this will mean.  A few thoughts are: Being competitive in the mobile handset part of marketplace requires several things.  Several of the obvious things are: having an operating system that is popular and users want, having a form factor that users want, supporting developers to build applications on your operating system so that users will have plenty of choices for applications, and having a relationship with the carriers so that your device actually works on a network.  Nokia is solving several of these problems with their relationship with Microsoft.  Nokia still needs to work with carriers in the US so this might not mean an immediate boom in the US, but for China, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, where Nokia is already popular, this could be an immediate win for Windows Phone 7 users and developers in those marketplaces.  Are users in Nokia’s strong regions interested in smart phones that cost more or just simple phones to communicate?  I don’t know, so will this drive WP7 into lower cost platforms with lower costs to the users? Nokia has been in a long decline.  Will this make them competitive again in the US?  When was the last time you saw a Nokia smart phone in the US? Overall, I think that this is a win for Windows Phone 7 (and Silverlight) developers.  More handsets from a manufacturer that is shipping a large volume of product has to be a win. For .NET developers in the mobile space, I think that this is a win as well.  .NET developers can currently hit WP7, iPhone (with MonoTouch), and Android (with MonoDroid).  Removing Symbian from the marketplace and replacing it with .NET is a big win.  Its one less platform with one less language, IDE, and isms to support.  How does this effect RIM?  .NET devs can’t currently target that platform with their favorite languages and frameworks.  Will RIM finally provide developer support? According to many rumor sites and blogs, Nokia has been given the contractual rights to modify the Windows Phone 7 user experience.  What does that mean for HTC?  Does this mean that Microsoft may attempt to purchase Nokia in the future?  Afterall, Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, is a former Microsoft employee. Given the recent rumors of a sub $200 iPhone, RIM Playbook might run Android/Dalvik apps, Android’s open source platform. Android's ability to reach down to the low end of the marketplace due to its low cost nature for the manufacturers.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the marketplace. Earlier this week, I sat down with a potential investor in the mobile space.  We only talked about iPhone and Android.  WP7 never entered the discussion.  Would it today?  I doubt it because all we know is that there is an announcement.  We don't know about products, timeframes, or anything else.  Will Nokia target US Cell Carriers?  Products have to prove themselves in the marketplace.  Talk and press releases are nice, but eventually, products must prove themselves in the marketplace. Overall, I think that this is still a great time to be a mobile developer! Posted Feb 12 2011, 08:30 PM by wallym with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Community News, window phone 7

• SocialSlam in Knoxville - April 13

  I recently noticed the Social Slam event in Knoxville on April 13, 2011.  Here's an exerpt from the web site: As social media continues to evolve, it’s not just about being on Twitter, Facebook and other networks. Now, businesses need to get serious about how they’re using digital media, how to measure it, and ultimately how it affects the bottom line. Social Slam will teach both experienced social media practitioners and those just getting involved how to do just that! The coolest part is that two of my good buddies will be presenting at it.  I wish Jeremy and Mark well in this. Jeremy is a partner at Bluegill, where he primarily crafts award-winning digital and interactive strategies. With clients in a variety of industries such as professional services, real estate, technology, non-profit and e-commerce, Jeremy builds holistic sales and marketing campaigns that generate measurable results. Before merging his company, Eluminare, with Bluegill in 2010, his company provided business and marketing consulting and also worked to launch several startups. Jeremy is licensed attorney graduating from University of Tennessee law school, and he holds bachelor of arts degrees in Philosophy and English.   Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized blogger, educator, business consultant and author of The Tao of Twitter. Mark has worked in global sales, PR, and marketing positions for nearly 30 years and now provides consulting services as Executive Director of Knoxville-based Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is an adjunct marketing professor at Rutgers University’s MBA program and has advanced degrees in international marketing and organizational development. Mark holds seven patents and is author of the blog {grow}, one of the Ad Age “Power 100″ marketing blogs of the world at www.businessesGROW.com.   Posted Feb 12 2011, 03:28 PM by wallym with no comments Filed under: Community News

• Screen Capture a Physical Android Device

  Did you know that you can screen capture a physical android device?  Yes, believe it or not, the emulator is not the best.  I started googling, and low and behold, there is a simple solution.  The Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (DDMS) allows you to screen capture an emulator session or a device easily.  Select what device you want, and then go to Device -> Screen Capture.  Boom, there's the screenshot in your device. Posted Feb 11 2011, 03:07 PM by wallym with no comments Filed under: monodroid, android, monodroid development

• GeoCoder with the Android emulator

  FYI, running the GeoCoder with the Android emulator generates a Java IO Exception.  Running on the device works just fine.  This happens in Java and MonoDroid. Posted Feb 11 2011, 03:20 AM by wallym with no comments Filed under: android, monodroidid

• Passing values between Activities using MonoDroid

  Been doing some work in MonoDroid and found that I needed to pass a user entered value from on Activity to another Activity in MonoDroid.  Here's how I did it. In my sending Activity, I need to take some user user entered data and send it to my second activity.  Here is the code:             string UserId = Convert.ToString(et.Text);             if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(UserId))             {                 Intent i = new Intent();                 i.SetClass(this, typeof(CustomList));                 i.AddFlags(ActivityFlags.NewTask);                 i.PutExtra("TwitterId", UserId);                 StartActivity(i);             }  In this code, I have called .PutExtra and  passed it with a key.  In this case, I am passing a Twitter id.  In the code that is receiving the data, the code to retrieve the Twitter id is: string twitterId = Intent.GetStringExtra("TwitterId"); The call to GetStringExtra() returns the value passed on the key. Posted Feb 08 2011, 01:00 PM by wallym with no comments Filed under: .NET, c#, android, monodroidid

• iPhone Programming with MonoTouch article in DevConnections Magazine - April, 2011

  As an FYI, my article on iPhone Programming with MonoTouch for DevConnections magazine has been submitted and edited.  I'm really excited about this.  It will coincide with my presentations at Mobile Connections in Las Vegas in April, 2011.  If you are coming to Mobile Connections, please look me up while you are there, I'd love to meet you and discuss mobile technologies. In the meantime, check out our book on MonoTouch. Posted Feb 07 2011, 05:00 PM by wallym with no comments Filed under: Community News, iphone, monotouch

• MonoDroid Article in Visual Studio Magazine

  The February edition of Visual Studio magazine is now online.  In it, my article regarding MonoDroid, the implementation of C# and .NET for Android devices, is online.  I can't thank Michael Desmond enough for the opportunity.  Its fitting now that Android is the most popular smartphone platform.  This article is available online at: Intro to MonoDroid Part 1. Intro to MonoDroid Part 2. Along with the article, check out this short video that I did regarding MonoDroid on the Mac. The article(s) were written based on MonoDroid Preview 9.1, so there are a few updates necessary, but I think this gets the basics out.  I hope you enjoy the article(s). And yes, we're still working on our book on MonoDroid.  I've got a great author group and am excited about the book. If you get a chance, come to AnDevCon in San Francisco in March.  I'll be presenting on MonoDroid there. Posted Feb 01 2011, 02:18 PM by wallym with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Community News, monodroid, monodroid development