Wordpress has finally joined the long list of companies finally sitting up and taking notice of android, by pushing out its initial release of its android app. 
Over on android.wordpress.org, they have set up an android friendly blog which lists the current features of version 1.0.
Features include the ability to:
- Configure and manage multiple blogs
- Comment moderation including the ability to reply to comments
- Create and Edit Posts including categories, tags and photos
- Create and Edit Pages
- Get notified of new comments in the Android notification bar
Not seeking to reinvent the wheel, Wordpress have used the developer of GNU Public licensed WpToGo code. Wp2Go will be discontinued in favour of the brand new Wordpress App. It seems that there is also a new momentum behind the app, and Wordpress are seeking community help in the form of Beta testers for the new version. ( click here to sign up to the beta test!)
Wordpress is another great app to add to the list of Killer apps for Android and I can’t wait to see what further developments time will bring.
Edit: I cheated and added this from the computer afterwards – purely because of how cool this video is.
Check out the Wordpress Android Release Post here
Looks like Motorola is rolling out its next phase in helping developers by launching its first Motorola App store in China. It is inviting submissions from app developers who are looking to cash in on the 1.3 billion populace country.
Motorola has one of the best Developer programs for Android in the form of the Motorola’s App
- free Application Testing,
- localisation/ translation
- programming through its great Motodev studio for Android
- And now listing on their own App store.
Motorola has an exciting and rapidly expanding set of handsets, so the future really looks bright when it comes to dealing with them. Their current phone range in the UK includes the Motorola Milestone ( Motorola Droid in the USA), and the amazing Motorola DEXT handset. Future promises include tablets and more!
If you would like to submit your applications to Moto for inclusion just follow the link below:
One of the largest single criticisms of Android often mentioned by Iphoners is the fact that there are so many different combinations and interations of Android and handsets that it becomes almost impossible to develope applications that will work on all of them.
Thanks to a tweet from Google’s Reto Meier I have finally been able to find a sane, response to this courtesy of Chris, the developer of the Replica Island App.
In his post, he lauds the fact that thanks to Android he was able to get his app on 13 different types of devices, without physically having to test on each device.
I don’t have regular access to all this hardware to test on, so when a phone comes my way I jump on it, install the game, and try it out. Excepting basic support for multiple screen sizes and input systems, I don’t have any device-specific code.
There is always going to be some minor differences in the way that the applications run, with some giving a much faster video performance, differences in the way that the controls operate or the screen size. The fact that you can use the same code on so many new and upcoming handsets, demonstrates that having a great app now is going to pay off in ever increasing returns.
Obviously the issue of which Android operating system is running is also something that needs to be noted, and thanks to Google’s Device Dashboard, developers can fully understand what softwar their users are running. At the moment, its shows a virtual 3 way split, between 1.5, 1.6 and 2.01. From the news thats been around, most devices are intending or have already made the jump to 2.01, so I think that this will become a non issue within the next couple of months.
The future is bright, so developers what are you waiting for?
Thanks to the guys over at Androidlib for letting us know that they have tracked the 20,000th app to hit the appstore. An achievement which seems to have been picked up quite well by the mainstream press. It is a surefire sign that the android platform is starting to mature and be taken seriously amongst developers. I am confident that these figures aren’t going unnoticed by diehard Iphone developers, who would be looking seriously at porting their app or even building something new on Android.
Of course its not just quantity thats important but quality should be the primary driver. Apps like the recently updated Facebook app, Rummble, Camera Zoom, Plinkart, Twidroid, Newsrob, and Evernote, show that its possible to make innovative, compelling and superb quality applications that can surpass the best of the Iphone showpieces.
With potentially a long wait for the next iteration of the Iphone ( will Apple bring the release date forward?) , and a “dream team” of android hardware on the horizon in the form of Google rumoured “Nexus One”; Sony’s Xperia x10 and of course the mass roll out of the Motorola Milestone, I will predict that the market will double again by March.
Click here to view Android Market hits 20,000 apps – Pocket-lint.
(Comment: Spending so much time on phone, I thought it would be a good time with christmas coming up to look at other items which aren’t always covered by blogs or other news. To this end I have come up with the Most Wanted section for the blog. As the name entails, I will only really be writing about things that I recommend. I hope you enjoy!)
While designs for phones have moved forward in leaps and bounds, designs for phone accessories seems to have advanced at a more leisurely pace.Whilst researching my annual Christmas wishlist I realised how few android accessories are available on the market which for us android owners presents a problem. Even the big carriers like Orange’s and T-Mobile’s own stores don’t sell accessories for the handsets The good news is that if you look hard enough there are some really great gifts out there to make your android phone feel right at home.
Last week, after some digging, I struck gold in the form of the Desk Genie Non slip deskstand
Non slip??
Its salient feature and genius is the use of a non slip pad to hold the phone in place which obviates the need for any clamps or clips on the dock. The result of this is that the desk genie can be used with pretty much any phone- even a bulky Blackberry seems to sit well with it. For sad obsessives like me who carry around more than one phone, then this works a treat.
I must admit I was quite sceptical when I saw pictures of it on the internet, 
however I can vouch that it works well. Its quite amazing to see the phone when its on the dock appears to defy gravity. What is even more priceless is to see the confused look on your workmate’s face when they realise that the handset is not stuck to the dock and can be removed easily-in fact my “magic” phone stand was quite the object of fascination.
Additional functions:
As a bonus, it is also usb connected thus allowing it to charge your existing handset. It even comes with selection of interchangeable heads so it works with Mini usb(G1) and micro usb (DEXT), which is a clever touch. It is thus be compatible with all current Android handsets on the market.
It also can act as a desktop memory card reader for your camera, and act as a desktop dock for your usb stick( did I mention it also has shiny blue light on it??) It doesn’t require any drivers- which means its really easy to install.
Good Price
Coming in at only 15 quid, it is a good functional gift for the one you love(and yourself)– in addition to mine I have bought one for the boss, and I will probably get one as a great Secret Santa gift.
Summary
The genie is an ideal phone companion for people like me who spend most of their days chained to the desk. Instead of letting my trusty G1 or Orange DEXT sit either sprawled on my desk or precariously perched on my tower unit whilst charging, it now has a good looking functional home next to my lcd monitors.
Pick one up from Mobile fun’s accessory store.
Have you got a great Mobile Accessory to talk about-? Feel free to send me details via the contact androidbloke link. If its something I like I may talk about it too!
Great news ! Looks like Expansys have delivered their first batch of Motorola Milestones to the lucky few. Those looking to get theirs should hurry to the expansys site before they are sold out.
(Edit: Sold out of 81 units in 2 hours-not bad but seriously 0nly 81 units available???)
Thanks to the tip off from our friend Andrew @ European Wafaa who has kindly posted up some pictures of his shiny new phone unboxed.
Take a look at the full contents splayed out in his full Flickr Milestone gallery!
Here is a link to the much anticipated Motorola handsets Video for the UK
Unboxing1 on Flickr – Photo Sharing!. (Thanks for the tip Andrew!)
Expansys have updated their website to reflect a further 4 days until the release of the Motorola Milestone in the UK. This puts the current estimated date at 14th/15th December which will be cutting it close to make it into those Christmas stockings.
Users have been remonstrating on the expansys Discussion Board, and knowing how great this phone is I can understand their frustrations at wanting the phone yesterday. I was very tempted to pre-order the phone yesterday, however with a massively dented Christmas credit card- I will have to wait until next year to partake in the Motorola Milestone experience.
A further interesting point is that this puts the handset firmly past the magic December 11th 2009 date where the following is confirmed:
- There will be a new update to the Motorola Droid released
- The new terms and conditions for the Android Market will come into force.
So far rumours about the 11 December date, have included an updated android market, the release of Android 2.1 and the release of a desktop client for Android. I am not sure how many of these rumoured items will come through, but I am certain that there is something being planned.
So for all the rioting customers on Expansys who are holding a mini revolution against Expansys-
Here is a rundown of the corrected information from their support boards.
- Expansys may have stock in as soon as tomorrow (Expansys confirmed in a statement)
- Yes it is unlocked and thus will run on any network
- Yes it will receive future Android updates
- Yes you can purchase Apps through the Android market using it
- Yes you will be able to unlock it ( info supplied by Wired via T3) unless they fix the hole by then!
So don’t bother cancelling your pre-orders- your phone could be coming sooner than you think!
I personally wouldn’t want to rob myself of spending Christmas and New year showing off their shiny new Milestones to friends and family over the sake of a few extra days.
To keep yourselves occupied for the wait why not watch the Droid guided tour below to brush up on the new handset.
Or spend some time drooling over the amazing Verizon Droid adverts which I have converted into a nice Milestone Youtube playlist.
After spending so much time staring jealously at our American cousins with their shiny new verizon Droids, finally our wait is nearing an end.
Expansys, the UK electronics retailer has announced that they will launch the UK exclusive for the Motorola Milestone in the run up to Christmas.
Since the handset’s launch in the USA, coupled with a mega $100 million marketing budget, the devices has gone on to become the fastest selling Android handset with estimates of as much as 700 000 units sold to date. ( according to cnet). If this trend continues, it will easily dwarf the sales of the trusty Tmobile G1.
The main selling points of the handset are
- First Handset to be launched with Android 2.0 ( see my post on android 2.0 Eclair)
- Thinnest Android phone with slide out keyboard
- Massive 3.7inch high resolution display
- Superfast Processor
- Multitouch user interface
- 5Mp camera with Flash
- Google Maps navigation -allows turn by turn directions using Google Maps.
- is compatible with a stream of accessories such as a car mount and bedside dock, turning it into the ultimate alarm clock.
This is the second Motorola handset which has been launched onto the market after the Motorola Dext ( review coming soon!) . Unlike the Motorola Dext, the milestone is a branded “with google” handset, which means that it is unlikely to receive the much lauded, MOTOBLUR Customization. The handset is due to be delivered on 7th December 2009 and is up for pre-order now. This wonder handset will set you back £449.99 (or one really awesome Christmas present) or £50.00 one off and £35.00 per month on an 18month Tmobile contract.
Looks like the people over at Skyhook Wireless have been busy. 
Not content with just focusing on making android apps location aware,-they have been running a survey on whether developers are making money on Android over the past few months.
They were kind enough to release a detailed report on their findings which has confirmed the sentiment that Android developers are not happy with the platform.
The fundamental causes of this are down to :
- low download volumes
- poor marketplace design and discovery
- lack of an effective consumer billing system. (aka developers hating google checkout)
- Platform fragmentation( ie multiple versions of android running concurrently)
Personally what I find most interesting about the report is the volume of downloads. Most of the developers surveyed had been downloaded only 10,000 times which considering the number of handsets sold is a staggeringly poor amount. The other key highlight is that 6 months after release the number of new downloads has virtually evaporated.
This report only covered 30 developers however having spoken to a lot of developers, and watched a lot of the twitter posts on #android, I can see these same sentiments echoed and I think that Skyhook have hit the nail on the head.
So what can be done? In order to grow the android platform, its important to have quality there. The only way that we are are going to see quality apps is if developers can make a reasonable return.
I would urge Google to continue to improve the market ( Android 1.6 was a good start) and focus on allowing other ways to allow people to pay for apps. ( Paypal integration would be a quick easy fix ?)
On the counterside of the argument- developers shouldn’t be frightened to use blogs, twitter and forums to market their products. It would be great to have an app go on the market and job done, however its important to realise that building a killer product is only the first step: User testing, Marketing, press releases are all going to become developers best friends in the next few years. The marketplace is getting crowded and developers need to learn to shout louder to get attention.
Take a look at the report below, and feel free to email or comment back to let me know what you think. If any developers or readers want to shout about their application to me, I would love to listen – feel free to contact me by clicking the link above!
View the Skyhook Developer Report via Skyhook Wireless
Attention developers- Time to pack your bags and head over to London for the Android party of the year.
After a great droid conference in Berlin, it looks like we are going to finish of the year with one in swinging London. The Conference will be made up of a Free Barcamp type meetup followed by a ticketed day conference. ( there will be a limited number of discounted tickets available- just checkout my twitter feed)
For those that are going to attend, you can look forward to rubbing shoulders with loads of fellow droiders with opportunities to network, learn new tricks and to hopefully try out some fancy hardware. Some of the highlights to meet up will be the Marketplace app gurus the Openintents people, Novoda, the UK conference organisers and of course the Zii labs, originators of the famous Zii- Egg, which will no doubt be taking the market by storm (Can I have one??)
Here are the links to the Skillsmatter websites, where you can register
Droidcamp – London Android Barcamp 1nd Dec
http://skillsmatter.com/event/os-mobile-server/droidcamp-london-2009
Droidcon – London Android Conference 2nd Dec
http://skillsmatter.com/event/os-mobile-server/droidcon-london-2009/wd-451
For those looking to find out more here is the initial planned line up:
09:30-10:00 Welcome!
10:00-11:00 Advanced Audio Development in Android – Andreas Reuterberg and Alex Shaw
11:05-11:50 Comparative Analysis of Object Orientead and Procedural Programming methodologies on the Android Platform – Akshay Dashrath
11:55-12:40 Zii Labs – "Zii Architecture" A presentation on OpenGL ES
12:40-13:40 LUNCH
13:45-14:30 Parkbench panel
14:30-15:15 Understanding Android bytecode with the Dedexer tool. Presented by Gabor Paller who writes the blog "My life with Android" and creator of Dedexter. – Gabor Paller
15:20-16:05 RJDJ – Martin Roth
16:10-16:55 Future of Mobile – Yan
17:00-17:45 Parkbench Panel
17:45-18:00 Thank you + prize raffle / competition results
Looking forward to having a pint with you all!