Currently there are some hardware interactions with physical devices that a phone/tablet interacts with in our application. We target only specific devices for them. An example would be a hospital that is dedicated to using specific models that they will be using (based on a contract).
We can get the Build.MANUFACTURER and Build.MODEL, etc. to identify which particular model is being used; since this will change how the hardware interacts slightly with the device. This in not our exact case however. Ours is a little bit more open. Has anyone seen some sort of a pattern that is being used for differentiating between Google Play Edition versions of a device?
All that I have to compare with is an S4 which tags on a 'G' at the end of the GT-I9505 of the S4 model. I am unsure if this is truly a pattern or not since I have only one of them available to me and do not have a database to analyze of this info. Perhaps someone has come across this need or has picked up how to differentiate between devices at this level before.
Related
I would like to know if there is a way to detect if my app is running on a PDA (with android OS) or a conventional smartphone?
There is no difference between a PDA and a traditional smartphone, except for possibly the presence of a cellular radio (and even that's not assured, there may be one). THere's also no difference between a tablet and a smartphone. They're marketing terms, not actual differences between devices. Take any smartphone and smack on an assistant looking UI and you have a PDA.
BTW, not all Android phones have the play store either- its common in Asia for low price brands to not pay Google for it and just load a version of AOSP on it.
So if you want actual help, you need to describe what's different about this device that matters to your program, and then we might be able to help you find workarounds. But there's no way to tell "PDA" because "PDA" has no meaning.
I am building an application with React Native but the app not working well on a few android devices. So I need to see what's going wrong but I don't know how to set up an emulator for a specific device. Are these problems depends on phone's brand and model or it just depends on their android versions?
Its not really possible. There's two major problems:
Software. Real devices don't ship pure AOSP like runs on the emulator. They add patches and features and there's no way to know what they actually run.
Custom UIs. Many phones provide custom UIs like TouchWhiz and the like which can override Android behavior
Hardware. If your app depends on things that are very hardware specific, like GPS or Camera, they could have issues due to hardware bugs.
If you just want to emulate a specific OS version like KitKat, or specific low memory conditions its possible via emulator configuration. If you really need to test on a device, either buy one or use a service that allows you remote control over specific devices. Amazon has a nice device farm that you can rent over AWS.
One of the biggest challenges when developing for Android is the wide variety of devices and "optimizations" manufacturers make to their Android versions.
The Android emulator is based on AOSP (vanilla Android) and was only recently published with Google services included. This is the most clean version of Android. You can use the emulator to test UI scaling for different screen sizes but it will always behave like an AOSP Android. Google packs a bunch of hardware configurations into Android Studio which you can simply select when creating an virtual device. You can always create a custom hardware profile with custom screen size and resolution. Some manufacturers also change the DPI value of the OS causing the UI to be bigger or smaller, keep this in mind when creating a custom hardware configuration.
Further, you can use the emulator to test the default behaviour on different Android versions. Again, manufacturers change their Android usually causing slightly different behaviour.
I assume that your question is focussed on different behaviour of e.g. Samsung phones having crashes only occuring in Samsung phones (Samsung can be exchanged with any other brand here). Unfortunately, there is no simple way to test this but getting your hands on the faulty device. One option is to use a cloud based test lab (e.g. Firebase Test Lab, App Center or AWS device farm) to test your code on the faulty device or rent the device at a local shop. Most bigger cities have companies renting phones and tablets on a daily or weekly basis.
In the end you will need if statements checking for a specific device, manufacturer or Android version or any combination of them and doing something slightly different to fix the undesired behaviour.
I know that this is not the answer you are looking for, but it's the best I can offer. To tell a little tale of my worst experience: I had once a bug were calling a crypto function caused a kernel panic on HTC (?) phones. This means the user opened my app and the phone rebooted. I was required to implement the entire encryption logic again just for HTC with Android 6.0.
Android apps can get product information by reading BUILD.MANUFACTURER and BUILD.MODEL, but when running on ARC (chrome) these are always "chromium" and "App Runtime for Chrome".
Motivation: It is useful for apps which a person uses across multiple devices to be able to identify the model of device the person is using, so you can eg. tell them that some data or action came from their "Nexus 7", or their "Acer Chromebook C910". It is also useful when trying to resolve an obscure issue, to know what product(s) it is occurring on. As well, though this isn't recommended, sometimes it is useful to identify a model for special handling of that device's characteristics.
In theory it would be possible to take a hash of some static hardware characteristics and use this as a signature for a product, but I think this would be difficult to get right. If anyone has done this I would be interested to know what api's they used.
I don't think there is currently any substitute for BUILD.MANUFACTURER and BUILD.MODEL on ARC.
I think it should be technically possible - I know this information is available to Windows applications, and I believe it comes from the BIOS, so in theory I think it could also be available on Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS.
I submitted this as a Chromium issue here.
Closed. This question is opinion-based. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by editing this post.
Closed 6 years ago.
Improve this question
I'm in the market for a basic Android device. My main reason for buying one is for learning to develop mobile apps. While the Eclipse IDE offers a virtual Android device for testing apps, it's not the same thing as a real Android device and won't put me on the same wavelength as Android device users. (The most obvious example: Visibility is poorer in a bright outdoor environment than indoors.)
Some questions:
Is a tablet PC the type of device I should get? I get the impression that it's more versatile than other devices. I don't need a smartphone, because my dumbphone works well for me, and I don't even use it that much. And I HATE the idea of being locked into a specific wireless provider. I'm not interested in ebooks, because I still like books on paper better.
Should I get a device with Android 2.3 or 4.0? On the one hand, over 90% of current Android users are using version 2.3.3 or earlier. On the other hand, 4.0 is better and will be gaining market share. (Would buying an Android 2.3 device now and buying an Android 4.0 device later be my best bet?)
In addition to wifi, what else should I look for?
Are there any brands/models I should avoid? I remember hearing that the Packard Bell PCs were the most unreliable. The Yugo was a terrible value. (An old Oldsmobile Cutlass clunker was a better value - at least as reliable but MUCH cheaper to buy.)
Is there any point in buying used? The listings on Ebay and Google Shopping don't show the used tablet PCs to be that much cheaper than new ones, and there are more new tablets than used ones available.
Ebay listings currently (5-23-2012) show over 200 Android 2.3 tablets selling for $55-$90:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/iPads-Tablets-eBook-Readers-/171485/i.html?Operating%2520System=Android%25202%252E3%252Ex%2520Gingerbread&LH_BIN=1&Internet%2520Connectivity=Wi%252DFi%7CWi%252DFi%2520%252B%25203G%7CWi%252DFi%2520%252B%25204G&_nkw=android+2.3&_dmpt=US_Tablets&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=1000
Ebay listings currently (5-23-2012) show over 200 Android 4.0 tablets selling for $83-$107:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/iPads-Tablets-eBook-Readers-/171485/i.html?Operating%2520System=Android%25204%252Ex%2520Ice%2520Cream%2520Sandwich&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=1000&Type=Tablet&_pppn=r1&_dmpt=US_Tablets&Internet%2520Connectivity=Wi%252DFi%7CWi%252DFi%2520%252B%25203G%7CWi%252DFi%2520%252B%25204G
What do you think?
This question is probably off topic.
But here are my thoughts:
If you want to develop the truth is you should try to have access (be it ownership or just access) to any devices that you intend to support with your applications. This is certainly not possible for everyone, but there are ways that you can maximize your value while building a device collection by aiming to hit the largest swath of different types of devices.
You have no obligation to be locked into a contract (or even any service) for a telephone. If you go to a carrier store you can purchase a device at full price and leave the store without activating any service on it (In general, subject to change at the whim of whatever store you are in =) If you intend to by a phone for full price expect the range of prices to be $380-$600. From what I can tell about your situation I would think that a phone is best route for you to start off with. In addition to being able to buy from a carrier, Google also from time to time directly sells a "Nexus" device which is released with stock(ish) android OS (no skins etc..) The current device in this line is the Galaxy Nexus which is being sold directly through the (former) Android Market That is a good choice because it is more or less the latest generation of hardware, and the newest OS (these Nexus devices tend to receive their OS updates in a more timely manner than carrier tied devices). In fact the first Nexus device was marketed heavily toward developers, this line of phones was meant to be used for development.
Is a tablet PC the type of device I should get?
If you intend to create applications for tablets then yes. If you intend to develop phone applications you should really be testing on a phone.
Should I get a device with Android 2.3 or 4.0?
Ideally both on different devices. If you must pick one, then it depends on your budget 4.0 is only on the newest devices right now so they are likely going to be more expensive than some of the devices you can find with 2.3. (although $399 for the Galaxy Nexus might be hard to beat in price, even for some of the 2.3 devices for sale)
In addition to wifi, what else should I look for?
On phones that can be readily purchased in the US your choices are basically boiled down to only a few things. Screen Size (anywhere from tiny to pretty damn big for a phone), HardwareKeyboard(in a few different shapes and sizes), Camera (if you care about it). In general most of the other features are fairly standard (i.e. bluetooth, gps, accelerometer, etc..) The other thing to consider would be "Oomph", despite being called phones what people are carrying around today are small computers. They have CPU, GPU and RAM just the same as PCs. Battery life is the last major divisor, there is a fairly wide range of battery life expectancy (hint, massive screen and multiple cores need lots of battery). However since you don't seem to want to use this device as your phone some of this stuff may not matter as much to you.
Are there any brands/models I should avoid?
Anything in the list of your first ebay link. In general (in the US) the major phone manufactures are: HTC, Motorola, Sony, LG, Samsung. There are many other devices out there that are nice as well. But these guys are generally the ones consistently pumping out the most used phones. Idealy you should aim for a spread of device's made by different manufacturers. The custom skins and addons they like to use in their versions of the OS tend to like extra testing. Having one of each will help you help the largest chunk of your users.
Is there any point in buying used?
There are good deals to be had on nice but slightly dated phones. If you don't know what you are looking at I'd stay away though, it could be easy to get ripped off.
Well it does not seem like you need a very expensive device. Guess you could buy Google's and Samsung's old Nexus S which is not the newest around but still has android 4 because it's Google's "offcial" or something. And since it rolled out with 2.3, you should be able to download the old version somewhere and flash it. That phone should be cheaper, especially second-hand.
I mean since there are so many devices with different screen sizes and all you can't really find one that will reveal what other device-users will think of your apps.
Carrier options should be a non-issue for development. You can buy any Android phone for any
carrier including unlocked, and that should not affect your development flexibility.
Get the lowest version you can have. 2.3 and 2.2 have the most market shares right now. There is no reason to get 4.0, unless you are developing specifically for Android OS 4.0 and above (meaning that you actually use API that only exist on 4.0 and above and not lower).
Your development platform also affects what phone model to use. If you use Windows, get a phone that comes with Windows drivers. It'd be a bummer to buy one only to find out that Windows can't detect it. Mac and Linux do not need drivers, as they are both UNIX based.
You should get a phone. If you don't want to use it you don't have to... but most likely the majority of your users will be on a device. If you want a device that is always up to date and is great for testing I recommend the Galaxy Nexus.
Since most Android phone users are not on the most up to date os version, I prefer testing on a phone with 2.3
If you temporarily need a phone to test your app, Sony Mobile developer program has a phone loaner program in US and Canada where you can borrow a device for up to 30 days.
http://developer.sonymobile.com/wportal/devworld/phones/borrow-a-phone
/Magnus E
Sony Mobile
I am trying to find out about sensors in Android phones.
Do all/most phones have a basic set of sensors or do I have to look at the individual specifications to find what each supports. The specs I have looked at seem rather unclear as to what each phone actually provides.
I haven't been able to find even an out of date list of phones and their sensors, but if anyone can point me to one, I would be grateful.
I should have made it clear that I am looking for this information as my application may need a specific sensor or combination of sensors. If these are not generally available then the application may not be worth developing. In addition, it may be possible to use more than one combination of sensors to do the job, so information on what is likely to be available will aid development.
Android has no minimum hardware requirements for Android when it comes to sensors. The Android Compatibility Program states:
Android 2.3 includes APIs for accessing a variety of sensor types. Devices implementations generally MAY omit these sensors, as provided for in the
following subsections.
The best way of going about it is to specify the sensors your app uses in your AndroidManifest.xml file, along with whether or not those sensors are required for the application to work. The android market uses the details of required sensors (and other hardware features) to hide the app from unsupported devices on the market.
Details of the different flags and how to use them can be found here.
When you publish a draft of the app, you can see a list of all the devices which support the features requested.