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Error testing In-app billing sample - Dungeons
This, more or less implies, that painless android development of paid apps- and in-app purchases require two phones? Am I correct?
The more phones, the better. But if you have only one phone, you can always reset it to factory settings and change google account.
Of course, the emulator mimics a mobile device but I wouldn't deploy anything without testing it on at least 1 real phone. With all the fragmentation that exists with Android I'm sure most top-quality apps are tested on a wide variety of devices.
When considering google accounts, keep in mind that many people have multiple gmail/google accounts on a single phone.
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Does anyone know how to build a test app that plays well with Samsung Knox? What do I have to so differently to build an app for samsung devices that have Knox installed on them?
From KNOX 2.0, App wrapping is not required.
This is from the Samsung KNOX 2.0 whitepaper:
The KNOX 2.0 platform features major enhancements to the Application Container from the original KNOX platform. The most significant enhancement is the elimination of application wrapping. This is achieved by leveraging technology introduced by Google in Android 4.2 to support multiple users on tablet devices. This enables enterprises to easily deploy custom applications without requiring Samsung to wrap the applications. It also reduces the barrier to entry for independent software developers wishing to develop applications for the KNOX container.
Complete White paper can be found here: http://www.samsung.com/ca/business-images/resource/white-paper/2014/03/Samsung_KNOX_tech_whitepaper_Final_140220-0.pdf
Multiple user: (Complete Ref: http://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-4.2.html#MultipleUsers)
Android now allows multiple user spaces on shareable devices such as tablets. Each user on a device has his or her own set of accounts, apps, system settings, files, and any other user-associated data.
As an app developer, there’s nothing different you need to do in order for your app to work properly with multiple users on a single device. Regardless of how many users may exist on a device, the data your app saves for a given user is kept separate from the data your app saves for other users. The system keeps track of which user data belongs to the user process in which your app is running and provides your app access to only that user’s data and does not allow access to other users’ data.
Might want to take a look through here https://www.samsungknox.com/en/blog/what-app-wrapping and here https://www.samsungknox.com/en/resources.
Looks like you have to develop the app and then send it in to Samsung to have them 'wrap' it.
Personal data on Samsung devices is protected from mobile threats such as ransomware, malware, and unauthorized rooting, even while you’re using your device.
Secure Folder
Samsung Pay
Samsung Health
Samsung Pass
Empower enterprise mobility by leveraging Samsung Knox and ensure seamless device deployment with advance security, taking device management to next level.
I wish to test my Android application against different versions of the Android OS on physical hardware. The need comes from testing interactions of my program with 3rd party hardware (barcode scanners).
In order to "switch" between Android OSs, I assume in order to "reimage" my phone, that I will have to root the phone then set the particular OS version with various images.
There seems to be much discussion on how to root the phones, however I'm curious if there is a easy/standard way to do this for developers (e.g. standard hardware which allows for this process to happen quickly/easily)? If not, how can I proceed?
Unfortunately, other than rooting your phone and flashing it w/ various OSs, you don't have a lot of options. My company keeps a tone of devices on hand running various different versions of android to address this exact challenge.
Otherwise, there are services out there that may be of help to you. Take a look at these:
http://www.deviceanywhere.com/
http://www.perfectomobile.com/
I'm sure there are others as well.
If it is just a testing of release candidate (not your BAU testing development), you may publish your app on Google Play as closed beta and then ask your friends (or some other community you trust) to play with the app.
Is it true that ANY Android phone can be used for App development and testing?
I'm trying to find some inexpensive off-contract hardware for development and testing of our Apps. I've found some devices I can buy New with No Contract for $150 to $300 (like the HTC Aria or the Huawei Ascend). Is there anything that would prevent me from using these devices for USB debugging and app testing? I guess I'm concerned because I've read how the HTC Aria has been locked down by AT&T to limit applications. I suspect this won't affect me loading apps using ADB, but I'd like to be sure.
Yes, you can use any phone for testing applications via the Android development tools. This includes the HTC Aria of what I've read.
You can read more here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/device.html
And it is not true what Sam Dufel wrote. A developer phone have messaging and phone features. It's just as any other ordinary unlocked phone. The only difference between the dev-phones is that they have unlocked bootloaders so you can install and customize your own Android-system and install it. It is rooted by default.
Google actually sells development phones - after you create a developer account, they give you an option to buy one of a couple different models. You don't get any messaging / phone features though, obviously.
Im tossing up at the moment whether or not to start developing for iPhone or Android. The main thing drawing me towards Android at the moment is that apps are developed using Java, which I like, as opposed to Objective-C, which I hate.
Really though, the next thing on my list is to consider the costs. Apple requires you to join their iPhone developer program for $99/year, plus yield 30% of each sale of your app to Apple.
I noticed that google charges $25 to register as a developer. I wanted to confirm firstly, is that $25 recurring or is it just one off? Second, are there commisions charged when our apps are purchased, or do we recieve the whole sale price?
I also wanted to ask, does google provide an Android emulator that we can use to test applications without actually copying them over to an actual Android device?
Thanks so much everyone. Cheers.
$25 is one off.
Google takes 30% commission.
Yes, there's an emulator with the Android SDK.
You also can consider http://www.deviceanywhere.com/ for testing on multiple devices if you don't have many different devices and if testing on a real device is crucial for your app.
I have heard that the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet doesn't have the Google APIs SDK, but rather the plain vanilla Android 1.6 OS build. Is this true? And does anyone know of any other devices like this currently on the market or in the works?
I'm particularly interested in phones, but would like to know about any such devices. My company adds maps to our apps but they are often optional, so I'd like to know if I need to be worried that these apps won't be available to non-maps devices.
There are a bunch of Android-based tablets out there (see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_devices). The link doesn't have information as to whether or not they have Google apps installed, but if you do some research, you can find more info. The 1&1 Smartpad for example doesn't seem to have proprietary Google apps (I don't see any on the screenshots: http://www.slashgear.com/11-smartpad-android-tablet-drops-in-germany-3092321/).
Now the thing to keep in mind is that if a device doesn't have Google Maps, it probably doesn't have Market either. (To go back to the 1&1 example, I see a "1&1 Market" app on the screenshots).
Your best bet may be to provide your app on all known major app sites (http://www.andappstore.com, etc) and even your company's website in addition to the Google Market to maximize exposure. Al Sutton's andappstore in particular is a popular site for people with Android-based devices that don't have the market.