I'm currently stuck on AT&T due to my wife having a new iPhone so I've been eagerly waiting for a phone to come out on AT&T that would be working picking up. That time comes this Sunday with the Samsung Captivate... but I'm concerned with something. With AT&T locking up it's phones to non-Marketplace apps... does that hinder me in any way on developing on the phone?
Sorry if that seems like a stupid question or doesn't belong here... hoping a user with an AT&T phone (HTC Aria or... something) can help.
I'd be surprised if ATT not allowing you to install non market apps would make it so you can't use the phone for testing/debugging. Before you buy an ATT android phone, check out Settings -> Applications -> Development and if you can enable USB debugging then you will be able to use the phone to test your applications.
Hope this helps.
Update: It looks like the HTC Aria has been rooted too which would allow you to basically whatever you want with the phone. This is why Android is the superior mobile OS :)
It is required, for an device to be able ship with Android Market, for it to be usable as a development target. That means full adb support (including installing apps with adb) for integration with the development tools.
ATT is still disabling installation of non market apps so you will not be able to install apps from places other than the market.
You can still develop apps and test/debug on the emulator that comes with the SDK tools though.
Related
i know it might be the same as this question. i am from the philippines as well but the phone mentioned in that link is a samsung which is an internationally well-known brand and i know that adb supports that brand. what i am planning and really want to buy is this locally known phone. it got a really nice specs but i am worrying that i might not be able to use it on app development. i found adb drivers on the net and installed it but i don't know how to use them with android studio. the reason why i want to use a phone for development is because my laptop slows down with i run android studio and the emulator at the same time. if some co-pinoy already know a phone that they already used for app development within the same price range of flare x, please let me know. please guys i really need help on this matter.
Any phone that allows you to enable USB-Debugging will be suitable for android development. Most developers try to stick to a phone that has a clean Android base like a Nexus or Moto X, as it rules out any interference with vendor specific changes to Android (like Samsungs TouchWiz).
See this page for further information on using a hardware device for development. Google does not recommend any specific device.
Also see this list for device vendors providing ADB drivers. If you want to play it safe, stick to these vendors.
This download page suggests that the Google provided driver is suitable for the Cherry Mobile Flare X too.
I just want to know the actual difference between android dev phone, android nomral phone and android rooted phone.
Can we not buy dev phone from a physical shop or from some where else except android marketplace?
Can we buy android rooted phone?
If yes then from where ?
A developer phone can only be bought from Google, if you are a registered developer. The Android source tree contains (almost) all source code needed to re-build and flash the phone.
A normal phone is what you can buy in a shop.
A rooted phone is a normal phone that someone has gained root access to. Root access does not necessarily mean that you can re-build the software, although there are some community-driven projects that will help you do that, for example CyanogenMod.
You can't buy a rooted phone, instead you buy a "normal" phone and root it yourself. Have a look at XDA Developer's forum for some guidelines.
The one exception is the Samsung Nexus S that you can buy as a "normal" phone, unlock the boot loader and then build software for using the Android open source project. I assume the Galaxy Nexus will give you the same possibility, but I haven't tried it myself yet.
If you are developing apps, you do not need root access. You can just use any normal Android phone for that. But if you are developing some platform features, you need a rooted phone or a developer phone. Or you can get one of the many developer boards available, like the Beagleboard and the Pandaboards. These boards will not look like a phone, but they are superb for platform development.
Basically, it all boils down to what you are going to use it for.
You can develop software on almost every android phone but there are some differences.
Dev phone has unlocked bootloader, and will allow you to flash new OS images easily. (but you can unlock bootloader on other phones too, almost every bootloader out there was already hacked, and some phones are unlocked as well)
Phone coming from carrier will contain a ton of crappy carrier branded software, and you will be unable to remove it (but you can root phone, unlock bootloader and flash another OS image voiding all the warranty in process), and there could be some restrictions like "you bad boy do not uses VoiIP - we like to sell you minutes) - but you can also develop software with it
Rooted phone is the same phone, but OS is hacked to allow you root access (there is a linux below the covers) - some applications need this, but it is not really portable. You can develop software with it, but some things working with rooted phone may be unavailable to real users in field.
Conclusion: if you like to see what most users in field are experiencing, stick to standard phone without alterations.
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.
Can I use any Android Phone for app development? Here in the Philippines, there are many available mobile phones with Android installed. But I want to buy the cheapest phone available (which I think is Samsung i5500 Galaxy 5). Thanks in advance!
You can use any android powered device for development, just make sure it has Development menu option. To check go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development. If there is somewhat like USB Debugging option you can use device for the development.
Why not use the actual dev kit? There is a complete setup with virtual phone included that you can run as an eclipse plugin.
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
I think any Android platform based phone will be OK.
Yes you can, and I would definitely recommend using a real phone. The emulator is excellent, but somewhat slow for a number of applications that require hardware (OpenGL comes to mind). Even a G1 tends to be faster than the emulator for certain things. If you're creating an app that uses Bluetooth, there's no way to do so on the emulator currently. Konstantin's directions are good for actually setting up the phone.
You need to understand one thing before you buy the phone. What version of Android SDK you will be using for to develop the app. If say, you are developing the app for cupcake and above, you better have a phone with cupcake version. But if you have Froyo phone, you will not be still able to run the app, but some depreciated functions might not be available and your app may crash.
If you want to develop in Windows there is a list of devices available for which the USB drivers work: USB Driver for Windows
If you don't need the GSM part you could also think about using the Archos 5 Internet Tablet, which is a Android powered media player and supports ADB (Android debug bridge) as well
Is it possible to install Android in a normal mobile phone?
I have Sony Ericsson Naite which has only key pad interface (No touch). I would like to install Android in my phone for experimenting with it. It will be great if its possible to dual boot Android with Symbian :-).
Do we need any other special hardware to install operating system in a mobile phone? Will Android work on a key-pad mobile?
Any pointer/suggestion is appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
The Naite is a fairly simple handset running on the Sony Ericsson JP8 platform.
End users are not supposed to be able to update the firmware on the phone.
Only Sony-Ericsson partners are supposed to get the PC software to update the firmware and only Sony-Ericsson is supposed to be able to create new firmwares.
(maybe you can hack the phone so you get it to boot on android or symbian but that's going to be unsupported behavior that nobody will guarantee)
If you want to experiment with creating your own android firmwares, I suggest buying an ADP2 handset from google.
If you want to experiment with creating your own Symbian firmwares, I suggest buying a Texas Instrument Zoom 2 device since it is the reference platform for Symbian.
The Zoom 2 seems to also support Android, by the way.
If you just want to experiment with application development on both platforms, I suggest using the two SDKs and emulators first.
There are some pretty cheap Symbian phones out there, particularly in the Series60 3rd edition range and, depending on where you live, you might even be able to find a Pay-As-You-Go Android phone like the Pulse.
I STRONGLY encourage you to go visit the XDA Forums and visit their Android sections for this kind of information.