Brian's Blog
Brian's Blog
Productive Week
It’s been a very productive couple days for me. In the past couple days I’ve pushed out two changes to Handicap and release an ad supported version. I have a list of features I want to roll out for everyone but I ended up working on ideas that came up.
The first was to simply localize my application for English and Italian. I really have no reason to do this because I’m not seeing an traffic from Italian android users but it was a nice learning activity for myself.
I also added the ability to share your rounds or handicap with others. Now you can share your round via twitter with your friends. This should be a fun feature allowing people to directly brag about their golf skills.
I had been working on an ad supported version of Handicap for a while now. Originally it was going to be the slimmed down version of the app but for the initial release it’s identical except for the ads. I’m not sure how I will be releasing features but I’ll probably make it worth while to have a paid version of the app.
The first was to simply localize my application for English and Italian. I really have no reason to do this because I’m not seeing an traffic from Italian android users but it was a nice learning activity for myself.
I also added the ability to share your rounds or handicap with others. Now you can share your round via twitter with your friends. This should be a fun feature allowing people to directly brag about their golf skills.
I had been working on an ad supported version of Handicap for a while now. Originally it was going to be the slimmed down version of the app but for the initial release it’s identical except for the ads. I’m not sure how I will be releasing features but I’ll probably make it worth while to have a paid version of the app.
Final Impressions of Crackdown 2
Talk a bout a disappointing game. I’m not sure what really was the issue with Crackdown but I clearly got tired of the game half way through playing. The game wasn’t as compelling as the original. I have not sold the game back yet but I know I will not be buying a 3rd version if it comes out.
The game felt really repetitive but without any story to help push you along. There were all the elements of a good game here but just poorly executed. You had audio files around to help the gamers fell like there might have been a story somewhere in the game. It’s too bad that the story elements were hidden across the city and required the player to hunt to find those items. I guess I wasn’t motivated enough to spend time searching for these audio files.
I wonder how well Crackdown would play out today? I tend to think it was a product of a shallow gaming pool. There wasn’t much to play so they didn’t mind hunting for orbs and playing a game with little story. Compared to games like Gears of War, Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed Crackdown is a B rate game of this generation.
The game felt really repetitive but without any story to help push you along. There were all the elements of a good game here but just poorly executed. You had audio files around to help the gamers fell like there might have been a story somewhere in the game. It’s too bad that the story elements were hidden across the city and required the player to hunt to find those items. I guess I wasn’t motivated enough to spend time searching for these audio files.
I wonder how well Crackdown would play out today? I tend to think it was a product of a shallow gaming pool. There wasn’t much to play so they didn’t mind hunting for orbs and playing a game with little story. Compared to games like Gears of War, Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed Crackdown is a B rate game of this generation.
My new T-Mobile’s Vibrant
Its been a couple weeks now since I decided to retire my HTC Hero and buy a Samsung Galaxy S model phone. I’ve been intrigued with the Galaxy S since I first saw the coverage of the phone from this year’s CTIA. The phone offered the best in class screen resolution and processor. Samsung is bring the phone to all four US carriers and around the world. In the US the first carries were T-Mobile and AT&T.
Both carriers now offer a Samasung Galaxy S phone but the Vibrant (T-Mobile) and Captivate (AT&T) are not identical phones. Both phones run the same Touch Wiz UI overlay but have different form factors. The Vibrant is closer to the standard Galaxy S but is missing the front facing camera. The Captiva has harder lines and a metal back cover that amplifies the antenna. I prefer the look and feel of the Vibrant over the Captivate and I’m not a fan of AT&T so I went with the T-Mobile version.
The Vibrant is an impressively large phone with a beautiful 4” Super AMOLED screen. It is also incredibly light at 4 ounces. The form factor of the phone makes it very easy to carry and place in your pocket. It’s screen is so large it’s easy to watch videos and read websites. If the speakers on the phone were better it would be a great multimedia device. The speaker quality is fairly poor and really requires the use of headphones for audio or even a call using the speaker.
The Galaxy S is an Android phone running a custom UI, Touch Wiz, over the stock OS. This gives you the additional features in the notification shutter for turning on and off GPS, WIFI, Bluetooth and Audio. The customization to the notification shutter frees up screen slots by not having to place widgets on the screen to turn off these options. It also gives the Galaxy S a custom task bar and app drawer. These additional features make the Galaxy S phones more friendly to use. I prefer the horizontal scrolling in the app drawer over the standard vertical scrolling in other android phones. I find this a bit easier to know which page apps are on in the drawer.
The customizations Samsung has made with Touch Wiz are a great enhancement to the android experience. Samsung did not go to the extent of changing the android feel, they made changes that are slight but valuable. I prefer this feel compared to the stock look some phones ship with. To me this gives the Galaxy S phones a key advantage over other android phones. Fortunately for others software can be copied and ADWLauncher offers a similar app drawer view. Hardware is tougher to copy and the Samsung Galaxy S phones are top of the line in that area.
Both carriers now offer a Samasung Galaxy S phone but the Vibrant (T-Mobile) and Captivate (AT&T) are not identical phones. Both phones run the same Touch Wiz UI overlay but have different form factors. The Vibrant is closer to the standard Galaxy S but is missing the front facing camera. The Captiva has harder lines and a metal back cover that amplifies the antenna. I prefer the look and feel of the Vibrant over the Captivate and I’m not a fan of AT&T so I went with the T-Mobile version.
The Vibrant is an impressively large phone with a beautiful 4” Super AMOLED screen. It is also incredibly light at 4 ounces. The form factor of the phone makes it very easy to carry and place in your pocket. It’s screen is so large it’s easy to watch videos and read websites. If the speakers on the phone were better it would be a great multimedia device. The speaker quality is fairly poor and really requires the use of headphones for audio or even a call using the speaker.
The Galaxy S is an Android phone running a custom UI, Touch Wiz, over the stock OS. This gives you the additional features in the notification shutter for turning on and off GPS, WIFI, Bluetooth and Audio. The customization to the notification shutter frees up screen slots by not having to place widgets on the screen to turn off these options. It also gives the Galaxy S a custom task bar and app drawer. These additional features make the Galaxy S phones more friendly to use. I prefer the horizontal scrolling in the app drawer over the standard vertical scrolling in other android phones. I find this a bit easier to know which page apps are on in the drawer.
The customizations Samsung has made with Touch Wiz are a great enhancement to the android experience. Samsung did not go to the extent of changing the android feel, they made changes that are slight but valuable. I prefer this feel compared to the stock look some phones ship with. To me this gives the Galaxy S phones a key advantage over other android phones. Fortunately for others software can be copied and ADWLauncher offers a similar app drawer view. Hardware is tougher to copy and the Samsung Galaxy S phones are top of the line in that area.
Handicap updates
I’ve recently been looking at ways to improve my android golf app by adding features. I’ve been exploring ideas on storing more stats and possibly adding the ability to look up new golf courses. I think these are all nice features but I have to accept the fact that I’m developing for a phone.
There are certain limitations you have to work with like screen size when working with a phone. I can’t have a fifteen components on a screen because most screens are only 3.7” or smaller. I’d love to track the club used off the tee, sand saves, par saves, tee shot distance and even track birdies, boogies, doubles and eagles. This just leads to one complex busy looking user interface.
With larger screen phones it does help to be able to see what’s on the screen but for the most part apps scale their screens for phones. Moving from a 3.2” screen to a 4.0” screen only makes the screen easier to read. It doesn’t give you more space for components.
I think I will not be adding any more stat tracking for items you can enter on a round. I think I will add move value to the existing application by sorting rounds, searching for courses and making the app more customizable.
There are certain limitations you have to work with like screen size when working with a phone. I can’t have a fifteen components on a screen because most screens are only 3.7” or smaller. I’d love to track the club used off the tee, sand saves, par saves, tee shot distance and even track birdies, boogies, doubles and eagles. This just leads to one complex busy looking user interface.
With larger screen phones it does help to be able to see what’s on the screen but for the most part apps scale their screens for phones. Moving from a 3.2” screen to a 4.0” screen only makes the screen easier to read. It doesn’t give you more space for components.
I think I will not be adding any more stat tracking for items you can enter on a round. I think I will add move value to the existing application by sorting rounds, searching for courses and making the app more customizable.
Android App Sales
I tend to read a lot of Android Central for information about what’s new on Android and what new apps or phones are being talked about. There was a new article a few days back asking the question can you make money on the Android marketplace as an App developer. It didn’t cover any new ground but just rehashed a bunch of easy excuses.
The comparison to the Apple store will always happen and it’s not going away. There are more apps on iTunes and there are more consumers with iPhones. The Android market is growing, as is the install base but it’s no where near the iPhone’s.
In a couple years I expect the iPhone and Android install bases to balance out and it will be more advantageous for developers to code for each platform. Currently the more popular apps are on both Android and iPhone. Neither install base alone is large enough to actually turn a career out of developing phone apps.
I build apps that I want to use. If I’m not going to use it then why bother? I’d like to see my app get a little more usage but I don’t expect to sell more than a couple thousand copies. Maybe if I build an iPhone version I’d sell a few more copies but I can’t say that for sure. The marketplace on iTunes is a lot more competitive with more apps. Besides, I build apps I want to use and I don’t want to use an iPhone.
Source:
http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010
The comparison to the Apple store will always happen and it’s not going away. There are more apps on iTunes and there are more consumers with iPhones. The Android market is growing, as is the install base but it’s no where near the iPhone’s.
In a couple years I expect the iPhone and Android install bases to balance out and it will be more advantageous for developers to code for each platform. Currently the more popular apps are on both Android and iPhone. Neither install base alone is large enough to actually turn a career out of developing phone apps.
I build apps that I want to use. If I’m not going to use it then why bother? I’d like to see my app get a little more usage but I don’t expect to sell more than a couple thousand copies. Maybe if I build an iPhone version I’d sell a few more copies but I can’t say that for sure. The marketplace on iTunes is a lot more competitive with more apps. Besides, I build apps I want to use and I don’t want to use an iPhone.
Source:
http://www.androidcentral.com/can-developers-make-money-android-market-mobilebeat-2010
Crackdown 2 Impressions
One of the best original games for the Xbox 360 was Crackdown. This was the open world game where you played as a super human cop cleaning up the city and hunting down orbs. Last week the highly anticipated sequel came out to mixed reviews.
I think that most people look back at Crackdown through rose colored glasses. The original game was a ton of fun co-op where you’d just run and jump and kill everything that moved. It was about moving from location to location killing bosses and reclaiming the islands. It was fun but by no means a AAA game.
Now that I’m playing Crackdown 2 I like the changes but I’m not expecting much out of the story line. There is now one group called Cell that you attack and they also introduced a zombie threat. I’m enjoying the game for what it is right now. I love mowing down zombies with the cars and climbing buildings looking for orbs.
It’s hard not to like Crackdown 2 because it is mindless fun. The game is very simple and occasionally you will create huge explosions by accident that are really awesome. The game is really meant to be an achievement hunters game. It’s about collecting stuff and doing crazy stuff for points. It’s just plain fun so pick it up.
I think that most people look back at Crackdown through rose colored glasses. The original game was a ton of fun co-op where you’d just run and jump and kill everything that moved. It was about moving from location to location killing bosses and reclaiming the islands. It was fun but by no means a AAA game.
Now that I’m playing Crackdown 2 I like the changes but I’m not expecting much out of the story line. There is now one group called Cell that you attack and they also introduced a zombie threat. I’m enjoying the game for what it is right now. I love mowing down zombies with the cars and climbing buildings looking for orbs.
It’s hard not to like Crackdown 2 because it is mindless fun. The game is very simple and occasionally you will create huge explosions by accident that are really awesome. The game is really meant to be an achievement hunters game. It’s about collecting stuff and doing crazy stuff for points. It’s just plain fun so pick it up.
My uPro
Last year for my birthday I received a Callaway uPro. I don't believe I ever blogged about the device last year because I wasn't playing much golf. This year I'm playing much more golf and I've used my uPro on several rounds. I was not sure how much it would affect my game but it is an interesting device. The Golf GPS market has blown up over the past couple years with several different dedicated models and now with software for your mobile phone.
The uPro is a dedicated golf GPS device used to find your distance from certain points of the golf course. The uPro does not come with any courses preloaded so you need to download courses from the Callaway site. You have two options for courses: a free version with no satellite images or a paid version with satellite images. The paid version also features a fly over video of each course.
I tend to buy the courses I play because I want the features it includes. The paid version shows distances to specific points and you can move the target around to see exact distances. I really like this feature and think it makes the uPro extremely useful on the course. If you have a device like this it makes no sense to download the free courses unless it's a par three course.
I do think the uPro has saved me several strokes on the rounds I've played. I have no need to count off yardages and have an accurate gage on distance from any spot on the course. I highly recommend buying a dedicated GPS device because it will save you stokes and help you pull the right club.
Preparing for Handicap 1.1 Release
Since I launched Handicap for the Android platform I've been busy tweaking the UI and looking at ways to improve the application. I have gotten a few suggestions from friends and acquaintances about how to improve the application. The changes I've made since launching the app have been made in an effort to improve quality and value.
I decided to add the ability for people to track their nine hole handicap as well as their 18 hole handicap. Each course has a separate rating for their front nine and back nine to allow for the calculation of the correct nine hole index. This information can be obtained from the USGA's web site. I'm now displaying the nine hole index on the Handicap tab.
I decided to add the ability for people to track their nine hole handicap as well as their 18 hole handicap. Each course has a separate rating for their front nine and back nine to allow for the calculation of the correct nine hole index. This information can be obtained from the USGA's web site. I'm now displaying the nine hole index on the Handicap tab.
In an effort to make my app easier to use I have also added Help screens to every view. Now when you click the Menu button on your phone you will see an icon for Help. This will open the general help activity screen displaying general help for using the application. This will also be a way for the user to email for support or visit the blog.
I have a few more ideas for future releases but will decide on the growth of the app if I will continue on them. I'd like to add GHIN support as well as a service for looking up golf courses from a central database. I still have to research these options out to see how expensive of an undertaking they will be. I am also looking at releasing an ad supported version with limited functionality.
The main UI changes have been around making sure there are safe guards in place and everything on the screen looks good. I have added some data validation on creating courses so that you can enter nothing at all and still create a course. I am defaulting the course name and number of holes. I will also calculate a high value handicap if you post any rounds at this course.
On the list screens I fixed a couple minor issues with alignment and display. I've adjusted the application to line the columns up by setting their with to a fixed value. I emulated this on multiple display so hope this looks ok on multiple devices. I have also fixed an annoying issue with scrolling through lists where the background would go black. This took some research to figure out what was happening. I also fixed an issue with buttons being cut off the screen when viewing the data entry fields in a horizontal orientation.
I have a few more ideas for future releases but will decide on the growth of the app if I will continue on them. I'd like to add GHIN support as well as a service for looking up golf courses from a central database. I still have to research these options out to see how expensive of an undertaking they will be. I am also looking at releasing an ad supported version with limited functionality.
Comment Spam
I've disabled comments going forward. I've gotten 30 spam comments in the past five days. I've been deleting all comments and am not going to only allow approved comments to be posted.
Hello World!
I have to say that there is not much more gratifying seeing people pay for something you've produced. It kind of validates the time and effort you've put into the project. My Handicap application has made a couple sales in the first couple days which has me totally pumped. I expected sales to be very slow early on and perhaps increase as I started advertising.
Now the question is what next? I'll be continuing to update handicap with small enhancements over time but I'm currently evaluating other projects. My wife has one app she'd like to see done before our trip out east. I might like to get start that Buzz client I was looking into originally. I also might want to see how ads work in my apps. Maybe offer add free versions for a cost and app supported versions for free.
The tools that Google provides online are very cool. I was able to create an account, upload my application and then find it on the marketplace in minutes. I'd say the upload is almost instantaneously available on the marketplace. Once you've setup your account you can use their checkout site to see how many people have downloaded your app and any error reports your app has generated. I discovered I had an error with lead me to add some new logic for error validation on the New Course screen and handicap calculation. I'll be uploading a new version shortly.
Now the question is what next? I'll be continuing to update handicap with small enhancements over time but I'm currently evaluating other projects. My wife has one app she'd like to see done before our trip out east. I might like to get start that Buzz client I was looking into originally. I also might want to see how ads work in my apps. Maybe offer add free versions for a cost and app supported versions for free.