How to break into Android development

Demand for Android talent is hot. Here’s how to get started and stand out

With hundreds of millions of Android devices in use today, there’s little wonder why the Android development job market continues to show strong demand.

Job search website Monster.com, for example, consistently shows more than 1,000 Android developer job postings, with California continuing to be a top destination. Android developers are also in high demand in New York City and Boston, among other cities. And job search website Indeed.com reports $163,000 as the average salary for Android developers. It’s clear that motivated developers will find plenty of opportunities to work on Android apps at startups, agencies, and other organizations. 

But if you’re looking to make good on this ongoing demand for Android development talent, where should you begin? How do new Android developers demonstrate their skills and get hired? Professionals working with well-established technologies, such as those from Oracle, Microsoft, and Cisco, have well-defined certification programs to prove their skills to potential employers. Google, however, has not yet defined a certification program for qualifying Android skills. That means it’s entirely up to you to establish your Android development credentials.

Here’s a look at several Android development career paths that are currently emerging. 

Google will let you navigate around your phone, hands-free

Need to use your Android phone but your hands are tied up? A new voice feature from Google can help.

Voice Access, currently in beta status, allows you to move around the screen, jump to other screens and open apps through your voice. You can utter specific commands, such as "Open Chrome" or "Go home." Voice Access also places numbers next to icons and other objects on a screen. So you can say the number associated with an item to access it.

Smartphones play a vital role in helping people communicate, find information and manage their lives, all with a few taps. But people with disabilities can sometimes feel cut off from the technology designed to help us.

Voice Access is part of Google's effort to make its phones more accessible to people with disabilities that prevent them from using their hands or seeing the screen clearly. Apple has its own iPhone technology called VoiceOver, which reads whatever you tap on the screen, a helpful option for people who are blind or visually impaired.

"We recently launched Voice Access Beta, an app that allows people who have difficulty manipulating a touch screen due to paralysis, tremor, temporary injury or other reasons to control their Android devices by voice," Google said in a blog post Monday.

Those who want to try Voice Access Beta are out of luck for now. The program is apparently full. The Voice Access page says: "At this time, the testing program has enough testers and isn't accepting more users."

Voice Access joins other Google features designed for people with disabilities. Google Docs users can create and edit documents using their voice. Google Chromebooks include a screen reader called ChromeVox that helps people use text-to-speech software to navigate the screen. The next version of Android will offer a Vision Settings screen through which you can manage the font size, display size and other attributes.

Source: Cnet

VMware goes after Outlook with Boxer email app for AirWatch

VMware launched a new version of the Boxer iOS app for companies using VMware to manage their employees' mobile devices

It seems like every major tech company needs to have an email app these days, and VMware is no exception. The company launched a new version of the Boxer iOS app today for companies using VMware to manage their employees' mobile devices.

Get to know the Galaxy S7's Always-On Display

A feature we're sure to see more of this year is a display that never truly powers off. Let's take a closer look at Samsung's version.

According to Samsung, the average smartphone owner checks his or her device nearly 150 times a day: A quick press of the power button to view the time here, and double tap not the screen to view notifications there, apparently adds up fast.

Samsung's solution for this obsessive checking and waking our smartphones is through a feature it calls Always-On Display.

As the name implies, Samsung's latest Galaxy devices are equipped with the fancy new feature.

After locking your device, the screen will remain dimly lit. The default setting is to display the current time, with the information moving around on the screen every few seconds. Alerts for missed calls and text messages are also placed on the screen, with a few caveats (more on that in a minute).

How to share custom short URLs from your Android

Want to share short URLs that you can pronounce? Or just keep a history of links you share on your Android? This app makes both easy.

Sharing links with friends on Android leaves you at the mercy of the app you're using to shorten the ridiculously long ones. Plus, you won't be able to easily see how many times your link has been clicked. Unless, of course, you use an app like URL Shortener.

Instead of generating a random mix of letters, you can control the structure of your short URL with seven choices, including lower and upper case, pronounceable, numbers only and custom. While smartphones can easily open a link, these choices will make it less cumbersome if your recipient wants to type the URL into a desktop browser. Additionally, you can add statistic tracking with several of the providers, giving you useful info about whether or not your links are being seen.

Step 1: Grab a copy of URL Shortener for your Android device.

Step 2: Open the app and head to Settings so you can choose your preferred URL provider (six choices), and whether you want to enable tracking. Unfortunately, you cannot set a default structure.

Step 3: When you're ready to share a link you have two options:

• Copy the URL and paste it into the app, giving you access to structure choices, and allowing you to divert from your default URL shortening service.

Note: According to tips offered by Guiding Tech, Goo.gl does not support anything other than standard structure, and tinyurl does not offer statistics.

• Share the link with the URL Shortener app (listed as Shorten URL in the menu). This option will not let you choose between URL structures, but will follow your default provider choice. You'll be able to copy the URL quickly, or share it through another app.

As an added bonus, the app will keep a history of all URLs you shorten.

What's your preferred method of shortening URLs? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Cnet

This magical cable charges both iPhones and Android phones

For years, iPhones and Android phones have needed different cables to charge — Apple requires the Lightning cable and you’ll need a micro USB cable for an Android device. But now there’s a single cable that connects to both.

The LMcable, which is picking up significant traction on Kickstarter, works in Lightning and micro USB ports by having a reversible male end with two differently designed sides.

Oracle considers a new effort to develop mobile Java apps

The OpenJDK community has until Oct. 12 to vote on the proposal to ease development for iOS, Android, and mobile Windows

Oracle is considering ports of the Java Development Kit (JDK) to support iOS, Android, and the mobile version of Windows, in an effort that would expand Java's presence in a growing part of the technology market.

Under the Mobile Project proposal, Oracle would contribute a build system, the HotSpot JVM, and JDK source changes to target mobile platforms. The resulting environment could produce static Java runtimes and modifications to the Zero interpreter needed for iOS devices. A headless JDK 9-based port is planned.

What’s the future for Windows Phone?

Despite rumors of its potential demise, Microsoft likely to hold on to the mobile business to keep its hand in the market

Despite rumors that Microsoft is about to kill Windows Phone, some industry observers say that's unlikely for several reasons, especially the expected gains from the rollout of Windows 10, which will run on smartphones and other devices.

The rumors of Windows Phone's imminent death seem to have started with Microsoft's announcement on Monday that it sold its Bing Maps mapping technology to Uber and transferred about 100 workers in data analysis and image collection to the ride-sharing company. That announcement came the same day that Microsoft said it will exit most of its online advertising business in a deal with AOL.

Why the boring Android M is good news for IT

The few changes at worst do no harm to IT and in some cases may make things a little easier or safer

IT likes systems to be stable and not change, which is why it took a decade for most enterprises to begin replacing Windows XP with Windows 7, and why Windows 10 may not get widespread enterprise adoption until 2020. But in mobile, the major OSes change every year, and IT has much less control -- often, no control -- over what OSes are in use.

So, Google's Android M, announced yesterday, is a comforting update for IT. Android M is a minor update to Android 5.0 Lollipop OS that was announced a year ago, was formally released in November, and began appearing on mainstream devices only in February. It should have few, if any, implications to IT when it ships this fall and starts showing up on mainstream devices next winter.

Three tips to get you started with Workflow 1.1

Workflow, the popular iOS automation app, has received a huge update adding new features and actions. Here are some tips to help you get started.

                                     Workflow on an iPad. 

Workflow is one of those apps when you first start using it on your iOS device, you have a moment of questioning how it's possible for such an app to exist on iOS.

After using the app for the last few months, I still don't know how it was allowed through the App Store. But I'm thankful it was. The latest update to Workflow adds new features and actions and improves upon the app tremendously.

Turn your phone into a computer mouse with Remote Mouse

Remote Mouse lets you use your iPhone, Android or Windows Phone as a touchpad to control your onscreen cursor in a pinch.

I'm writing this one with my wife in mind, who has been using a work-issued laptop with a broken trackpad for nearly a year. She has adapted by using a wireless mouse, but since she also has a work-issued iPhone 6 , she could use that instead of the old mouse I gave her and carry one less item in her work bag. All that's needed is the Remote Mouse app and its companion Mac/PC app.

Control music on your Mac from your iPhone's Notification Center

The TodayRemote app lets you control music playback on your Mac from your iPhone without needing to open an app.

 

Apple has long offered the Remote app that lets you use your iPhone to control Apple TV or iTunes on your Mac. With the TodayRemote app, you can control iTunes on your Mac with the added benefit of not needing to open an app on your iPhone to do so. TodayRemote lets you add a widget to Notification Center, giving you access to playback and volume controls just by swiping down from the top edge of your iPhone. The app is free, but a $1.99 in-app purchase lets you use TodayRemote with Spotify, Rdio, VLC and Vox, while also adding global volume control and the ability to control multiple Macs from a single iPhone.

Five ways to lower your smartphone data consumption

Which apps and services are the worst offenders when it comes to chewing through your data plan?

 
                            Data usage on a smartphone.

In the early days of cell phones, it was all about the minutes -- voice minutes, that is, because people used their phones to call each other. (Weird, right?) You had to limit your conversations or suffer the horrors of overage charges.

Group Text+, Email+ simplify group conversations on iOS

Two new iOS apps aim to eliminate the pain points of sending emails and iMessages to large groups.

                    Group Text+ and Email+ on an iPhone 6 Plus.

Even with the improvements Apple made to the Messages app in iOS 8, and with the ability to create contact groups on iOS, the process for sending a message or email to more than one person could use some work.

Group Text+, Email+ simplify group conversations on iOS

Two new iOS apps aim to eliminate the pain points of sending emails and iMessages to large groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Group Text+ and Email+ on an iPhone 6 Plus.

Even with the improvements Apple made to the Messages app in iOS 8, and with the ability to create contact groups on iOS, the process for sending a message or email to more than one person could use some work.

How to stop sleeping with your phone

It's an unhealthy habit that many people (myself included) do. Here's how to get your phone away from your nightstand for a more restful night's sleep.

 

If you're spending each night sleeping with your phone, you should stop.

Why? Well for starters, the blue light your phone's screen gives off can keep your brain awake and affect the quality of your sleep. Tablets and computers give off that light too, but you're more likely to take your small phone to bed nightly than those gadgets.

8 ways mobile will get your attention in 2015

From a carrier price war to wearable technology, it was a busy 2014 for mobile -- and there's more to come next year.

A wireless carrier price war, several blockbuster deals, unlikely smartphone vendors emerging as major players and the rise of wearable technology -- 2014 was a whirlwind year for mobile.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere kicked off the year in mobile with a bang.

The year kicked off with a bang when T-Mobile CEO John Legere crashed an AT&T party at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas -- and was summarily thrown out. The subsequent buzz propelled his Uncarrier press conference -- the first of eight such events held this year.

But T-Mobile wasn't alone in stepping up. Sprint replaced longtime CEO Dan Hesse with Brightstar founder Marcelo Claure, who quickly introduced a series of new plans and promotions to win back customers. With two players getting more aggressive, larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T had no choice but to respond.

The year also saw a number of big deals, from AT&T's deal to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion and Lenovo's $2.9 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, taking the business off Google's hands. Smaller vendors, including China's Xiaomi and India's Micromax, have risen quickly thanks to a strategy of selling low-cost devices with decent specifications and designs.

The market for wearable devices arrived this year, thanks in part to Google's Android Wear platform. Samsung, Motorola and LG, among others, tried their hand at a smartwatch -- or in Samsung's case, tried multiple times. And Apple finally took the wraps off its long-awaited design. Who cares if consumers haven't really embraced them yet?

Start here: A draft reimbursement policy for mobile users

Many companies still struggle with reimbursement and access policies for employees on the go

It's one of the most frequent questions I get at conferences: How to manage all those users who would like to -- or simply do -- use mobile devices and want their work usage reimbursed. This question usually comes up in the context of BYOD, but of course can be raised in terms of company-provided devices. In other words: Who gets those in the first place?

Although every company has its own requirements, employee-enablement bias, and context, every company can start from core, equitable principles, then modify them for their own needs and culture. What follows is my proposed draft policy based on these principles. As you begin a new year, now is a good time to (re)think your own policies around mobile and remote-access reimbursements and permissions.

Samsung launches Milk VR to deliver virtual reality videos to Gear VR

Milk VR will provide the videos for free as Samsung hopes to goose interest in the field.

Samsung wants to jump start the virtual reality movement.

The Korean electronics conglomerate on Tuesday launched Milk VR, a service that will provide free 360 degree videos to anyone using a Gear VR virtual reality headset, which launched as a limited "Innovator's Edition" earlier this month. The content is expected to dribble out on a consistent basis in an effort to get people coming back to the service.

Reviews editor Scott Stein tests out the Gear VR -- minus the Galaxy Note 4. 

Samsung hopes Milk VR is an answer to those skeptical about the amount of content available for the Gear VR. The videos will also serve as a model for future filmmakers or artists looking to take advantage of the virtual reality medium, as well as build up an ecosystem and viewership for VR content. Milk VR also sits alongside Milk Video and Milk Radio services, dragging Samsung deeper into the content game.

How to clear a default app setting on Android

Made a mistake when selecting a default app for an action? No problem, follow these steps to clear the default setting and get your app choices back.