Reader Widgets V2.13 in the Market

The latest versions of Reader Widgets Pro and Free are now in the Android Market. Here’s the change log:

• Enabled plugins in the Webview. This allows Adobe flash to run on Froyo devices.
• Bug fix: when exiting the Webview in certain situations it would get stuck in a bad state and be unresponsive.
• Bug fix: one thread now used to rotate headlines in all large widgets. This fixes an issue where the headlines would stop rotating if more than one large widget was running. It should also save battery life.

Paperless List V1.2 in the Android Market

I just uploaded Paperless List V1.2 to the Android Market. It contains minor fixes:

• Built against new Android 2.2 SDK revision 2
• Improved error handling so when Tesco.com API is down messages reflect that

How to: create a Paperless List through the air

One of the features I like the most about my new app Paperless List is the chrome-to-phone functionality. It was also one of the simplest features to implement. In Android 2.2 (Froyo) Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) was added. This allows cloud services to push notifications or data down to an Android 2.2 phone. Shortly after the first Froyo build was released, chrome-to-phone appeared to allow links to be sent from a PC browser down to a phone running Froyo over the air. When sent to the phone website links opened the browser, Google Maps links opened the Android Google Maps app and Youtube links opened the Youtube app. Now Tesco.com links open Paperless List and add items to the shopping list.

Requirements:

• Android 2.2 phone e.g. Nexus One
• Google Chrome 4.0 and above or Firefox 3.0 and above on Windows/Mac/Linux

Instructions:
1. Download Paperless List from the Android Market
2. Download and install the chrome-to-phone Chrome plugin and companion Android app from here. If you are using Firefox then download the Send To Phone plugin from here. The Android app will require you to enable installation from “Unknown sources” in application settings.
3. Run the chrome to phone app on the phone and register your device.
4. Go to Tesco.com in Chrome, click on groceries and login to your account. If you don’t have an account, sign up for one. It doesn’t take long.
5. Navigate Tesco.com and find a product page like this one for milk.
6. Click on the chrome-to-phone icon in Chrome to send the product to your Paperless List. The first time you do this in your browser session it will require you to sign into Google. After sign in go back to the tab with Tesco.com open and click on the icon again to send the link.
7. After a short delay your phone will make the default notification sound and a pop-up will appear asking you to select the Browser or Paperless List:

8. If preferred check the “Use by default” box to automatically add things to your shopping list in future. Tap the Paperless List option.
9. Paperless List will start and retrieve the product details from the Tesco.com API
10. Once the details are retrieved the product is automatically added to your list and of course updates the total cost:

11. Repeat steps 5 to 10 to build a complete shopping list over the air. It also works for the Tesco.com search results page by making Paperless List execute a search with the same keywords.

Unfortunately, at the time of this post only the Nexus One has an official Android 2.2 build that supports C2DM. Hopefully more devices will get updated to Android 2.2 soon.

Paperless List V1.1 in the Android Market

I have just uploaded a quick update to my new Paperless List app. Some users reported that no search results were appearing despite perfectly valid search terms being used. This seemed to be an issue with the Tesco API reporting 0 results when in fact the session key needed renewing. I have added a workaround so that the search is retried once in the background when 0 results are returned. I have also auto-capitalized the manual add text input box.

And for my next app: Paperless List

Paperless List is a shopping list application powered by the Tesco API. It is for UK Android devices only.

Tesco products can be searched for or scanned using the Barcode scanner already in the Market. There are other Tesco shopping list apps in the Android Market but I started development on mine before these appeared. I have added some unique features to differentiate it:

• Horizontal swipe gestures (only on Android 1.6 or above) or context menu to cross off items
• Manually add items
• Total price of list visible at all times
• Using chrome to phone on the Tesco.com website, products and searches can be sent straight to the phone from a PC. This works on Froyo (Android 2.2) only and requires a sign in to the Tesco.com site on the PC.
• Froyo (Android 2.2) apps to SD compatible
• Action bar and dashboard design patterns utilised, similar to the official Twitter Android app.

In order to perform an action on an item in search results or the list, the long press context menu is used. This includes viewing product details including images and special offers:

Even though it implements the latest Android features the app works on Android 1.5 and above. This took some extra work but I think it was worth it. It is available now on the Android market in the UK. Search for “paperless list” to find it.

Update – scan QR code to go straight to it in the market: