Reader Widget 1.4

Reader Widget V1.4 is out on the market and in the usual place. Changes include:

• https used for API calls
• Orientation locked to portrait for configuration screen
• Minor “under the hood” tweaks and tidying up

This will be the last update to it for a while because I want to concentrate on the Pro version.

Reader Widget 1.3

Thanks to everyone who has provided feedback on xda developers, Android Community and the Market. Version 1.3 is now up on the market. Changes include:

• Loading from cache when network is down fixed
• Dialog box shown when opened from Market after installation (it showed an error message before)
• Small performance tweaks

Reader Widget 1.2

After some feedback from the guys over at xda-developers I changed the background of the Reader Widget to a more standard one:

I have also fixed the onclick action so that it work for browsers other than the default e.g. Steel.
The layout of the configuration screen is improved and it scrolls when the phone is horizontal now.
Get the updated version at the usual place.

I have also uploaded this version to the Android Market as a free app. Search for “reader small” and it should appear. If you download it from there please rate it. Any feedback is welcome.

New Reader Widget

I have made a second update to the Reader Widget. Changes include:

• New icons
• Update period of 24 hours fixed
• Config cleaned up when removed from home screen
• Background thread for retrieving data to prevent “App Not Responding force close/wait” pop-ups
• Signed properly with non-debug key
• Logging reduced to minimum

Get it in the usual place. Please uninstall any old versions before re-installing.

Reader Widget Update

I have fixed some bugs with the Reader Widget:

• Text fits better in layout when phone is in horizontal position
• Zero unread items condition handled
• Loads properly after reboot

Get it from the same place. Please uninstall the old version before installing the new one (SettingsApplicationsManage Applications).

My First Android App: The Reader Widget

I’ve been developing an Android widget over the past few days. It uses the Google Reader API to find the number of unread items in Google Reader. It also displays the most recent unread item time. Get it here.
After installation go to your home screen, press Menu, Add, then Widgets and it should be in the list.

Requirements:

• Android 1.5 (cupcake)
• Google Reader Account
• Install applications from unknown sources enabled (in SettingsApplications)

Features:

• Compact 1×1 cell size
• Automatic authorization against Google Reader API (no username and password required)
• Configurable update period from 10 mins to 24 hours
• Most recent unread item time displayed
• Touch or click on it to launch Google Reader browser window

Give it a try. I might even upload it to the market. The reason its called “ReaderWidgetSmall” is because I’m planning on creating larger versions that show more info about what’s new in your Google Reader feeds.

Android ADP1.5 (cupcake) now on my G1

Just a quick update to say I now have cupcake on my phone! I went with haykuro’s apps2sd build. Its looks pretty good so far. I like the new widgets and I have some ideas for writing my own.
PubCrawler works and seems to be a bit snappier when navigating the map. As mentioned before dragging on the map works in Android 1.5!

PubCrawler now has manual location

PubCrawler now has manual location functionality. When Google Gears is not installed it falls back to asking for location in a JavaScript prompt(). With or without Gears on the map screen the location can be changed with a new button. Another minor change is the removal of the map buttons at the bottom for everything but Android devices. iPhones can use multitouch gestures to zoom and drag the map (Google’s functionality not mine!). For Android 1.5 I have added drag functionality myself though.

Coming soon: HTML5 database to save crawls on iPhone (instead of Google Gears DB which Android uses).

PubCrawler Web App

My first mobile web app is PubCrawler. It finds pubs in your location automatically and can show you a route around them. Navigate from pub to pub and save the number of pints drunk in each. Crawls are saved for viewing later.
Its being developed in HTML, CSS 3.0 and JavaScript using Google Gears GeoLocation, Maps API, Local Search and dojo Toolkit. Google Gears is required. It works on:

• Android phones like the T-mobile G1
• Windows Mobile 6 with Opera Mobile 9.5 technology preview build (go to gears.google.com in the browser to install Gears)
• Firefox 3 with Google Gears installed (although the CSS 3.0 elements won’t look right)
• Google Chrome

On first visit a prompt will pop-up asking you if you trust the site to use Gears. If you don’t click the accept button it won’t work.