Communicate with Your Android Device without Cables with PushBullet

Smartphones have essentially become substitutes for full PCs in many situations. We use them to watch movies, listen to music, and even play games. Nevertheless, traditional computers are still very important, as browsing the Internet on the big screen with full Flash and Java support is still more convenient.

What to do when you find a funny image or application that is not available in the Play Store? Grabbing a USB cable and installing it via ADB is time consuming. You can’t also share links, lists, or addresses with just one click that way either. But now you can, thanks to XDA Forum Member guzba, who developed an application and browser extension to easily communicate with your Android devices.

PushBullet gives you the ability to do the aforementioned tasks really easy and without wires, so you can forget about the cables. You can also share things with friends and family, so nobody forgets to buy the milk. The PushBullet browser extensi0n works with Chrome and Firefox. All you need to do is to install the extension and connect it to your profile. The communication works two ways, so you can easily exchange some messages with your friends.

You can find more information aboout the project in the original thread.

Video Guide Shows You How to Make Your Own Launcher

Android development is not easy. There are a variety of APIs to manage, and compatibility issues make it even more complicated. Luckily, there are such places like XDA, where you can learn and share your knowledge with other members of the community. Showing how to make a simple launcher from scratch is a good opportunity to learn some more advanced stuff than simply flashing a ROM.

Frederick Barnard once said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and he was totally right. In the age of YouTube and other easily accessed social media outlets, sharing knowledge is very easy. XDA Senior Member powerpoint45 seems to agree, with a quote from tge famous English caricaturist and a series of videos to illustrate the process of launcher creation.

This video series is not a tutorial, so you need to know a bit about development before hopping into really advanced coding. To make an application, you need Eclipse or another tool able to compile an APK file. But with these seven videos, you will then understand what to do to make a perfect launcher. Perhaps, you will create the next Nova or Apex launcher.

The videos can be found in the original thread, so if you want to take a walk in a programmer’s shoes, head over there and get started. What do you think about this form of knowledge sharing. Do you prefer video guides to standard text guides? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Cell Phones : [ Galaxy Nexus™ (Sprint) ]

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Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich for unlimited potential and more control

Cell Phones : [ Samsung Repp™ (Generic CDMA) Android Smartphone ]

Customize with Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread and a full range of Google™ services

Cell Phones : [ Samsung Transfix™ (Cricket) Android Smartphone ]

Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread + 800 MHz processor

Comprehensive Guide to Implementing RemoteController in Your App

The RemoteController class was introduced in the last version of Android, 4.4 KitKat. According to Google documentation, this class is used to control media playback, display and update media metadata and playback status, and is published by applications using the RemoteControlClient class. In plain English, this means that this class handles the behavior of media players.

It’s a new class used by Google, so it might be a bit problematic to understand how to use it. Luckily XDA Senior Member Dr.Alexander_Breen wrote a comprehensive guide, where he explains what should be done to successfully add this new function to your app. The guide is divided into five points to better understand the use of the new class. The final effect can be seen in a repository on Github, where Dr.Alexander_Breen pushed a sample of his code using this API.

You can find an answer to practically any question you may have in the original thread. This thread is oriented to experienced Android users / developers, so asking about adding this to PowerAmp is a bit pointless. Please keep that in mind, while you learn about the new RemoteController class. We wish you good luck in implementation this class into your personal projects.

Skate to Where the Puck Is Going

Businesses implementing Android apps can learn from what Web developers have done to handle browser variations, to handle the similar variations in Android OS versions. In this first post of a three-post series, we will examine what Web developers have done to simplify their development efforts and what the Android analogues are.