Advertising removed from Stockman - enjoy!

A new version of G-Meter has just been uploaded, that hopefully fixes the issue reported by a few people, when the app reports invalid data received from the sensor. I cannot reproduce the error on any of the phones I tested the app on, and would appreciate a quick note from someone who can/could. Thanks!

G-Meter is now officially past 5,000 downloads! Thanks everyone!

Got an email from a user complaining that a delete function does not exist in Running Mate. It does exist, but the description does not explicitly mention it. Long-click on the run to have a context menu pop up that will let you delete it. I have since updated the description, thx for the tip. Here is the screenshot.

G-Meter has been confirmed working fine on Star W007 phone - thanks!

A minor update for StockMan is out today. Some interface bugs fixed in this version, as well as 5 day option removed in the stock history graph screen and a 1 year history option added instead.

StockMan, as always, is available for free on Google Play.

Another quick update to G-Meter, as suggested by a user (thanks!). It is now possible to set a threshold for an audible alarm. Once lateral G reach a certain level, a beep will be sounded. The settings screen is below.

Have fun!

Version 1.8 of G-Meter is out today and will be available on the Market in the few hours. Recent changes:

• it is now possible to adjust the scale of the graph from 0.25g to 4g
• is is also possible to adjust how fast the graph is being drawn, 3 settings (fast-med-slow).

Have fun! Comments and suggestions, as usual, are welcome.

This comment was posted on the G-Meter page yesterday:

Fine, as far as it goes... Samsung Galaxy Ace (CM10 ROM) Does what it says but the graph is limited to +/- 0.25G - I don't know what old banger the developer drives but you can exceed that just pushing the car...! Needs adjustable scale and log function before it's useful.

The old banger is indeed pretty old! But good point nonetheless. Expect the change described above in the next version!

A couple of updates today:

• Latest Earthquake Info has reached 1,000 downloads - thanks everyone!
• A small update to G-Meter to fix the scaling issues on phones with smaller resolution, such as 320x480, for example. The app should now work properly on such phones.

Comments or feedback are welcome, as usual.

A small StockMan update out today (version 1.8) with a few interface and usability changes. Enjoy!

Feedback or feature requests as always are welcome via email or in the comments.

A friend of mine has recently released a new app which I think is promising (in fact I wish I had the same idea!). Check it out: Scale and Share Photos.

It allows you to resize the photos you take on your cellphone before sending it to your buddies, which saves both time and bandwidth.

The Loud Texter app has reached a 1,000 downloads today (hooray!) - big thanks to everyone using it and sending feedback.

As a reminder, here is the short description of what it does:

Ever had a sudden urge to express your emotions? Like when stuck in traffic next to a really nice car, or when trying to tell your friend across the room that the show is excellent (or not so much), or when just trying to say hi to a total stranger on a bus?
Now you can! Just enter what you want to convey, and this little app will slowly (or quickly, your choice) scroll your text across your phone's screen in VERY LARGE LETTERS, so your intended message target could read it even from far away.
Functions:
1. enter the text of your desired message
2. choose the color
3. choose how fast to scroll it (slow/med/fast)
4. choose if you want to display it in all caps or not (defaults to all caps)
5. hit go and tell the world all that you think about it!

Tech post alert!

While working on my next application, I have stumbled upon the problem of how to read user pictures and display them in ImageView. There are a bazillion posts and tutorials on the web, but they all are either needlessly overcomplicated, or aren't doing what is needed - for example, most of them are using ACTION_GET_CONTENT to pick and display a single image from the gallery, instead of reading them all in sequence and displaying as they come.

So, for my fellow Android developers, here is the absolute easiest and quickest way to read and display user gallery on Android phones using nothing but cursors.

1. Get the data into cursor:

Cursor cc = this.getContentResolver().query(MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI, null, null, null,null);

2. Get the contents of _DATA (!) field from it (not ID as some posts suggest), which contains the actual physical path to the file.

int i_data = cc.getColumnIndex("_data"); String s_data = cc.getString(i_data);

3. Decode the bitmap and assign to ImageView

Bitmap b = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(s_data); im.setImageBitmap(b);

That's it! I can't believe it has taken me so much time to figure this out, and I hope this helps someone to avoid wasting as much time as I just have.

A large update to Latest Earthquake Info app today:

• "List" button added, will display all events in the selected region in text form to make it easy to browse.
• Clicking on event in List View will isolate it on the map. To display the rest of events, click on "show all".
• The ad and buttons are now in the opposite ends of the screen so that people don't click on the ad when not intending to do so.
• The size of the icon on the map is now accurately represents the scale of the event, as opposed to 2-sized stars in the previous version (big/small).

Some new screenshots:

The app is available free on Google Play. Feedback, as always, is welcome!

G-Meter has now been confirmed working on two new phone models: Motorola Droid 4 and Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, bringing the full list of confirmed tested phone models to:

HTC One V, One S, One X, Desire
Galaxy SII-III, Nexus
LG Optimus
Motorola Droid 4
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

If you downloaded this app and it works fine on your phone, I would greatly appreciate a quick email with your phone model, so I could update the list above. Thanks!

G-Meter is a free application available on Android Market that will use the phone's internal accelerometer to plot acceleration data on the graph and record max values.

StockMan 1.7 is out today and will hit the Market in a few hours. Changes in this version:

• Daily change dollar value will now be shown for each stock position, in addition to the total daily change for the entire portfolio.
• Low and High threshold alert reworked to be a little more easier to understand and more visible.

A screenshot of the new main screen: 

As always, feedback is welcome.

A small bug-fix change for G-Meter today. The Reset button will now clear the entire graph as well as the recorded max values at the bottom (thanks for the feedback!). A couple of small bug fixes in addition.

G-Meter is a free application available on Android Market that will use the phone's internal accelerometer to plot acceleration data on the graph and record the max values. Check it out!

A quick bug fix update for Fish Mapper. Fixed in 1.4:

• map will now refresh properly each time location updates
• xhdpi icon for newer phones will display properly
• a pop up message will now display when trying to save a spot without active gps fix

Feedback is welcome, as always.

New for today!

Fish Mapper 1.1 is released with a few small interface bug fixes.

A couple of words about another app that is available on the Market right now, Stockman. Here is its short description:

This app will help you keep track of your stock portfolio. Enter the stock symbols that you currently own, how many shares and the original purchase price per single share, and the app will calculate your current gain (or loss) based on the up to date quotes provided by Yahoo Finance, for each stock symbol, as well as the grand total for your entire portfolio.
You can also request to be alerted when a stock you are monitoring reaches a predetermined (by you) low or high value, making it easy to monitor market price fluctuations and take action once stock price reaches the required level. The app will display an exclamation mark next to the stock symbol once a threshold is reached.
Features:
* displays current price of your stocks, provided by Yahoo.
* calculates current gain/loss for each individual stock.
* calculates total gain/loss for your entire portfolio.
* alerts you when a stock price reaches a certain level.
* add/edit/remove stocks by long-clicking on one.
* click on a stock to see the last 5 days to 6 months of its history.

It appears that the latest change displaying the daily change in dollars is rather useful. The next change coming up for Stockman is the daily change in dollars for each stock position, and possibly a graph displaying the pefrormance of your entire portfolio. Stay tuned.