Lets talk about Cash Prizes, Paypal has put some money where their mouths are and will be throwing some large sums of money directly into the paypal account for the winners of this years dev challenge.

* Grand Prize is $25,000
* 2nd prize is $15,000
* And 3rd prize is $10,000

They mention a few requirements and that they are looking for something new, something surprising, something with business potential, something that integrates PayPal payments.
The winning application will need to make us say, “Wow!”, and that “Cool!”, or “Awesome!” will also work. If you would like to read more from Paypal here is a little post from the Paypal Blog. Or if you need it here is also the Mobile Payments Development Library Kit.

Important Dates for the Challenge:

* May 14 – Deadline to submit your application for approval
* June 3rd – Deadline for making changes
* June 7th – Application live in an Android Marketplace
* June 29th – Winners announced

Good Luck Devs!

[via Paypal]

The app is pretty simple, it saves your location wherever you park, and when you return to the area you left your car it will help you navigate back to the location. This was taken from Edward Kim’s blog:

• The application was netting an average of about $80-$100/day, until it became a featured app on the Marketplace. Since then, sales have been phenomenal, netting an average of $435/day, with a one day record of $772 on Valentine’s Day. Too bad I didn’t have a Valentines date this year — we would’ve gone somewhere real special!
• There appears to be clear peaks on the weekends and during holidays. This was always my hunch, but I think I can finally say this with certainty since the signal-to-noise ratio is much better now.
• Some may be quick to point out that a featured Android application is only able to net $400/day, while top iPhone apps make thousands. But the Android market appears to rotate applications in and out of the featured apps list in some psedo-random fashion. Every time I open the Marketplace app, the featured list is different and most of the time, I don’t even see my app on there.
• The price of the application was increased from $1.99 to $3.99. I ran a few price experiments and was surprised to see that though I doubled the price of the app, the number of purchases decreased by much less than half. Android users appear to have a willingness to pay more than a couple dollars for apps.
• Piracy appears to be an increasing problem. A quick search for Car Locator on Twitter reveals links where people can download the .apk file without paying. I tend to have the same attitude on piracy as Balsamiq, so I’m not too worried about it, but I would love to hear some typical statistics on Android piracy.

Things like this will surely attract more dev’s to Android, this shows that you can make money on this platform. If you would like to support this developer and in turn add an awesome app to your collection scan the qr code below

[via eddiekim]

The Overall Winner – or Top Three – apps are; SweetDreams, What the Doodle!? and WaveSecure. Now, if you want the whole enchilada, err…sorry, I’m hungry. If you like to check the full list of winners, which stretches up to 200 apps, click here.

SweetDreams – is a revolutionary tool that will finally allow you to go to sleep without worrying about changing your phone settings in order to avoid unwelcome late night calls. And it helps you to save battery power as well.

What the Doodle!? – is a real-time online multiplayer game where one player tries to draw out a given phrase and others try to guess it. It features, amongst others; Team games and integrated Voice Recognition.

WaveSecure – is a complete mobile security solution that protects your device, data and privacy.
1. Track your phone’s location and who is using it.
2. Lock down your phone remotely, making it worthless to the thief.
3. Backup all your data.
4. Wipe out your data remotely.
5. Restore your data. May the Force, err…Phone be with you!

JOYity is not one but three games in a single application. Once you download the application you can either choose to play YouCatch, Roads, San Francisco or City Race Munich or choose to design your own game. In Roads of San Francisco you have to follow clues all around the city. When you arrive at one location, a text or picture message tells you where to go next. The game is basically a Scavenger Hunt with a story line that can be played with several people.

YouCatch is a version of Manhunt in which players in the same proximity sign up for the game. Everyone acts as a hunter and the hunted, the game assigns you a person to hunt while assigning you to someone else as the victim. The location of everyone is periodically flashed on the map so you can locate others. When you get within 25 feet of your victim just press the scroll ball for the kill, the catch is your location is broadcast every time you press the scroll button. The winner is the last person left standing.

Below you can see two video reviews from AppVee of Roads of San Francisco and YouCatch. YouCatch is being played in Madison Square Park in New York City. AppVee was also impressed with this application saying that it is a “massive multiplayer trans-reality game.” What do you think about the new direction mobile gaming is going?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDeG2FDjS1w[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqpTM8eBl5Y[/youtube]

[Via Tech Crunch]

One San Francisco store was given the OK to sell the T-Mobile G1 a few hours early. The line grew rather long as people from all over the area lined up for a chance to get the G1 early. Many T-Mobile customers found a pleasant surprise on their doorsteps Monday morning as most of the pre-orders arrived 2 days early. Google finally released the source code for their Android operating system, however it appears it will only be for those who are running OSX or Linux.

Kyocera also announced they are working on an Android-powered handset. No details about the device have been released at this time. T-Mobile’s exclusive Hotspot Connect application was released into the Android Market this week allowing T-Mobile customers to connect to any T-Mobile Hotspot for free. The long awaited day came with the official launch of the T-Mobile G1, the first handset to run Google’s Android platform. TmoNews reported that there was to be an over the air update (OTA) for the G1 on the 23rd, but after no update was made available, reports changed the release date to November 2nd.

One concept of the Android interface surfaced in the Show Room for the Swedish software technology and design company Tat. Seen in the concept was a layout at the bottom that somewhat resembled that of the iPhone dock. Google announced that they will start allowing paid applications to enter the Android Market in early 2009. Another picture surfaced this week bringing hope to G1 owners who would like an on-screen keyboard, the picture showed an on-screen keyboard that very closely resembles that of Apple’s iPhone.

Instructions surfaced helping people activate their G1 at home without having an account, although to achieve this an activated T-Mobile SIM card is required. Hop-on is the latest company to announce that they are developing a phone to run the Android platform. Hop-on plans to unveil their Android in January at CES 2009. Stories are coming from all over the place stating that T-Mobile employees in non-3G areas know little or nothing about the G1 because they will not be selling the device.

Two developers of award winning Android applications TuneWiki and Shopsavvy, held an AndroidDevCamp in Dallas on the 25th to help developers get started with Android. HTC CEO Peter Chou, told Mercury News that G1 sales for 2008 would be more than 600,000 units rather than the 1.5 million reported to be sold already in pre-orders. Security researchers have already found a security flaw in the G1 that can potentially allow attackers to record keystrokes made within the devise’s browser application. Google is aware of this problem and states that it is not as bad as it appears and that they are already working on it.

Our Golla G1 Case Giveaway came to an end this week, we would like to take the time again to thank our sponsor Smartphone Experts for making the giveaway posible. I am going to pick up a Golla case myself, the cases were actually really nice and fit very well. I would also like to say thank you to all of our members for making this week another record breaking week for us here at Android Community!

Jason Hudgins, developer that worked on Tunewiki (and that is now a part of ShopSavvy), along with Rylan Barnes, the original developer of GoCart (now known as ShopSavvy) will be demonstrating their applications and sharing development experience on Google’s Android platform. Basic points that will be covered during the camp are: How to get started on Android, Google’s Android Developers I and II, lessons learned in the development of ShopSavvy and understanding Android fundamentals.

The event will include breakout sessions where developers can share ideas and form working groups to begin building Android apps. AndroidDevCamp 1 in Dalas is being sponsored by SpringStage and hosted in the Big in Japan/Architel offices located in the Dallas INFOMART. They can support around 75 ‘campers’ for the day.

AndroidDevCamp is organized by Anuj Bhatia, Alexander Muse, Rylan Barnes and Jason Hudgins. If you are interested in sponsoring, helping, organizing or hosting an event please email Alexander Muse at amuse ‘at’ m-ven.com.

Event location:
Infomart
1950 Stemmons Fwy
Suite 2022
Dallas, TX 75207

Photo courtesy of Android Community member heyitsnan.

[Via Upcoming - Yahoo]

Google requires registration and a one time application fee of $25 to ensure developers are authenticated and responsible for their apps. Once the developer is authenticated they may add applications for users without any further validation. We believe that a lot of applications that have been ready for an ok by Google will hit all at once, making many G1 owners very excited to get so many at one time.

In early 2009 developers will be able to offer paid applications to users, bringing home 70% of the revenue their applications brings in, while the remaining amount goes to carriers and billing settlement fees – Google will not be taking any percentage of profits. It comes as no surprise that Google is stating the Android Market is still in Beta.

“Android Market helps developers get their applications in the hands of users by acting as an open distribution system. A beta version is now available on the world’s first Android-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1.”

Photo courtesy of Android Community member heyitsnan.

[Via Android Developers Blog]

The G1 phone was quick and responsive as when we played with it at the launch event last week. We were able to get hands on time with the full version of ShopSavvy. We scanned a barcode (for demonstration purposes, a Logitech webcam) and were able to compare prices online as well as at many stores in the area.

No word on when the application will be released, or if it will be a free application or one in which you must purchase. We can imagine it would be particularly useful for all the Christmas shopping coming up over the next few months.  One particularly useful feature is price alert, allowing you to save products to a wish-list that updates you when the product is discounted into your pre-set price range. Check out the video interview we did with Big In Japan here.

The money joins Big in Japan’s existing win from the first round of the Google Developer Challenge, in which the company found itself among the top ten entrants and took away a $275,000 prize. ShopSavvy uses a combination of a cellphone’s camera, GPS and data connection to check prices for items at online and local retailers.

“Architel’s investment provides the resources we need to build the ‘idea factory’ we want Big in Japan to be. ShopSavvy is the first of many commercial applications we intend to make a reality for users of Android-based handsets and iPhones” Rylan Barnes, Big in Japan co-founder and lead developer of ShopSavvy

Android Community interviewed Big in Japan last week; you can see the video here.

[via yahoo]

“Finally people are going to think of their phones as something more than a way to talk to their friends” Rylan Barnes, Big in Japan

GoCart is a mobile shopping comparison app, that uses the camera on an Android device to scan a product’s barcode. Once recognized, the app checks pricing for the product in online stores; however, it also uses GPS to find local stores and query their inventory, offering alternative places to shop if you’re not willing to wait for delivery. Alternatively, users can set a price band they’d be willing to pay, and choose to be alerted when the product drops to that price.

“The Android platform, being open, really creates a lot of opportunities for us, where you can decide what you want the phone to look like: is it a phone or an internet device? Really that line becomes blurred with the Android platform. With the iPhone platform, it’s a really closed environment that’s really neat – it’s a phone, and it does really neat things – but you have to play by Apple’s rules, and Apple’s rules say “right now, you can’t touch the camera”, the SDK doesn’t let you manipulate that. There’re all sorts of things that you can’t necessarily do with the iPhone platform” Alexander Muse, Big in Japan

In the interview, Ewdi and the Big in Japan team discuss Android versus Apple SDKs, how they see the platform benefiting from having Google behind it, and the problems an open-source, multi-device OS faces in trying to stand up to a more managed environment like the iPhone. They also touch on the possibility of carriers and device manufacturers creating their own custom Android builds, and what impact that could have on code development.

Our thanks again to the Big in Japan team for the invite.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWngmkwXaAM[/youtube]

$275,000 Award Recipients

	cab4me Konrad Huebner, Henning Boeger Ever been looking for a cab? cab4me is the answer. Anywhere. Anytime. Read more		CompareEverywhere Jeffrey Sharkey Shop smarter using your phone. Compare prices, read reviews, and connect with local stores. Read more
	Ecorio Jeff Kao, Gary Pong, Robert Lam, Taneem Talukdar Ecorio automatically tracks your mobile carbon footprint, suggests transit and carpooling alternatives and lets you stay carbon neutral by offsetting your trips easily. Read more		GoCart Rylan Barnes Scan a product’s barcode with your phone’s camera and view all the best prices online and at nearby, local stores. Read more
	Life360 Chris Hulls, Dilpreet Singh, Luis Carvalho, Phuong Nguyen, Steve Potell From major natural disasters to little things like your child wandering away at the mall, there is a lot you might worry about. Life360 can help. Read more		Locale Carter Jernigan, Clare Bayley, Jasper Lin, Christina Wright Locale is an advanced settings manager that automatically changes your phone’s settings based on conditions, such as location. Read more
	PicSay Eric Wijngaard Easy to use image editor that enables you to quickly personalize your pictures and share them with friends or photo sites. Read more		Softrace Staffan Kjellberg, Thomas Kjellberg Turn your workout into a thrilling race and challenge the world in real time. Read more
	TuneWiki TuneWiki Inc. TuneWiki Social Media Player, is an advanced player, featuring synchronized lyrics for audio or video, translation, music maps and a social network. Read more		Wertago Kelvin Cheung,Teresa Ko, Peter Ree, Robert Sarvis, Douglas Young The mobile application nightlifers have been waiting for. Find the hottest parties in town and connect with friends and others all night long. Read more

$100,000 Award Recipients

	BreadCrumbz Amos Yoffe BreadCrumbz offers a unique approach to navigation. What sets it apart is its focus on picture-based navigation and user-created navigation content. Read more		Cooking Capsules Mary Ann Cotter, Muthu Ramadoss Inspiration for novices and chefs alike, Cooking Capsules puts a fresh, elegant and portable new way to cook in the palm of your hand. Read more
	Maverick Virgil Dobjanschi Maverick is a multimedia enabled, Google Talk compatible instant messenger and a Google Blogger publishing tool which runs on the Android Platform. Read more		PebbleBox Yin Wang, Tao Jin A location-based information exchange and sharing application, allowing people to collect and distribute various geo-related information through mobile phones. Read more
	PhoneBook 2.0 Voxmobili PhoneBook 2.0 is a secure, contextual and social address book. Ideally suited for teenagers willing to share their mood and location, it also helps business people to keep their contacts secure and up-to-date. Read more		Piggyback Christophe Petit, Sébastien Petit Piggyback is a revolutionary real-time carpooling application for mobile phones that helps you save time and money while reducing your carbon footprint. Read more
	Pocket Journey Anthony Stevens, Rosie Pongracz Pocket Journey turns your mobile phone into a personal tour guide by connecting you to location-specific multimedia created by a community of the most professional tour guides and storytellers worldwide. Read more		Rayfarla Stephen Oldmeadow Have fun with music. Play music based games and make music with your phone using a range of virtual musical instruments. Read more
	ShareYourBoard Mikhail Ksenzov ShareYourBoard is an Android application for capturing, processing and sharing whiteboard data. Read more		Teradesk e-Storage José Augusto Ferrarini Teradeks is an application for Virtual Storage and Remote File Access allowing companies and individuals to keep their files in the cloud, accessible from anywhere. Read more

Finalists

	B4E Mr. Che, Mr. Happy C. B4E focuses on information broadcasting and online transactions, creating value for the society and individuals. Read more		Beetaun Sergey Gritsyuk, Dmitri Shipilov Beetaun is a social network application for everyone wishing to share and explore interesting and extraordinary places and routes in the city they visit or live in. Read more
	BioWallet José Luis Huertas Fernández Biometric authentication system and security platform that performs user identification based on something that user is, rather than something that the user knows or owns. Read more		City Slikkers PoroCity Media and Virtual Logic Systems City Slikkers is a Pervasive Game which takes place in the real-existing city. It is designed to connect a large number of players through-out the city and lets them organize the city’s metaphorical recapture. Read more
	Commandro Alex Pisarev, Andrey Tapekha Commandro is a universal map-centric application, allowing users to set up and share activities, places, and map-markers with others, set alerts, and send invitations. Read more		Diggin Daniel Johansson, Aramis Waernbaum, Andreas Hedin Play your music in style and listen to thousands of streaming radio stations. Personalize your music collection, and your music player as well! Read more
	Dyno Virachat Boondharigaputra Dyno is an application used to evaluate vehicle performance on the road. Read more		e-ventr Michael Zitzelsberger e‐ventr is your personal event organizer and friendship scout for your mobile. Read more
	Em-Radar Jack Kwok Em-Radar keeps you informed of severe weather and emergencies near your location. Its Em-Beacon feature helps you stay connected to your family and friends in an emergency. Read more		Fingerpaint Rob Mickle Fingerpaint is a collaborative drawing application. Draw by yourself, or together with friends – anywhere in the world. Read more
	FreeFamilyWatch.com Navee Technologies LLC Free location-based services helping family to navigate safety risks in daily living through real-time and risk-preventing measures against crimes, environmental health hazards and distressing emergencies. Read more		GolfPlay Inizziativa Networks Provides support to all real time necessities of a golf player during a game. Read more
	gwalk Klaus ten Hagen, Marko Modsching, Christian Klinger, Rene Scholze Discover a destination individually by a multimedial gWalk tour that is fully based on personal preferences including interests, available time and position. Read more		iMap Mobile™ Weathertop Consulting, LLC iMap Mobile™ builds on WDT’s iMap Weather™ multimedia weather platform to provide radar images, lightning strikes, conditions and forecasts at your location and locations you choose. Read more
	IMEasy Yan Shi IMEasy is an IM based application designed particularly for touch screen mobile users. Read more		JOYity Zelfi AG JOYity is a platform for next generation mobile entertainment applications and provides a pioneering mixture of real-life adventure games, geocaching and intensive social networking activities. Read more
	LifeAware Gregory Moore, Aaron O’Brien, Jawad Akhtar Be aware of your surroundings and the location of your friends and family. Take control of your social life. LifeAware™ – Where is Your Life? Read more		Marvin Laurent Pontier Publish in private, to your peer network or to the world, geolocalized rich messages. Broadcast personal information feeds on the move using the Marvin Services. Read more
	mobeedo Sengaro GmbH mobeedo aims to become a comprehensive and uniform system for providing, consuming, and recording all kinds of information relevant in mobile everyday life. Read more		MyCloset Mamoru Tokashiki Manages photographs and information about the fashion items you own, and coordinates and records your daily outfits. Read more
	PedNav RouteMe2 Technologies Inc. PedNav is a location-aware day planner that allows you to create an itinerary and can suggest public transit routes as well as provide walking directions. Read more		SafetyNet Michael DeJadon SafetyNet is an automated alert system that combines the concept of social networking along with the latest mobile technologies to help protect our loved ones. Read more
	ShapeWriter ShapeWriter Inc ShapeWriter is an innovative, easy, fast and fun method of entering text into touch screen mobile phones. One can write an entire word with a single gesture. Read more		SocialMonster Tommy Ng, Ben Hui Stay on top of your social life with SocialMonster and start organizing personal events with all your contacts in your handset’s phonebook. Read more
	SplashPlay Andreas Ipp, Keith Sturch, Friedger Müffke and Ronan Schwarz SplashPlay provides an easier method to learn, create and share music. Quickly learn guitar chords to your favorite songs and share creations with others. Read more		Sustain Niraj Swami Sustain is a utility that helps its users naturally and fluidly communicate with their contacts. Read more
	SynchroSpot Shaun Terry Service featuring location-based personal reminders and geo-specific notes for others. Also provides for the receipt of special, targeted discounts and offers from nearby businesses. Read more		The Weather Channel for Android The Weather Channel Interactive Inc. The Weather Channel for Android is a fully customizable weather application catering to both weekend planners and serious weather enthusiasts alike. Read more
	TokPlay Sung-Suh Park TokPlay provides the opportunity of talking to friends, family and others using video and voice messages, bringing a human touch back to communication. Read more		Wikitude Philipp Breuss Wikitude is a mobile travel guide based on location-based Wikipedia content. Points of interest can be viewed in a map, list, or a cam view. Read more

So, what’s the connection?  T-MobileAtHome.com, Sidekick.com, T-MobileShadow.com, among others is all hosted by LogicWorks.  By adding the Name Servers to the domain T-MobileG1.com, I believe it’s only a matter of time before T-Mobile officially announces the G1 Android phone.

Another conclusion I’ve arrived at: T-Mobile plans to offer at least four more generations of gPhones after the G1.

The full Android v.1 SDK is scheduled for Q3-Q4 2008, before “our partners [launch] devices” (plural) become available for retail customers in Q4.  The next round of the Developer Challenge will be announced by the end of the year, with programmers able to submit their applications most likely from the start of 2009.

• 12 November, 2007 – “Early Look” SDK released
• January to August, 2008 – Android Developer Challenge I
• 18 August, 2008 – Android 0.9 SDK beta released
• September 2008 – additional Android 1.0 (pre) SDK releases made available, as necessary
• Q3 – Q4 2008 – Android 1.0 SDK release 1 available (first actual 1.0-compatible SDK)
• Q4 2008 – Android 1.0 devices available at retail
• Q4 2008 – Source code released
• Q4 2008 – Key Announcement on Android Developer Challenge II

Google are saying that the current v0.9 beta is not guaranteed to be compatible with production Android devices, but that anything coded with the upcoming Android 1.0 SDK, release 1, will be.

About Jason Chen

Jason is currently a developer advocate at Google where he works on ensuring that developers for the Android platform are successful. He previously led the developer support team for Google Checkout. Prior to joining Google, Jason worked at IBM and Urchin Software.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0bGWv6k57o[/youtube]

The Introduction to Android platform session lasted around 90-minutes.  Jason announced that the source code to Android is currently available to Google’s Open Handset Alliance (OHA) partners.  The general public will get access to the source code when the first handset (that being the Android HTC Dream phone) ships.  At such time, Android will be called “Android Version 1.0.”  Android version 1.0 will be available to everyone and anyone who wants to download and port Android to any phone or any other devices they so desire.  Once Android version 1.0 hits the street, you do not have to be an OHA member and you don’t need to sign anything or ask for anyone’s permission to install Android on any device.  The audience wanted to know when will Android version 1.0 be available.  Unfortunately, Google would not provide any specific dates other than “the second half of 2008.”  When pressed, a Google source stated that it wasn’t really their call alone to make.  The release date is largely up to OHA members, especially manufacturers making the phones and the carriers who will sell and distribute the Android phones.  Lets hope all 31+ OHA members don’t take too long to decide when’s the best time to release Android version 1.0.

After his presentation, Jason opened up the floor for questions…

Q. What if somebody wants to build an application that is similar to a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that can run other programs. What security implications are there for these kinds of applications?
A. It’s possible to do but we haven’t thought about it. There is a large security team working on Android. There are languages that are working to port their bytecode to the Dalvik VM, so it won’t just be for the Java language.

Q. Traditionally carriers rip out things. What steps do you take to prevent somebody like Cingular from making an “almost-Android” phone?
A. They could do that if they wanted because it’s open source. But Android is a complete stack of software so why would you want to break it? There’s value in a full stack and in a lot of applications. There’s no incentive to alter it in ways that wouldn’t be compatible. We want manufacturers and operators to customize in ways they can differentiate. They don’t all have to have the same home screen, the same look and feel, and so forth but they should be able to run any Android apps.

Q. When do developers get hardware?
A. When everybody else does (when retail phones are for sale).

Q. Does Android platform development follow the JSR (Java Specification Request) model?
A. Android is not Java technology. It uses the Java programming language but Dalvik is not a JVM. It’s not claiming to be Java tech.

Q. Is support for Flash lite planned?
A. Not at the moment.

Q. Will there be an SDK for PPC Macs?
A. Don’t think so. Just Intel.

Q. Will you have aesthetic standards like the iPhone?
A. We’re working with UI designers to put out a user interface guideline. Also android provides standard UI widgets.

About Jason Chen

Jason is currently a developer advocate at Google where he works on ensuring that developers for the Android platform are successful. He previously led the developer support team for Google Checkout. Prior to joining Google, Jason worked at IBM and Urchin Software.

Mobile
An Introduction to Android

Jason Chen
Type: 101

Android is the Open Handset Alliance’s mobile software platform. Come learn about Android and our vision for more open, powerful, and useful mobile devices.
Wed 5/28 11:15 – 12:15 PM

Mobile
Building an Android Application 101

Jason Chen
Type: 101

This session is a practical introduction to building Android applications using the SDK and developer tools. We’ll walk through building a non-trivial application and use it as the basis for discussing the various facets of the Android application framework.
Wed 5/28 12:30 – 1:30 PM

Mobile
Anatomy & Physiology of an Android

Patrick Brady
Type: 101

The Android platform has been designed to be a modern mobile platform and to enable developers to build applications that take full advantage of the cloud. This session will break down the various components of the Android platform, examine how they work, and give developers a deeper understanding of the underlying technologies that drive their applications.
Wed 5/28 4:15 – 5:15 PM

Mobile
Google Gears for Mobile: Power up Your Mobile Web App

Andrei Popescu and Charles Wiles
Type: 101

If you’ve ever tried coding up a mobile client application, you’ve probably noticed that the huge variety of mobile operating systems makes it tough to build rich applications that work on every device. But what if developers could deploy applications directly to mobile browsers rather than develop native applications? Google Gears for Mobile is a mobile browser extension for creating rich web applications for mobile devices. This session will show you how Gears for Mobile can be used to develop offline capability into your mobile web apps and how to create slick and responsive applications by hiding latency issues through controlled data caching and storage between sessions.
Thu 5/29 10:15 – 11:15 AM

Mobile
Dalvik VM Internals

Dan Bornstein
Type: 201

Dalvik — the virtual machine with the unusual name — runs your code on Android. Join us to learn about the ideas behind its design, some detail about how it works, and get a few tips for how to write code that works well with it. Questions encouraged!
Thu 5/29 11:30 – 12:30 PM

Mobile
Inside the Android Application Framework

Android Engineering
Type: 201

Android is designed to be fast, powerful, and easy to develop for. This session will discuss the Android application framework in depth, showing you the machinery behind the application framework.
Thu 5/29 12:45 – 1:45 PM

Mobile
Mobile Mashups

Android Engineering
Type: 201

Android’s component-based application model and the ease with which you can access web-based services makes it easy to extend and remix the web on your mobile phone. This session aims to show some compelling examples and the features of the platform that make this possible.
Thu 5/29 2:00 – 3:00 PM

Mobile
Fireside Chat: Android

Android Engineering
Type: Fireside Chat

Fireside chats are a chance to talk to the product engineering teams. Come tell the team what you want, discuss issues and design decisions, and hear the team’s thoughts on just about whatever you ask.
Thu 5/29 3:15 – 4:15 PM

Google has sent out emails to the top 50 applications from the Android Developers Challenge explaining some of the details of Phase II of the ADC. It appears that Google is going to be using these top 50 teams as a testers for new SDK snapshots. The only catch is that the developers must agree to a ‘NDA’ type of agreement forbidding screenshots or descriptions of new features:

As a Round 2 participant, we’ll be providing you with the most up-to-date Android SDK so that you can take advantage of the latest tools & platform capabilities that will be shipping in devices later this year. These early access SDKs have many enhancements, additional features, and bug fixes. However, these SDKs have not had the same level of testing as public SDKs, so there are bugs; these releases are definitely “bleeding edge.” As we continue to update the platform, you’ll receive periodic drops of updated early access SDKs. We’ll do our best to give you a rough timeline on when these early access SDKs will be available so that you can better plan your development schedule. Approximately 3 weeks before the submission deadline, we will provide a final early access SDK. You will need to submit your entry using this version of the SDK.

Since these early access SDKs are not ready for the public, you need to execute a special SDK license. This is the same SDK license that governs the public SDK with the addition of a confidentiality clause. We’ve attached the SDK license document to this email.

Google’s logic for not releasing the latest and greatest version of the Android SDK to the public is because of the instability and bugs.  Google pushed the deadline back to July 28th since the teams will be working with the new versions of SDKs.  General release of the new SDK will be made available some months down the road.

[thanks for the tip Jason C.]

1. AndroidScan – Scan is an Android application that finds pricing and metadata for anything with a barcode
2. Beetaun – Beetaun is a social network around geographical content created by people and for people (from your neighborhood, from your city, from your country, from all over the world).
3. BioWallet – A biometric authentication system for Android, featuring IRIS recognition and can act as a password safe and provide single sign-on for other Android apps.
4. BreadCrumbz -BreadCrumbz is a different kind of navigation application. Navigate your route using pictures instead of a map (there’s also a map, if you like). Easily record routes using your smartphone. Share them with your friends, share them with the world.
5. CallACab – Enables calling a cab to any location worldwide in a simpleway
6. City Slikkers – City Slikkers is a Pervasive Game (alternatively Location Based Game) which takes place in the real-existing city. It is designed to connect a large number of players through-out the world and change the way the surroundings are seen.
7. Commandro – Geo-centered social networking and inter – and intra-contact communication application unleashing power of Android platform. It brings together the concept of person, time and place. Revolutionizes and promotes real life communication and collaboration. It’s a multipurpose tool to be used both for fun and serious stuff. It’s also a multiple way to augument reality in a truly P2P fashion.
8. Cooking Capsules -SCooking Capsules is the first smartphone utility of its kind. Cooking Capsules are for anyone who wants to simplify the process of cooking.
9. Diggin – A new and exciting way to explore, manage & personalize your music collection
10. Dyno – Evaluate automobile performance on the road
11. e-ventr – Personal mobile event manager and friendship finder
12. Eco2go – Eco2go is a mobile application that allows you to track and reduce your carbon footprint and share ideas and inspire others from around the world to do the same from around the world.
13. Em-Radar – Em-Radar is a revolutionary mobile product that alerts you about emergencies and severe weather with always-on 24 hours a day emergency monitoring.
14. Fingerprint- Fingerprint is a collaboration painting application. Draw by yourself, or together with friends – anywhere in the world.
15. FreeFamilyWatch – Helps protect families from potential danger
16. goCart – The perfect marriage of online shopping and window shopping.
17. GolfPlay – GolfPlay has been created as an answer to the high demand existing amongst golf lovers for reliable, accurate and free software. Its objective is to give support to all the real time necessities of a golf player during a game, using GPS location and an online querying site where it is possible to access to their game statistics, tournament creation and a social network to exchange impressions with other users about the sport that links them: golf.
18. gWalk – Enables tourists to discover a destination individually using context sensitive information
19. HandWx – HandWx is an Android application that will deliver “follow me” 7-day pinpoint weather forecasts and high resolution radar to your phone.
20. IMEasy – Instant Messaging applciation aimed at serving a new mobility communication pattern among friends.
21. Jigsaw -Enables users to capture, process and share whiteboard data.
22. JOYity – PlaForm for interactive and loca5on based multiple games
23. LifeAware -LifeAware mobile platform provides services that combine the convenience of your mobile phone with the power of the web.
24. Locale – Locale is one of 7 Android applications submitted by MIT students. Locale lets you set up location and time-based profiles for your Android phone, so you can set it to quiet mode when you’re at work or spending time with the family. You can forward calls to your landline when you’re at home.
25. LReady Emergency Manager – Your family’s emergency preparedness and communica5ons tool
26. Marvin – Marvin allows you to publish and browse geo-localized objects around you.
    Objects can be static or move by themselves and follow you. You publish and browse where you are, based on your current location or where you virtually are on the map. By Pontier Laurent.
27. Mobeedo – Mobile Search. “The open multi-purpose information system for the mobile age.”
28. Multiple Facets Instant Messenger – Multimedia enabled, locations aware XMPP IM
29. MyCloset – Manage and plan your fashion items
30. PedNav – edNav™ is an application that helps you plan your activities efficiently when moving around and interacting with an urban environment.
31. PhoneBook 2.0 – A contextual phonebook integrated with presence & messaging enabling social interaction from one place.
32. PicSay – Image editor that enables quick personalization & sharing.
33. PiggyBack – Dynamic ride‐sharing
34. Pocket Journey – Application connects your location to the voices of a global community of artists, historians, architects, musician, comedians, and others. Letting you know just about anything, anywhere.
35. Rayfarla – Rayfarla turns your phone into a musical instrument as well as providing a variety of mini games that are music related.
36. Safety Net – Automated alert system that signals an alarm with a single press of a button
37. SocialMonster – Innovation ad‐hoc social event planning tool.
38. SplashPlay – SplashPlay offers the next generation in musical tuition and learning to play the guitar just got a whole lot easier. Simply attach the pod and light panel to your guitar and start strumming to your favourite songs in minutes.
39. Sustain- Intelligently listen and react to a fluid social network
40. SynchroSpot – Location based personal reminders and loca5on based ads
41. Talkplay – Video and voice based messaging system
42. Teradesk – File virtualization software platform for online file storage, collaboration and remote access
43. The Weather Channel for Android – The Weather Channel Interactive Inc.
44. TuneWiki – Allows you to always have your lyrics on, making them always available, always synchronized to music – on any android powered devices that can play music back and connect to the internet
45. Wikitude-the Mobile Travel Guide – Wikitude find points of interest based on your current location.
46. Writing Pad – ShapeWriter is an innovative, original, fun, and highly efficient method of entering text into touch screen mobile phones. ShapeWriter lets the user to simply draw a continuous stroke from letter to letter on a soft keyboard and lift to complete the word. The resulting trace is recognized as the intended word. For example: to write the word “fun”, land the pen (or mouse cursor) on the F key, drag to the U key, continue to the N key and lift up the pen. ShapeWriter recognizes the curso trace F-U-N as the word “fun”.

Android Developer Challenge Top 50 Winner – HandWx

The award-winning mobile weather program was developed using WDT’s advanced real-time Doppler Radar data, overlaid onto Google Maps. This allows users to view precise weather radar and forecasts with easy search and “zoom in/out” functions, using gestures familiar to all Google Maps aficionados. HandWx allows weather trackers to view weather information within storm patterns, right down to the street and house level. The application provides unique, location-based weather feeds and forecasts sent directly to Android-based handsets, based on precise location coordinates.

“Unlike Internet-based weather applications, HandWx knows where you are, even when you don’t,” said Roland Schweitzer of Weathertop Consulting. “Imagine you’re on a trip driving across the country and you want to know if it’s going to be warm enough to camp outdoors in your lightweight sleeping bag,” said Schweitzer. “You don’t know a zip code and there’s no discernible town nearby to get a quick bearing on a forecast. Flip on your Android phone and load up HandWx and you’ll soon have a forecast for up to seven days for your current location. You can track radar and storm data, wherever you are, and if the forecast calls for a cold or stormy night, that old motel you just passed won’t look so bad.”

Users can get a forecast for any location in the United States by typing in a zip code, latitude/longitude coordinates, a city and state, or the address of a local milestone. The Android geo-coding automatically locates the latitude and longitude for the information you entered, allowing HandWx to deliver the latest forecast for that location. Alternatively, triangulation with cellular tower signals helps locate your precise location which can be used for getting a forecast or accessing tiled weather radar data whenever you are in “follow-me” mode.

State-of-the-Science Radar and Forecasts

WDT produces radar imagery with the highest spatial resolution available, at 1 kilometer. It also provides the highest temporal resolution, with updates every 2 minutes. WDT serves up the national United States radar mosaic in real-time and on-demand, using a proprietary “weather tile server”. WDT accesses the low-latency streaming data feeds of all 136 Level II NEXRAD National Weather Service radars to produce these radar images. “WDT uses cutting edge quality control and merging techniques to create an extremely accurate and timely picture of the current radar, and delivers it as Google Maps-compatible tiles,” said Michael Eilts, President and CEO of WDT. “We update the tiles every 5 minutes, for the entire country, and with street level zoom and transparency capabilities, it’s easy to get a view of information that is usually totally obscured by radar echo. With the transparency function, you can view precise locations within the storm’s path, and then predict with certainty whether you need to take action,” said Eilts.

HandWx serves up these precise and uncluttered radar images for countrywide/regional/state or citywide areas. All data forecasts are provided by the United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Weather Service via the National Digital Forecast Database, which is updated hourly.

Rapid animation and “follow me” updates

The HandWx high quality radar tiles are sophisticated overlays to the Android map interface, which allow you to animate storm paths and view the radar by roaming and zooming at will over the entire United States. Weather trackers can ask the application to follow their current location and update the radar tiles every 5 minutes as they move. Future HandWx applications will include nearby lightning strikes, hurricane forecast tracks, and National Weather Service watches and warnings for your current location or any location that mobile users choose.

Submissions to the Android Developer Challenge I took place from January 2 through April 14, 2008. The 50 applications selected for the first award will then be eligible for even greater recognition, via ten $275,000 awards and ten $100,000 awards, for a total of $10 million in awards.

About the Open Handset Alliance
The Open Handset Alliance^TM is a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. Together we have developed Android^TM, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. For more information: http://www.openhandsetalliance.com

About Weather Decision Technologies
Founded in 1999, Weather Decision Technologies has become a global leader in providing state-of-the-science weather detection, nowcasting, and forecasting systems and services to our partners and customers. WDT is headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma and maintains an international marketing office in Arlington, Virginia. For more information: www.wdtinc.com.

About Weathertop Consulting, LLC
Weathertop Consulting is a computer services and software development consulting company located in College Station, Texas. We are experts in software development for Web-based display and analysis of earth science data. The company specializes in all aspects of scientific data management, including standards-based data storage and OPeNDAP servers. For more information: http://www.weathertopconsulting.com.