Mark's Think Tank
I guess April 1st doesn’t start on PST for Google.
Here’s a little treat I found in the Android Developer’s Console just now.
Why add a regular app when you can add an AWESOME App?!
Samsung Galaxy S4’s Unique Hardware Feature No One Is Talking About
On the list of features, it’s listed as the “IR Gesture Sensor.” So far it looks like Samsung is only using it for their “Air Gesture” feature.. which is like my app Wave Control except with the help of this new sensor can detect more gestures than my proximity sensor based solution.
It looks like it has the ability to sense 4 directions (up, down, left, right) instead of just the near/far of a proximity sensor. This opens up more gestures options than the simple waves I use currently.
From the hands-on videos of Air Gesture, it doesn’t look all that great now but there’s a lot of potential. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this phone and taking advantage of this new sensor’s abilities.
Original Image Credit: Gizmodo UK (Highlighting mine)
Essential app for the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy SIII , and original Galaxy Note with the Flip Case.
Flip Case Control turns on the screen when you open the case and turns it off when you close it. Simple. Super Convenient.
50% of App Sales Earnings for October to be donated to Supporting Breast Cancer Research
I just got home after a 10 day stay in the hospital for an unexpected (but luckily) minor surgery. Medicine and disease have unsurprisingly been on my mind.
I want to contribute to fields that really help people. But, I’m no doctor or medical researcher. I’m an app developer making apps that I hope people find useful but are hardly life changing. So, how to reconcile these things?
To fill the days during my hospital stay, I began to read Walter Isaacson’s excellent Ben Franklin Biography. (Recommended from here) In it, I was inspired by Franklin’s effort to tie private enterprise with the public good. Creating a win/win situation where both benefited.
And so, the idea was born to give away half of the proceeds from my app sales. This month being Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a perfect time to start. For the month of October, 50% of my earnings from the sales of my apps (including in app purchases) will be donated to breast cancer research.
Android Apps: Around Sound, Wave Control, Data Sleep, Sound Asleep
I hope this will start a trend and other developers will do similar offers.
This is an experiment for this month. If it proves successful and I can still afford to eat, then next month can feature a different cause to support.
I’m excited to finally be able to give back more and make app development have a meaningful impact. This truly gives me real motivation to keep innovating and working hard.
Ideas and comments are most welcome,
Mark
Thoughts on the iPhone 5
I think the only surprise is how light it is. The rest of the details have been leaked for quite some time. So much for “doubling down on secrecy.”
So, the design is pretty evolutionary. That’s not a bad thing. Especially when dealing with a pretty refined product to begin with. It addresses my main issues with 4S. But, how well? I’ll have to wait until I have one in my hands to really decide.
Issue #1: Weight (Density)
Given how small the iPhone4S was, it weighed a lot. It felt like a brick in my pocket. Especially in cargo shorts. It didn’t weigh all that much more than my Galaxy SIII but it was in such in such a small package it seemed way heavier.
I’m glad they’re ditching the glass back. That added unnecessary weight and fragility to the device. I didn’t like the feel of it either.
Issue #2 Screen (Size and quality)
While there’s no dispute that the resolution was great on the 4 and the 4S, the size was way too small and the quality of the screen has become sub-par. After leaving the original iPhone, my phones have had 4”, 5.3” and 4.8” screens. Once you get used to the larger screen, it’s pretty much impossible to go back.
The iPhone 5’s screen is now 4”.. which is better but I’m not sure if it’s big enough for me. Honestly, it probably isn’t since I feel the 4.8” on my Galaxy SIII is just perfect.
Lining up the 4S next to my SIII showed the difference in color quality. The 4S looked bland and dull. It’s not just the difference between LCD and AMOLED either. Take a look at the HTC One X’s LCD. It’s an even better screen than my SIII’s.
Early hands on videos show the iPhone 5’s screen quality to be much better and they brag about it in the presentation. I have high hopes for the colors but will be disappointed by the size.
Wrap-up
I’m looking forward to playing with one of these in person and also digging through the changes in iOS 6 to see if it’s worthwhile to develop on that platform for me. iOS 5 was pretty limiting and Wave Control for iOS hasn’t gained any traction.
My iPhone4S was sold last month and I didn’t even bother ever using it as a phone. It was purely a dev phone because I had never had a reason to use it over the Galaxy SIII. Maybe the 5 will be different.
Not much longer we’ll know for sure what’s going to be new inside the iPhone 5. But until then, it’s fun to speculate and guess what it’ll be.
Currently the iPhone4S has the A5 chip, iPad2 has a 32nm version of the A5, iPad3 (new iPad) has the beefed up graphics version of the A5, the A5X.
Traditionally the iPhone is the launching pad for the next generation of Apple silicon. So this would suggest an A6. What would an A6 be made up of though? Both the A5 and A5X are based on ARM Cortex A9 with 2 cores.
Samsung and Nvidia in their current top tier chips have 4-core Cortex A9 solutions. But, those have been out for awhile now. The next generation is 2-core ARM Cortex A15. And the iPhone needs something to last a year until the next iPhone.
Samsung has teased its upcoming Exynos 5 Dual that is A15 based (link) with revised availability in late Q4 (from Q2).
I think the A6 will be A15 based. But, well.. it’s tricky. The timing is tricky. It will need to have been in production in volume with good yields for some time to satisfy the massive demand for the iPhone launch.
Here’s a theory. Samsung has delayed its availability of the Exynos 5 until late Q4 due to the demand of producing Apple’s A6. Earlier estimates from Samsung had indicated a Q2 2012 launch. Samsung’s plant in Texas produces both Apple’s chips and their own. The sheer volume of the iPhone business and the lack of a flagship Samsung Mobile product launch on the horizon to use the Exynos 5 lends credence to the theory.
On the flip side, mobile processors are fast approaching the “good enough” point. It might not be necessary to make the jump to an A15 based solution. Most recently Apple has been focussing more on the graphics side of processing demands. And rightfully so, the iPad3 with its retina display needs it.
But, the new iPhone’s screen has already made the transition to retina pixel density back with the iPhone 4. The 5’s screen is rumored to grow a bit vertically to go from a 3:2 ration to 16:9 like most high end Android phones. That increase won’t be that much of an extra strain on the graphics.
The main areas of concern now are features and battery life, not compute power. But with a new processor generation comes an increase in efficiency and efficiency can translate to power savings.
Ok, the final decision (guess): A6 will be the first ARM Cortex A15 solution to market. The graphics chunk of the chip, I’m not so sure about.
Unlikely but awesome: PowerVR Series6 (not sure if it’s available for Samsung’s 32nm process, may be designed for 28 or 22nm)
More likely: PowerVR SGX544MP2 (or SGX554)
Tasker support is in Wave Control as of V2.30!
With it, you can choose a profile to activate. Each profile is capable of changing all settings and gesture assignments. So everything can be set at once.
Potential uses:
1. On headphones plugged in: Load Wave Control, delay 2 s, Load Music PlayerSwitch to a profile that sets your favorite music app and sets it to screen off only mode and gestures assignments:
Hover: Play/Pause
1 Wave: Next Track
2 Wave: Screen Toggle
3 Wave: Enable/Disable
2. On car dock attached: Load Wave Control, delay 2 s, Load Podcast App, Switch to profile that sets Podcast player as target app, and gesture assignments:
Hover: Play/Pause
1 Wave: Fast Forward
2 Wave: None
3 Wave: None
Many many possibilities…
Fitbit Aria Wi-fi Smart Scale, Black
More write up coming soon.
I had seen this tip awhile ago but finally got around to implementing it myself.
Disable the double-tap home button shortcut to S-Voice.
The response to a press of the home button lags with this on because it’s waiting to see if you’ll press the button again and change its response accordingly.
How to do it:
1. Open up the S-Voice app
2. Push Menu Button
3. Settings -> Launch S Voice (uncheck this)
4. (Optional) Disable Wake Up Command - saves battery life
Obviously, do this if you’re like me and don’t use S-Voice often enough to justify the constant lag of the Home button response.
You can always just leave a shortcut on your homescreen for the app if you do use it.
This makes the phone as responsive as you would expect it to be given the beefy processor inside.
Enjoy!
So development on the Tasker plugin is coming along nicely.
First to get it will be Wave Control. It will allow you to activate one of your Wave Control Profiles. Great for location based profile setting. In the car, at the gym, at the office, etc.
After that I’ll make versions for Around Sound and Sound Asleep.
Stay tuned.
