I recently hit half a milestone in my project of getting the server (Content management system) communicating with the Android application, which then parses the result, and stores it on a SQLite database for persistant data - it's expected that the application may be used in areas of little, or no, signal at times and so data needn't be retrieved live on each use, but it should manage with data that has already been downloaded.

Here are a couple of videos demonstrating the capability of the application.

This video demonstrates the navigation and menu system of the application. The controls for the main menu screen are populated from the database on-the-fly. This data is also stored between application launches, in order to expedite the learning experience on the device - I believe that someone is likely to dip in and out of this application to study a particular topic, which I've defined as a 'Part' of a 'Programme', which is part of a 'Course'.

The navigation system between the questions has changed slightly to be more touch screen and user friendly based on some feedback from my supervisor I am now aware at how little the menu button is actually pressed or utilised in applications. So on-screen touch-interactive buttons have been used instead to make the application flow more fitting. This also removes the ability to back track (and change answers). It also reflects on Google's own application which is similar to this.

This next video demonstrates the speed and user feedback for updating the application's main menu. It took me a while to realise that calling .start() on a thread rather than .run() would allow for a more responsive user interface.

I then demonstrate how the device handles issues connecting to the web server. I do this by killing the rails server running on my machine.

I'm trying to make sure the feedback is multi-lingual along with the rest of the app. After a bit of re-shuffling I've been able to once again access the Resources Java file and do this, whereas before, due to where it was, I was unable to do so.

Feedback is appreciated and valuable to me at this stage - as you can see it's still not finished, but I don't believe it's far off now!

So you want to make an app. You have a blog. But you don't know how to code, or don't have time. Not a problem, you just need a touch of artistic flare and some patience with a computer drawing tool and you can have your own app done in minutes!

How?
There's a site out there which will handle all the code for you. You provide details on the design you want the app to follow, and it will handle the rest. FollowMyFeed. How to go about that is explained quite clearly on the site, so check it out!

What do I need?
Essentially you just need some pictures to get you started.

Splash screen - 480 x 800
This is the screen a user will see when your app is loading on their phone.

Tile Icon - 173 x 173
This is the icon that your app will use while it is pinned to the home screen.

Icon - 62 x 62
This is the icon used in the apps list (swipe to the right of the live tiles).

Icon - 200 x 200
This icon is used by the publishing portal, for desktop displays.

Icon - 99 x 99
Again, not used in the phone but more for marketing purposes.

Screenshot - 480 x 800
This should be a screenshot of the actual application running.

Preview
Now that you've made your application you can download a XAP file of it, and it will remain saved on the web interface. But how do you get that screenshot, and play with it?

First up, you need to grab the free developer tools online available here.

Once these have been installed you can run your app, and create others. To run it, you need to navigate to:
C:/Program Files/Microsoft SDKs/Windows Phone/Tools/XAP Launcher/XAP Launcher.exe

When you run this, you can browse to your XAP file, and load it into either an emulator, or straight onto a developer unlocked phone. The emulator had a tool to take a screenshot of the device - saving any hassle with cropping, or using a snipping tool.

Get registered with the marketplace, and publish your app!

Recently my housemate bought a brand new iPhone. Up until this point he'd been using a Windows Phone that he won at the Worldwide Developer Conference last year. He'd been using it almost non-stop ever since. He's kindly lent it to me to use for a week until it goes on in his family. So before my impressions; here's some information about what I have at the moment.

I have a BlackBerry Bold. The keyboard on it is great! The rest, well… isn't. Upon taking it out of the holster I get the equivalent to an hour glass icon popping up to state that it's doing something in the background. But it won't let me unlock the phone while this is happening! The apps are another thing. After uninstalling one you're graced with a reboot request. Despite knowing that it's a smart phone and does need to boot occasionally, I don't like not being able to use my phone for 10 minutes while it does that. Also, the recent BlackBerry Internet Service blackout wasn't the most fun I've had with my phone. 

Windows Phone 7 changes that. I pull it out, instantly I can unlock it and start using it. No waiting, no frustration. There are a tonne of apps. Almost all of them better than on the BlackBerry (I'm a particular fan of BlackBerry's twitter app!). There do seem to be some rather odd ones though - I think they're there because it's so easy to develop for, and they must've made SOME money at least! Installing apps is fast. Uninstalling them is instant and no reboot. The internet is far faster than on my own phone, despite being the same network.

My concern about using a touch screen phone was the keyboard. I've not had much luck with typing on a touch screen phone before. Random letters I don't want and missing keys. Coming from one of the nicer keyboards around I preferred the accuracy. The HTC Trophy's touch screen is awesome. I've been able to type just as quickly and accurately thanks to that, and Windows Phones prediction and auto correction.
 

Being a student at the University of Reading means I get access to Live@Edu (similar to Office 365). Which works great with Windows Phone 7's Office application. I can access Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and SharePoint on the go. So I can have the lecture notes visible while writing notes on paper, or something I'm a particular fan of; OneNote. Not only can you do all of this, but it'll save it directly to SkyDrive. So you can forget about the task of syncing manually by plugging in your device. It'll do that automagically!

It's been good to realise that the idea for a game I have would work well on the platform. Once I've got some spare time I plan on having a go at making it!

Developing for Windows Phone is easy, as I found whilst working on the Imagine Cup last year. You can have an app up and running in moments using Blend and following the huge amount of materials available online. It's easy for a student to get started for free, and make money by publishing apps for free! Just head over to Dreamspark and get started!

It's a breath of fresh air to my daily routine, and I'm certainly glad to have the opportunity to use it, despite it being for a short time. Streamlined experiences and frustration free socialising are a real plus. We all like a shiny new piece of tech and I look forward to being able to kick my BlackBerry and replace it with a Windows Phone 7 device soon!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to WAGGGS offices in London to discuss my Final Year Project with some of the stakeholders. I don't go to London very often but I got the right bus.

The discussion raised some interesting issues and ideas for the application as well as giving me the opportunity to explain how I believe the app would be used. I had produced a prototype application for them to see and it demonstrated each of the question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Fill-in-the-blanks, Ordering, Opinion scale(slider).

They're keen to provide any information I need in order to create a tailored solution for them.

I also believe that the server at least would be open source-able and I intend to release an unbranded android application.

So that you are aware of how it currently looks I have embedded a video below:


I'm planning on making it more touch screen oriented with gestures between questions instead of button presses. I'm informed that Menu button presses on Android devices are few and far between. However, for the purposes of the demo I wanted something quick and simple to implement.

To give you an idea on the scale reach of the project here's a view from the meeting window: