new SoR Robotics Calculators Android app

[Admin]

For those of you with Android, this is for you.

It's still in alpha, with much of it not working yet, but feel free to give it a try.

If you guys think it has a lot of potential, I'll develop it further. Let me know! Oh, and if you have any recommendations for additional calculators that you consider a must-have, let me know as well.

http://www.societyofrobots.com/robot_android_apps.shtml

[Cristi_Neagu]

I keep getting "There is a problem parsing the package". For what version of Android was this written for? I got 2.1.

Also, since I can't see what the app consists off, I would recommend you include a basic "transistor as switch" calculator, and an LED resistor calculator would be a must.

[Admin]

hmmmmm I wrote it for Android 4.0 . . . considering most of the phones are still on 2.0, I guess I overlooked that . . . oops . . . I'll look into that now.

[Admin]

Ok, try the file called sor_robotics_calculators_back_compatible.apk

http://www.societyofrobots.com/downloads/android_apps/

I'm not entirely sure if it will work, so let me know . . .

[Cristi_Neagu]

I still get a parsing problem... Maybe it's just me. Anyone tried it yet?

[Admin]

arg, ok I spent a few more hours pulling hair out . . . I got some new files for you to try.

Start with the file 403, then 32, then 21. Let me know if all work for you, or just some, or none.

[Cristi_Neagu]

Ok, I got 21 installed. The others gave me the parsing error (even tough someone on 2.2 or 2.3, or maybe even 4.0 should try them out).

The app looks good, but with time I think you might want to add some submenus, because the screen is going to get really crowded. Some suggestions:

-right now, when I click in a box I get the qwerty keyboard. It would be nice to have the number keyboard (this is, however, not essential);
-some drop-down boxes for selecting the units would be nice (like mA, A, uA, etc);
-on some larger pages (like the encoder calculator or the unit converter), the page is larger than my screen, so I only see half of the 'Calculate' button. Being able to scroll the window would be nice, or to access a "Calculate" menu via the option key.

As of now, this is a really good start. People will really find some use in this, no matter their level of knowledge.

P.S.: I hope a resistor color decoder/encoder is somewhere in your future plans

[Admin]

ok, I'll look into those issues.

I will have to admit that I don't own an Android device or even have access to one . . . I'm doing it entirely with emulators. What is your phone model? I probably have an emulator for it.

There are ~20 different phone models under ~4 major Android versions so getting everything to play nice is a challenge

Also, what do you think about the unit converter app?

And lastly, the app name is still up in the air. I'm open to suggestions.

[Admin]

-on some larger pages (like the encoder calculator or the unit converter), the page is larger than my screen, so I only see half of the 'Calculate' button. Being able to scroll the window would be nice, or to access a "Calculate" menu via the option key.

fixed!

P.S.: I hope a resistor color decoder/encoder is somewhere in your future plans

As soon as I figure out how to do drop-down menus, lol . . . in the long term I should do this, but there are apps already that can so I'm putting it off . . .

[Cristi_Neagu]

What is your phone model? I probably have an emulator for it.

Samsung Spica, aka Portal, aka i5700.

Also, what do you think about the unit converter app?

I like the idea that you just have to put in a value and hit just one button, instead of sifting through either edit boxes and/or buttons. So it's a good one.

[Razor Concepts]

I'm running 2.3.4 and the 21 worked, the other two do not.

[Admin]

For those with Android 2.x and 3.x, do you think the 'return' menu buttons are necessary?

I finally installed Ice Cream Sandwich on my TouchPad, and I'm thinking the buttons aren't really necessary . . .

Also, should it do an auto-calculate, or wait until you push the calculate button?

[voyager2]

I know someone with an Android phone...

I'll get in touch with him.

[Admin]

I published the app on Android Market. I had a choice between annoying ads or charging for it, so I set it to the minimum $1. You probably spend $4 at Starbucks for your coffee every day, so not that big a deal

https://market.android.com/details?id=sor.robotics.calculators

It is of course an early release, with 95% of the bugs worked out. I'll be updating it with more features over the coming weeks.

[Admin]

You can now download the free version of the app from here:

https://market.android.com/details?id=sor.robotics.calculators.free

Happy Thanksgiving