[clug] Android in the Business Press

Michael Still mikal at stillhq.com
Sun May 16 17:58:49 MDT 2010


On 5/17/10 9:46 AM, Jeff wrote:
> On 14/05/10 4:41 PM, Michael Still wrote:
>> Jeff wrote:
>>
>>> I would be nice to see a half decent phone where
>>> * app stores weren't the only way to install apps and
>>
>> You can install arbitrary APKs on Android (i.e. an APK from a random
>> web page).
>
> Can you point me to directions on how to do this as an end user, ie
> non-developer?

Home -> Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Check "Unknown Sources"

Then click on a URL to an APK on a web site, or enter a URL to an APK in 
the browser address bar. The application will be installed like any other.

>>> * you can backup you contacts to YOUR computer not "the cloud"
>>> get a decent share of the market.
>>
>> That's interesting. You can certainly implement a contact provider
>> which appears to the user to be just like the one that stores in the
>> cloud. For example, on my phone contacts from Gmail and Facebook are
>> both treated as equal citizens (and merged in the UI in a sensible
>> manner).
>
> Likewise, is there an app or config setting to configure your own
> contact provider? This is something which may be of interest to others.
> I haven't been paying as mush attention to setting up android as I
> should I suppose.

Providers are an SDK thing (think interface that an application must 
implement)... You need to find an app which implements what you want (or 
write one). For example, the Facebook app does this sort of thing, but 
might not be the right choice for you.

>> Oh, and you can iterate over all contacts on the phone reasonably
>> easily as well:
>> http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/msg/3af54436c19c83e7?pli=1
>>
> Yeah, one of these days I might actually get around to writing apps like
> I planned in the meantime I'm just an end user.

Yeah, I'd be searching for an app which does what you want. My point is 
more that there isn't anything on the phone forcing this behaviour, but 
that doesn't mean anyone has thought its important enough to actually 
write an alternative.

Mikal


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