Category: mobile

Android USB debugging on openSUSE 11.4

Debugging your android app using a hardware device has several advantages, ie faster and more testing possibilities. On windows you have to install a custom USB driver, on linux it’s a matter of configuring your udev rules:

  • add a rules files in /etc/udev/rules.d , ie 44-android.rules
  • enter a line like this: 
    SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="0bb4", MODE="0666", GROUP="users"

    and adapt the vendor id using this table.

  • Reload udev rules: udevadm control --reload-rules

When you run adb devices, it should now list your device:

List of devices attached 
emulator-5554   device
SH14FPL06953    device

Before, you would rather have something like this:

List of devices attached 
emulator-5554   device
????????????    no permissions

On succesful connection, the system log shows something like: 

kernel: [11172.551464] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, address 4
kernel: [11178.813044] usb 2-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 5
kernel: [11178.942137] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0bb4, idProduct=0c87
kernel: [11178.942150] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
kernel: [11178.942157] usb 2-1: Product: Android Phone
kernel: [11178.942162] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: HTC
kernel: [11178.942166] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: SH14FPL06953
kernel: [11178.943867] scsi8 : usb-storage 2-1:1.0
mtp-probe: checking bus 2, device 5: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:04.1/usb2/2-1"
mtp-probe: bus: 2, device: 5 was not an MTP device
kernel: [11179.953172] scsi 8:0:0:0: Direct-Access     HTC      Android Phone    0100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
kernel: [11179.953375] sd 8:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 0
kernel: [11179.961631] sd 8:0:0:0: [sdd] Attached SCSI removable disk

Note that it seems normal that a usb storage device is detected, although I did not have it enabled on the phone.

Project announcement: UZLGastennetLogin

One month ago, I bought an android smartphone and a few days later my first app was born: UZLGastennetLogin! =)

Note: This app is only useful to people working at or visiting the University Hospitals Leuven.

At UZLeuven we have a separate network to provide internet access to alien/untrusted devices: patient, visitor or external company laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. You need a personal access code to access this network though. When you are not logged in, any website you try to access, redirects you to a login portal.

There are 2 problems using this network on a smartphone:

  • Not all smartphone browsers can display the login page properly, so it is impossible to access the internet.
  • Every time you turn off your wifi (to save battery) or loose signal (very likely in an elevator), you have to relogin, which is quite time-consuming.

This is where the app will come in handy:

  • Detect network changes (without polling)
  • When UZLeuven guest network is detected, check whether we are logged in, if not login in the background using preconfigured credentials.
  • Indicate current state through a widget.

The first version of the app allows only manual login, but it already saves you from using the webinterface and re-entering your credentials over and over again. Today, I published it on the market.

Available in Android Market

Mobistar on the road

One of the first things I tried when I got my cell phone, was using it to connect my laptop to internet. We happened to be on vacation in the middle of nowhere (which Limburg is to most Belgians 😉 ) so it was the ideal situation to try out my brand new GPRS subscription. 🙂 I had no idea where to start, let alone which proxy servers etc to configure. Surprisingly enough, I actually managed to find some info through the Orange World portal (which I first had to enable an account for) which, combined with some info I found on the internet with the clumsy built-in browser, enabled me to connect my Opera browser to the internet, yay!
I used the Mobile Network Wizard that came with the rest of the Sony Ericsson tools. I needed my data cable back then, but figured this was only a matter of configuration to get it going over bluetooth.
Continue reading Mobistar on the road

Mobile rss

When I bought my phone, I asked the salesman whether it sported a built-in RSS feed reader. The poor chap never heard of RSS before. 😉

I searched SourceForge and came up with RssReaderMidlet. Feedburner seems to come out with an RSS reader too. It’s currently in closed beta, but still seems worth to keep an eye on..

Good timing

Yups, I have my phone for 2 weeks, actually 1 ‘usable’ week, and now its price dropped more than 100 euros! in the same store! 🙂 tow 😉
So anyone who doesn’t have a (decent) cell phone:
=> buy the W800i now! 😉

Mattiesworld meets Orangeworld

It finally happened! I bought a cell phone. 🙂 The mobile market is just HUGE. There is a huge number of available models, even within one company! I was astonished. 🙂 I tried the Nokia site and the Sony Ericsson site, whether they could help me out which profile I have. Nokia and SE seem like the major brands to me. I don’t know how big SE is, but somehow I felt comfortable with these 2. They didn’t seem to help much though…

Do NOT read more >>