DatePicker Widget

I've finally started working on my first app. I needed to use a DatePicker but didn't want to use a dialog, I wanted the DatePicker to appear on the current page. Here is my code:

/**
 * DatePickerActivity
 *
 *
 */
public class DatePickerActivity extends Activity {

  private DatePicker datePicker;
 
  private int year;
  private int month;
  private int day;
 
  /** Called when the activity is first created. */
  @Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
      super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
      setContentView(R.layout.main);
    
      ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////      
      // Get access to Date Picker
      datePicker = (DatePicker)findViewById(R.id.DatePicker01);
    
      Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
      year = c.get(Calendar.YEAR);
      month = c.get(Calendar.MONTH);
      day = c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);

      datePicker.init(year, month, day, dateSetListener);
  }


  /**
   * DatePicker.OnDateChangedListener
   *
   */
  private DatePicker.OnDateChangedListener dateSetListener 
                          = new DatePicker.OnDateChangedListener() {

      /* 
       * onDateChanged
       */
      public void onDateChanged(DatePicker view, int newYear, 
                                 int newMonth, int newDay) {

       String dateOutput = String.format("Date Selected: %02d/%02d/%04d", 
                                          newDay, newMonth, newYear);
       Log.i("Debug", dateOutput);
      }
   };
}

Hero Kernel Source

HTC have made the Hero Kernel Source code available. Not sure how much use it will be to you and me but its available here, http://developer.htc.com

Another Eclipse/Android Issue

I ran across another small issue today. I tried import an existing Android Application into Eclipse and received the following error:

[2009-10-19 07:56:02 -]Android requires .class compatibility set to 5.0. Please fix project properties.

The solution is quite simple, select the following after right clicking on the project in the Package Explorer:

Android Tools >> Fix Project Properties

But importantly, you must restart Eclipse afterwards for the error to be resolved.

Hero Crash

My Hero crashed, I came to make a call and the phone would come out of standby. I first thought that I must have accidentally switched it off but it wouldn’t power on. So then I thought the battery must be flat so I plugged in the charger but the phone wouldn’t even charge. Starting to worry that the phone was dead and would have to be sent back, I resorted to removing the battery. Fortunately this resolved the problem but left me a little worried that this could happen again.

Eclipse and Android Development Tools Issue

I attempted to install Eclipse and the ADT on my main computer at home and ran into a problem, I couldn’t get the Eclipse Plugins to install. I’ve installed this setup several times, on Windows XP, Windows 7 and Fedora 11 without any prior issues. My home computer is running Windows 7 x64. When I attempted to install the Plugins through Eclipse I got the following error:

Cannot complete the install because one or more required items could not be found.
Software being installed: Android Development Tools 0.9.3.v200909031112-12945 (com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.feature.group 0.9.3.v200909031112-12945)
Missing requirement: Android Development Tools 0.9.3.v200909031112-12945 (com.android.ide.eclipse.adt.feature.group 0.9.3.v200909031112-12945) requires 'org.eclipse.wst.sse.core 0.0.0' but it could not be found

I Googled the problem and got several results but none of the solutions resolved my problem. I then considered my other configurations and the difference in this instance. The main difference was that I had unzipped Eclipse into C:\Programs Files (x86)\. On the other machines I had unzipped Eclipse into C:\Programs where I tend to put applications which unzip rather than install through a Setup progam. Anyway this appeared to resolve the issue and the ADT successfully installed. I’m not sure if this issue is just related to x64 Windows 7 or whether it occurs with x86 or even Vista for that matter. Disabling the UAC may also have resolved the problem.

Hero ROM Update

I updated the Rom on my Hero today. I didn’t want to root my phone yet so waited for the official Orange update from HTC. I prepared my Hero by deactivating my Copilot installation and backing up all my settings, calendar, etc using MyBackup. I used the free version of MyBackup which works for 30 days and stores all settings on the SD card.

One concern I had was how the paid apps would be handled. I have two paid apps, Copilot Satellite Navigation and BeyondPod but I wanted to be sure that I wouldn’t have any issues reinstalling these two applications. I know from the Windows Mobile version of Copilot that’s its better to deactivate Copilot before updating the phones ROM and then reactivating afterwards.

The update went smoothly and took much less time than the estimated 10 minutes that HTC quote. I used a Windows 7 machine running the candidate release. I had read about people having problems performing the update with Windows 7 but I didn't have any issues althougth I ensured that I ran the update as Administrator.

Fortunatly reinstalling the applications after the update was easier than I imagined so long as you use the same Google Account as you used before the update. If you do this then when you go to the Android Market Place all your previous downloads can be found under ‘My downloads’ so you don’t even have to search for them again. I then selected each in turn and installed them. In the case of BeyondPod you also have to download BeyondPod Unlock Key which is the part you pay for. Wtih Copilot, the first time I ran the application it asked me to activate which I performed over wifi from the device and a few second later it was activated. BeyondPod was very simple because all the settings and podcasts must be stored on the SD and appeared once the program was reinstalled.

Hero 3.5mm Jack Socket

I thought I'd broken the 3.5 mm Jack Socket last night. When I plugged in my headphones the sound stilled played though the speaker and the headphones icon was missing from the Status Bar. I tried another set of headphones in the hope that the headphones had broken and not the phone but no luck either. As a last resort I rebooted the phone and this fixed the problem so it appears that the headphone socket includes a software switch with a bug in the code. Hopefully the new firmware will fix this issue too.