Android, a complete operating environment based upon the Linux V2.6 kernel, promises to be a market-moving open source platform that will be useful well beyond cell phones. In this article, learn about the Android platform and how it can be used for mobile and nonmobile applications, then build your first Android application. This simple first app you build will get you started quickly, but beleive me, you’ll want to do more after that.
There are two things phones with this much power should be able to do. I am wondering if the following two applications would be possible to write or not.
1. Ringbacks. This is when someone calls you and you hear music instead of a ringing sound. This could be implemented by doing it “client side” where the phone would automatically answer every call playing music for the person calling while ringing your phone until you pick up. Can you override the portion of Android necessary to pull this off?
2. Selective ring settings. Right now when I go to bed I set my phone to “alarm only” because I don’t want to be waken up in the middle of the night by my drunken friends. It would be great if I could set up my own rules. I would be able to say that a particular group (mom, dad, siblings, girlfriend) would be able to disturb my sleep but everyone else goes to voicemail. Or possibly playing a message to people saying “John Doe’s status is set to sleeping, press 1 if this is urgent”.
Are those things possible with Android. All I hear about is how restrictive the iPhone’s API is. Is it the same way with Android?
With the ringback feature you mention, I don’t think you could get around the user getting charged for the air time if you have the phone pick up and play music until the user actually answers. If you could, that would open up a whole can-o-worms.
1. Some carriers already provide that service, I think.
But if could have the caller’s phone ring after someone finally picks up on the other side, that would be great.
2. Some phones can be configured to use different ring tones for different groups. So you wouldn’t be sending unimportant callers directly to voice-mail, but you could make your phone sufficienty quiet so it won’t disturb your sleep.
I really like #2.
Yes you can do this. Android is really f-ing cool that way. You can write a phone dialer app and have it handle the intent for incoming calls and then you can do whatever you might dream up. The only problem is what someone else mentioned which is that you would get charged for minutes. However if you had an unlimited plan this would be pretty awesome since you could implement voicemail on the client side and have it sync with some email type interface you could access and interact with from any web browser, filtering of certain numbers, blocking, playing “on-hold” music, rules for different callers and locations (in meeting room #1 and my calendar says board meeting? always go right to voice mail)
Etc. You can do whatever you want on android.
Except use bluetooth.
Google really need to get their arse in gear and fix bluetooth.
That aside, I fracking love Android.