New Gadget 2011

Just a quick note that I have updated psx4droid to 3.0.1. Now you can always find the latest version of psx4droid to download at this link:

http://www.zodttd.com/downloads/psx4droid.apk

What’s new?

I fixed a bunch of bugs in the settings screen causing force closes as well as settings not saving. I also added the option to show the current framerate.

However, I’m still looking into the incompatibility of psx4droid on the LG Optimus / Honeycomb / Xoom devices. Since I do not have any of these devices, it will take a good amount of time debugging.

Of note, I found out the source code psx4droid is based on, uses source code by smf to emulate the GTE. I am crediting him here in addition to the readme.

Thanks,

ZodTTD

I am currently unable to publish to Android Market.

In the meantime, I’m exploring 3rd party markets and I have decided to make psx4droid free, based it on the open source software PCSX-ReARMed by Notaz, and made it compliant.

You can download the psx4droid 3.0.0 APK installer package right here:

http://www.zodttd.com/downloads/psx4droid_v3.0.0.apk

Developers interested in seeing the source that drives psx4droid, libpsx, can be found here:

http://github.com/zodttd/libpsx

What’s new in psx4droid 3.0.0? Well it’s based on a different emulator, PCSX-ReARMed. It has a better dynarec (cpu emulation technique) and lands up being much faster in general. It’s using a software GPU for graphics rendering, though I have an OpenGL ES 1.1 GPU made. OpenGL ES 1.1 is hit or miss for this type of rendering on Android devices. Many of these high end devices have slow Adreno 100 GPUs. So soft GPU is the way to go for now, especially with some improvements to come.

psx4droid 3.0.0 should have great compatibility, better performance, though it may be a lil rough around the edges when it comes to the settings panel. If you notice a force close in it, it’s bound to be fixed coming up.

Note that all save states previous to 3.0.0 are no longer compatible. If you have quick saves, be sure to turn OFF quick load before running games in 3.0.0. You should save over the quick saves or delete them before turning back on quick load.

Wish I could put this up on Android Market. This will just have to due for now.

Thanks,

ZodTTD

Uh oh, the day has finally come. We just gathered from Joystiq (and confirmed ourselves) that the renowned Android first-gen PlayStation emulator, PSX4Droid, has been pulled from the Market. The reason? Its author, ZodTTD, said Google informed him that it was a matter of "Content Policy violation," however the fact it's taken eight months for Google to take action suggests it might have a little something to do with the imminent launch of the Xperia Play, which will have its own mechanism to power the original PlayStation's games. Another mystery is that it looks like other emulators such as SNesoid (SNES), GameBoid (Game Boy) and, in particular, FPSe (PlayStation) appear to be safe for now, which might suggest that there are other reasons behind this removal; but still, the timing suggests otherwise. On the bright side, we can always rely on third-party app markets.

Update: Here's a super generic statement we just received from Google regarding this matter:

"We remove apps from Android Market that violate our policies."

Having been out of the emulation scene for a few years, I recently decided to play some of my old N64 ROMs. I went with Mupen64Plus 1.99.3 for the emulator, and I was so impressed with the program that I had to dig around in the source code. I really like the modular nature of this library - it is perfectly structured to facilitate porting to new systems.

I've decided to take a crack at porting it to Android, using the NDK (so I can use native c/c++ directly rather than having to translate the entire project into Java). I realize that current devices are probably not at a level to run N64 emulation smoothly yet, but by the time I finish the port, who knows?

I'll be using pelya's Android SDL port, which doesn't require the target device to be rooted (allowing for easy distribution through the Android Market and avoiding any licensing/warranty concerns that can come with rooting). My initial challenge is translating the Makefiles used by the Mupen64Plus source into NDK-speak (I'm rather new to the whole Makefile concept, so it will be a bit of an initial learning curve). I'll post my progress on this project here. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Also, if anyone else is already working on an Android port of Mupen64Plus, I'd be happy to collaborate.

Wireless Music System for Android Provides Unlimited Music, Incredible Control and Amazing Sound in Every Room

SANTA BARBARA, CA – February 10, 2011 – Sonos, the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home, today introduced the Sonos Controller for Android, a free app that transforms most Android™ smartphones into a wireless music controller for the award-winning Sonos Multi-Room Music System. The Sonos Controller for Android, available in late March as a free download from Android Market™, will make its public debut next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. To watch a video introduction of the Sonos Controller for Android, please visit www.sonos.com/android.

With the award-winning Sonos S5 in any room and an Android phone in hand, music lovers will enjoy an unmatched wireless music experience in the home. You'll be able to access and play all the music on earth-from the Internet and your personal music library-throughout the home, wirelessly. Use the free Sonos Controller for Android app to control all your music and rooms, all from the palm of your hand. And, Sonos Controller for Android features Sonos' latest innovation in the home music experience – music voice search - allowing users to find any artist, album or track by simply speaking into the phone.

"Sonos' mission is to fill every home with music," said John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos, Inc. "We are thrilled to bring the joy of music to the homes of Android fans worldwide."

To get started enjoying music in any or every room of the home, all you need is a Sonos ZonePlayer and a Sonos Controller such as the free Sonos Controller for Android. The most popular Sonos ZonePlayer is the Sonos S5, an all-in-one wireless music system you can plug in anywhere. Now you can play any track you like, anytime you like, in any room you like. Wirelessly play the same song in every room of the house – perfectly synchronized. Or, mix it up and play different songs in different rooms.

When it comes to controlling Sonos, you simply reach into your pocket for your Android smartphone. With Sonos Controller for Android, you can search for songs and stations by typing or speaking, choose the music and control the volume in as many rooms as you like. And because your Android phone is controlling the music, and not the source of it, when a text comes in or you need to make a phone call, the music doesn't stop.

Sonos connects directly to the Internet so you can access a world of music without ever turning on your computer. Search and play more than 100,000 Internet radio stations, shows and podcasts - from around the world. Play songs, playlists and radio from the most popular music services like Deezer, iheartradio, Last.fm, Napster, Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Spotify, Wolfgang's Vault, and more. And of course, Sonos can play your entire digital music library (such as iTunes) stored on a computer or Network Attached storage drive.

The Sonos Controller for Android is designed to work on any Android smartphone running Android 2.1 or later with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854. Sonos Controller for Android joins the family of Sonos Controllers which includes free apps for iPhone and iPad, a dedicated touchscreen controller, the Sonos Controller 200, and free software for your Mac or PC, included with every ZonePlayer. All controllers work together seamlessly.

Sonos will be demonstrating the Sonos Controller for Android at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 13-17, 2011.

Several weeks ago we released Android 2.3, which introduced several new forms of communication for developers and users. One of those, Near Field Communications (NFC), let developers get started creating a new class of contactless, proximity-based applications for users.

NFC is an emerging technology that promises exciting new ways to use mobile devices, including ticketing, advertising, ratings, and even data exchange with other devices. We know there’s a strong interest to include these capabilities into many applications, so we’re happy to announce an update to Android 2.3 that adds new NFC capabilities for developers. Some of the features include:

* A comprehensive NFC reader/writer API that lets apps read and write to almost any standard NFC tag in use today.
* Advanced Intent dispatching that gives apps more control over how/when they are launched when an NFC tag comes into range.
* Some limited support for peer-to-peer connection with other NFC devices.

We hope you’ll find these new capabilities useful and we’re looking forward to seeing the innovative apps that you will create using them.

Android 2.3.3 is a small feature release that includes a new API level, 10. Going forward, we expect most devices shipping with an Android 2.3 platform to run Android 2.3.3 (or later). For an overview of the API changes, see the Android 2.3.3 Version Notes. The Android 2.3.3 SDK platform for development and testing is available through the Android SDK Manager.

Posted by Xavier Ducrohet, Android SDK Tech Lead on 09 February 2011 at 10:00 AM

As Erik Huggers announced at Mobile World Congress last year, apps are a big part of our plans to make BBC Online more easily accessible on mobile devices. The BBC News app has been a success for us since launching last year and BBC iPlayer will be next off the production line. These apps are coming at a time when we're really beginning to see massive growth of people using BBC iPlayer on mobile devices. Over Christmas, growth in mobile use of BBC iPlayer outpaced PC growth by more than 2-to-1, and BBC iPlayer growth on tablets outpaced PCs by more than 20-to-1. We're just applying the finishing touches to the apps as we speak, and all things being well we plan to have Android and iPad apps in stores by the end of the week.

Having stuck our toe in the water last year with the iPad (initially, we quickly repurposed our big screen version), this new native app is a significant improvement on the existing experience and it's great to be on the Android platform too. Our intention is to be on as many devices and platforms as possible.

Here are the key features on Android and iPad:

* Watch live TV and listen to radio (not previously widely available on mobile devices)
* Access the BBC's full catalogue of catch-up programmes; seven-days' TV and radio on demand as well as series stacking (as you get on the web)
* A simple and intuitive design with high picture quality and personalised favourites (making the most of the touch-screen UI, and a popular feature on the website)

So this is about getting the basics right, simple apps that makes best use of the portable touch-screen experience. We'll be looking to build in more features throughout the year.

For iPad it's straightforward, but for technical reasons we can't bring the app to every single Android device. To download and use the app you'll need a device that uses Android version 2.2 and has Adobe Flash 10.1 Player installed. Our Flash streams need a powerful mobile phone processor and a Wi-Fi connection to ensure a smooth viewing experience, which means that only newer, more powerful Android 2.2 devices connected via Wi-Fi can support the Flash 10.1 streaming experience.