HuskieLine

One of my first android apps. This application was created to help out with the NIU bus system. The application provided the bus schedules as well as a webview of the bus tracking system.

What I learned:

1. All about webviews. From raw [internal] html files to external websites. Webviews are a great way to bridge the gap from website to application.
2. Android spinners. I learned how to build a spinner, how to get the value of a spinner, and how to return a value upon item selected
3. Activities. A quality application has more than one screen... obviously. There is a lot more that goes into multiscreen applications than one might imagine. Each activity has a different .java file as well as its own layout.
4. Toasts / Alert Dialogs. I used toasts quite a bit for debugging purposes. When debugging I would basically create a toast every time something was changed. No toasts made it to my final app. Alert Dialogs on the other hand are definitely in the final application and are much more directed toward the end user. Alert dialogs are when there might be more than one way of interpreting an action. It will prompt the user for which way they intended. Very handy.

Feedback:

Great app for NIU students. Helps navigate the bus system here. Dev did great job.Chris

Source code.
APK [deprecated... Webservice no longer works.]

Mini Pins

I made Mini Pins because my girlfriend complained to me almost every night about the poor Pinterest android application. I spent about 4 hours and took a poorly formatted mobile website into an efficient Android application.

What I learned:

1. Option menus. The android menu key unlocks even more real estate to host certain user interface necessities. Most users expect to have something pop up by hitting the menu key.
2. Cache management. If I didn't manage the cache at all the application could easily rack up 30-50mb of cache. Which is what some of the other applications were doing. This causes the app as well as the phone to slow to a crawl. Also, some lower end phones have less than 200mb of free space for applications. One session of Pinterest could eat up a huge chunk of this space.

Feedback:

Easy to navigate! Loads fast, options are in plain site. Very happy.Angela

Finally!! This is the app I've been waiting for. A perfect mini version of the site, loads quickly and has all the features I use online. Thanks!Brianna

Best Pinterest app out there. Works great! You can even log in with your Facebook. Well done!!!!!!Shaina

Unbelievable. I'm the first to download this, which is crazy. I'm usually so skeptical of apps, and rely heavily on user input. I'm giving it five stars because I honestly expected crap, but I have been using it like crazy & had to literally peel myself away to give this review. I was getting impatient for a Pinterest app and took a chance on this. SO Glad I did.Claire

Source code.
APK

SquarzPies

Customer requested functionality:

1. Find us page. [integrated google maps]
2. Menu page.
3. News page. [pull blog feed from website]
4. About us page.
5. Newsletter page. [subscribe users to company's mailchimp newsletter]
6. Feedback page.
7. In application ordering.

Final details being worked out now. Write up and source code coming soon!
APK

In class applications

Applications completed in class will be made available here after the due date for the application. [Delay due to possible plagiarism / copying.]