break timer: android-wear case study and development tips

Break Timerandroid-wear, break reminding app

Developed by:- Umair (https://plus.google.com/+UmairVatao/) - Meng (http://goo.gl/smQOsE)

Agenda • Introduction to our learning android-wear app:

Break Timer

• Learning Journey

• The app idea

• Coding tips

• Problems we faced during development

Learning Journey

• The app idea

• Coding tips.

• Problems we faced during development.

Break Timer: the app idea

Thinking for the wear

• Build something that doesn’t compete with phone but augment it!

• Context aware app with minimum interaction.

• we tried to step ahead to find the context thats available exclusive to watch.

Break Timer

Problem: If you use computer for 3-4 hours a day and sit continuously in a similar posture, you are at risk of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

The Solution: Break Timer sits silently on your wrist and remind you to take break if you are typing for long intervals to avoid RSI. [Facebook counts!]

• Uses the accelerometer available on watch to see if you are continuously typing.

Break Timer

Break Timer

Break Timer

Learning Journey

• The app idea

• Coding Tips

• Problems we faced during development.

Coding Tricks

• Use common module for keeping models and constants.

Coding Tricks• Should implement some logic on both mobile

and watch to handle disconnect issues

Coding Tricks

Notification mNotification = new NotificationCompat.Builder(context)

.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.appicon) ….. .setCustomSizePreset(NotificationCompat.WearableExtender.SIZE_FULL_SCREEN) .setDisplayIntent(displayPendingIntent).build()

• Embedded Activity in notification with different sizes

Learning Journey

• The app idea and android-wear UX

• Coding Tricks

• Problems we faced during development

Problems faced• Permissions

• apk cache

• Problems with emulators

• No accelerometer

• Round emulator is not as good as square counter part.

Problems faced

• Permissions

• Include all permissions in your handheld device that you need to use in watch.

• Otherwise, it will not auto install the embedded apk

Problems faced

• APK cache

• After lot of try and error, we found the the android-wear companion app was somehow caching and pushing old apk to watch

Problems faced• Round emulator is not as good as the

square counter part.

Round emulator being displayed as square

recap• android-wear is android extension for wearables

• the major concept is to avoid distractions and keep the interaction with gadgets to minimum

• The android-wear is only meant to work with its companion device.

• Since wearables are attached to body, they can provide additional useful context related to user’s current physical state or health.

• Its easier to integrate android-wear functionality in your app, though you need to think wisely.

• The developer tools are still new and buggy and its sometime difficult to get solution to your coding issues.

Thank you

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.media2359.breaktimer