Mobile app development is too hard
I've come to realise that mobile app development is too difficult for beginner programmers, but it can be made simpler.
Folder Music
Folder Music is a music player for BlackBerry that allows the user to browser their music by folders, rather than by artist/album/etc.
House4Hack SHAC on BlackBerry 10
House4Hack Smart House Access Control app lets you open the gate and front door at the House4Hack hackerspace in Centurion, South Africa, once authorised.
Robert's Birds
I developed the Robert's Birds Android app, a niche app for professional bird-watchers. It features over 1Gb of high-quality data for Southern African birds that can be searched or browsed, even on a low-end device.
gr8signal
The gr8signal app tracks and maps cellphone signal coverage in South Africa.
BluMote
I won the MOMO Joburg "Changing the world through innovation" competition, as well as the Mobile Web Africa 2012 app competition, with the BluMote project!
MakerDroid
MakerDroid (previously Paint3d) is an app you can use to draw out a 2D shape that will then get extruded into a 3D shape, which you can then print out as a physical object using a 3D printer.
Simple Zulu
Simple Zulu is a simple flash-card app to teach you Zulu words, that I
Other South African Android Developers
Due to my lack of availability, or the fact that I only freelance, I get asked a lot about whether or not there are other local Android developers that clients can contact. So I compiled this list with permission from the people/organizations listed, but please note that I have not worked with any of them personally (except where noted), so I cannot vouch for them.
If you are a South African Android developer with experience (you will need to have an app on the market or available as a demo) and would like to be added to this list, please contact me (with a link to your site or email address).
- House4Hack - www.house4hack.co.za contact Schalk Heunis
schalk.heunis@gmail.com
In addition to general Android development, House4Hack can create custom Android solutions including custom hardware development and integration (e.g. sensors, monitors, lights, automation, etc). NOTE: I am an active member of House4Hack - AndroidZA business directory: http://www.androidza.co.za/android-business-directory/
- Appceptional, www.appceptional.co.za
- "Richard Barry" richardbarry@gmail.com (http://www.appositionconsulting.com/)
- "Kurt M" ckurtm@gmail.com
- "Richard Marsh" rmarsh.dev@gmail.com
- "Sashen Govender" sashenbhc@gmail.com
- "Nishern Govender" nishern@hotmail.com
Cloud services for freelancers
I thought I'd run through the important online services I use, in case it will be of benefit to other freelancers.
DroidOrb
I built an Android accessory using an Arduino. It's a charging dock and notification light, among other things.
Android apps for newbies
Here is a list of some of my favourite apps that should give newbies a fresh perspective on the capabilities of their new device.
200SX Site status
Current state of the 200sx site:
- The 200SX site has now found a new home, with Riekert in charge. The forum has been upgraded to phpBB3, so the URL has changed to:
http://200sx.za.net/phpBB3/
- See this post for details: http://200sx.za.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=7604&highlight=
Your point of contact is Riekert - email riekertvv at gmail dot com.
Fancy app
I wrote the first versions of the Android app "Fancy" for thingd which included a honeycomb-optimized tablet version.
Nissan 200SX Owner's club of South Africa
I started the Nissan 200SX owner's club of South Africa back in 2003, and it is still an active club.
Dual Projector Home Theatre
In the quest for a mind-blowing home theatre experience, I experimented with two projectors and planned out my custom-built sound system. It turned out better than I thought!
SmsFu Android app
SmsFu is my first Android app, written back in 2010. It automatically silences notifications from spammers!
eFlatz.com
eFlatz.com was a social networking site I built to allow people within complexes/apartments/suburbs to communicate with one another and their body corporate.
YourCred.com
Cred is a mico-payment gateway built in Ruby on Rails, with a fully-documented REST API and Wordpress plugin, to allow content publishers to charge small amounts for their content.
Itweb column
I used to write a column for ITWeb, back in 2007 when I was working at Cambrient.I wrote about the state of Java, as well as AJAX and other web technologies.