Android 5.0 Lollipop – New & More Sweeter Taste for Developers

Android Lollipop Version 5.0

Google announced new Android Lollipop Version 5.0 which is a big leap from its previous version. Android 5.0 introduced many new APIs for the developer to make some really cool applications which is going to support all kind of screens near by you.If we take a deep drive in API detail, Total 14 new packages added and 57 packages got changed with removal of 1 package.

The major changes which should be taken care by the developers are regarding totally new UI called “Material Design”, ”ART runtime”, “Notifications” & “Battery Optimization”. Let’s go through all the main changes one by one.

Material Design: Material design is totally a new way to interact with the application for user. The main principle behind material design is user should be notified for every interaction he makes with application. Shadow, Ripple animation on Touch, Transition animations, Recyclerview, Floating Buttons are some of the terms to achieve mind blowing UI.

Notifications: Before Lollipop, user have to unlock the screen to see the notification. From now, user can see prioritized notification from lock screen. To achieve this developer have new updated API for Notification, from which developers can allow user to group the notification or to make it secret/secured. New Heads-up notification feature is added in which you current task will not be get interrupted by Call. Media style notification is also get introduced in the update API for Notification.

Improved Media API: In media API new 4 packages are introduced for special features which are to browse special media content, to record the screen or audio from the device microphone, to communication with TV. New API allow to play audio with PCM streaming.

PDF rendering: The most and useful API to use PDF files is introduce. Now to develop an application to read/render PDF files get easy.

Camera: Android Lollipop Version 5.0 introduced new package named “camera2” and the old one camera is deprecated. The new camera API include interface to the camera devices which are connected the android device. The new API contains all the features which require to cover all the aspects of camera.

Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE): In the last version BLE was introduced, but from now with the updated API, Android device can also work as a Low energy peripheral device like a beacon which is a great enhancement. Android 5.0 also introduced “Trustest Bluetooth Device” for smart lock in which if any Bluetooth peripheral device is near to your phone there is a no need to enter pin/password to unlock the device. Android Device will automatically detect the safe context.

ART Runtime & Battery Optimization: From now ART(Android Run time) will be the default run time environment which has some improved features like, Ahead of Time (AOT) compilation, improved garbage collector for proper memory utilization and more debugging support. With that Lollipop come with “Job Scheduling” from which developer can submit the job to execute on particular condition like when device is connected on charging or with wifi connection like this. Which is useful for battery optimization thus it will add more time to use the device than charging it.

9series Solutions is having skilled Android developers and experienced team ready to develop Android application for your business need. We can help you to do R&D and create minimum viable product (MVP).

The packages which are newly added are:

1. android.app.job
2. android.app.usage
3. android.bluetooth.le
4. android.hardware.camera2
5. android.hardware.camera2.params
6. android.media.browse
7. android.media.projection
8. android.media.session
9. android.media.tv
10. android.service.media
11. android.service.restrictions
12. android.service.voice
13. android.system
14. android.telecom

Connected Car – The Opportunities Ahead

Connected Car is the largest opportunity for technology, auto industry and telecom companies. The auto, as well as the technology industry, are increasing very rapidly nowadays. But this new type of cars is changing the auto world and technology industry.

The connected car is furnished with internet connections and software which allow people to listen music, look for movie times, keep alert for weather conditions and traffic, and also power driving-assistance services such as self-parking. According to bi, it is predicted that by 2020, 75% of cars which are exported globally will be built in such a way that will provide essential hardware to get connect with the internet. The connected cars help to re-size the market, evaluate the average selling price and how it will decrease over time and determines different approaches of manufacturers’. Key aspect of connected car you may want to know are.

Connected Car Market
The connected car market is expanding at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 45% – 10 times faster than the overall car market. In 2020, it will be provided with internet connection hardware as it is estimated that 75% of 92 million cars will be shipped over the world. Out of the 220 million total connected cars on the road globally in 2020, consumers will activate connected services in only 88 million of these vehicles.

Connected Car Technology
Connected-car technology is now divided between the strategy that are set in the internet connection in the car and those relying on a secondary device. To operate the system, once the connections are set then it don’t require a phone’s data plan and company, as well as consumer, will gain a larger variety of data and features to access it. This will allow auto companies to collect data on cars’ performance and help to send updates and application to cars remotely, avoiding recalls related to the car’s software.

Revenue from Connected Car
The prices of Connected-car are out of reach for most car buyers, still they will drop significantly in the next few years. The fact is connected-car falls in the luxury category. Sales of connected car will equal $2.3T in 2020. The current average selling price of a connected car is much higher than the national average which will drop as carmakers connect their economy lineups. While connected car hardware and software will bring in $ 152B in 2020. Driver assistance systems, such as self-parking features, would become more common and make a lot of revenue for carmakers.

Connected Car from Consumer Point of View
Most consumers are unaware of connected car features and services. Around 44% are totally unaware and have never heard of connected car, 42% of total have heard of them but unfamiliar about how it works while only 14% consumers know about the car and are familiar with its features. But they desire entertainment and safety features such as streaming music for in-car use, surfing the internet via a monitor in a car, car identifies traffic signals, accidents, congestions, a system that allows the passenger to pause the car, front/rear end collision alarm warning, night vision device, fatigue warning device, access to social media while driving the car. Thus, development in technology helps to increase revenue, gives more facilities to consumer and also helps to develop auto industry.

9series team is exploring the technologies such as OpenCar SDK, APIs and ready to assist you in your programming needs.

Source Link: http://www.9spl.com/blog/connected-car-opportunities-ahead-2/

Apple Pay – Promising Payment Technology

Apple Pay is Apple’s new mobile payment service, through which user can make payment using iPhone or mobile phone. Apple Pay is hope for giving a best mobile wallet solution.  Apple Pay allow users to make one-tap purchases within apps that have integrated the Apple Pay API. To manage transactions security, Apple uses a method known as “tokenization,” limiting actual credit card numbers from being sent over the air. The aim is to replace the wallet with Apple Pay, and the one-step process prevents from carrying a purse or wallet having credit cards. As NFC technology is existing in it, Apple Pay will work anywhere NFC-based contactless payments are accepted. Here are few thing on how things go with Apple Pay.

How It Works?

Once a credit or debit card has been added to Passbook, Apple Pay is ready to use. In a store, when approaching a point-of-sale system compatible with Apple Pay, the screen of the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus will arrive and automatically opens Passbook, where a user can tap on a credit card to use or pay with the default card. While, in some stores, users will be asked for a PIN code or to sign for a purchase, but in other locations, Apple Pay check-out seems to be an easy one-step process. Apple Pay may not be as convenient as swiping a card, still it’s very important to recognize that Apple Pay is more secure than a traditional card transaction. Whereas in Apple Pay, a cashier is not able to see a name, credit card number, an address or any other personal information.

Here, stores also don’t receive a credit card number (as credit card numbers are replaced with unique Device Account Numbers) so that store security breaches that leak credit card numbers will not affect Apple Pay users.

Apple Pay Settings

After installing iOS 8.1, the Passbook app can be setup in Apple Pay. On tapping the “+” icon in Passbook will allow you to add a credit or debit card to Apple Pay, either selecting a card that is already on file with iTunes or scanning one within the camera. Passbook is a key component of Apple Pay.

In just a few seconds, the credit cards are verified but some cards require an app download, a phone call, or an email to verify a card before added to Apple Pay. Once the card is verified, it is instantly available for purchases both in stores and within apps. At a time, eight cards can be registered with Apple Pay. Apple Pay can be managed in the Settings menu, found in the new “Passbook and Apple Pay” category. Each and every credit card added to Passbook is listed here, along with information like email, billing address and phone number. Just tapping on a card, offers specific information like last digits of the card number, last digits of the Device Account Number which replaces the card number in transactions, and also gives contact information for the bank who has issued the card. Apple Pay is only available in apps which have adopted the Apple Pay API and to make a payment in a retail store, the shop will need to support Apple Pay directly or allow NFC payments.

Appropriate Device

Currently in stores Apple Pay is limited to the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, both of them contain near-field communication (NFC) chips which have not been incorporated into previous-generation iPhones. Apple Pay purchases app only with the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, the iPad Air 2, and the iPad mini 3, all of which have Touch ID.

Apple Pay will also work for Apple Watch, the company’s wrist-worn wearable device that is now available. The Apple Watch, which doesn’t function without an iPhone, will allow owners of older iPhones, including the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s, to use Apple Pay.

Security

Apple assured to their iPhone owners that their payment information is safe by putting heavy emphasis on security when advertising Apple Pay, in fact, it is much safer on an iPhone than inside a wallet.

The iPhone has a special dedicated chip called Secure Element which contains all of a user’s payment information, credit card numbers and data are never uploaded to iCloud or Apple’s servers. When a transaction is done, the Device Account Number is sent via NFC, with a one-time dynamic security code unique to each transaction, both are used to verify a successful payment. The dynamic code of security is a one-time use cryptogram which replaces the credit card’s CCV and is used to ensure that a transaction that is conducted from the device contains the Device Account Number.

Further, if your iPhone is lost, the owner can utilize “Find My iPhone” to suspend all payments from the device, without doing credit card cancelation process.

Let us know if you want to integrate Apple Pay in your application, we are happy to help you. For more info, visit - http://www.9spl.com/blog/

Source Link - http://www.9spl.com/blog/apple-pay-promising-payment-technology/