I was unpleasantly surprised to see the Sony SmartWatch2 app missing from Google’s Play Store (if you need it, you can download it from Sony’s site)… That just speaks of the abandonment of this platform by Sony itself.

SmartWatch2 is the best smart watch I’ve used, and also the best smart watch platform, in my opinion.

Thus, this is a sad development of events. I assume the reason are the new policies enforced by Google:

1. The Play Store requires all new updates to target at least Android 8.0, while
2. Android 8.0 is more restrictive towards background processes, and hinders the SmartWatch apps from functioning properly.

Therefore, there will be no updates to the SmartWatch apps, as I won’t be able to publish a functional version on the Play Store.

That said, if you happen to be a user of the Fuzzy Watchfaces app, and face any issues with the latest update, write me an email and I will provide you with an APK, which is unacceptable on the Play Store, but it’s perfectly functional on all Android devices.

Here’s a reminder how this could work fine.

The restrictions were neither present nor announced at the time I developed and published my apps on the App Store, thus I could not have been aware that my apps would be rendered useless due to some new iOS modifications.

Apart from that, I experienced attempts to block the development of companion apps for Garmin devices. The mere existence of the Garmin API in the app was a reason for my apps to be rejected from the App Store. That was also something new for me, which hindered me to publish any updates. The reason for the rejection was:

We were required to install Garmin Connect Mobile before we could use your app. Apps should be able to run on launch, without requiring additional apps to be installed.

The reason for the rejection is contrary to the developer documentation for the Garmin Connect IQ API, and renders this whole chapter useless: http://developer.garmin.com/connect-iq/programmers-guide/ios-sdk-guide/

I addressed Garmin at many levels, and they were not able to help me with this issue.

However, not much was needed for it to be able to work with BlackBerry 10’s Android player, main thing was Bluetooth. Thus, I was really excited when I heard the announcement that the next version of BB10 would include Bluetooth support. And when I found a leaked version of that OS, it only took some repackaging and simple tweaks to get the SmartWatch connected to the phone.

Here’s a video demo, which uses some of my apps: the Dialer, SMS Composer and Sound Meter.

Not everything works, as there are still some BlackBerry limitations on its Android player, but if Sony and BlackBerry fancy this combination, all that can be overcame very easily.

While doing some tests with the stock dialer of my LG GT540 I discovered that it could easily make an international call by mistake. How? Lets say I have a friend in Belgium, his name is Peter, and his number is +32 123 4567 and that’s how I have it stored on my phone. Now, if I have another friend, let his name be Andrew, who lives in my hometown, I have his number saved as: 1234567. (Yes, ridiculous numbers, but just to be easier to follow.)

Now, the bug: when I want to call Andrew, I find his name in the contacts list and press the button to call him, but the dialer starts an international call to Belgium, and says I’m dialing Peter, showing also the number: +32 123 4567!

How can this be? It’s a stupid bug. Pity LG left it in. It seems very unlikely that someone has contacts with numbers, similar as in this example, but the bug exists.

Normally, when you press the call button, you are sure you dialed the number that you just saw, and very likely, you immediately put your phone next to your ear. You’d be surprised when you hear who’s answering

My LG GT540 still runs on Android 1.6, I’m wondering if the same thing exists in the 2.1?

Is this happening also on your Android phones?

UPDATE: The problem is reported to exist on other devices as well.