Deploy Android app straight to device (without Market)

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dpw

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#59793 12-Apr-2010 18:25

Hi folks,

I'm considering shelling out for HTC Desire at the moment. One question that I still can't find a straight answer to is "Can I deploy an app straight to my own phone?". Has Android got the same model as Apple, ie. have you cough up more money to deploy to a physical device? If not, does that mean I can deploy apps to other devices (friends' or colleagues') to test?

I may be searching for the wrong things on the web of course - would appreciate some comments on this.

Cheers,
Dany.

Android user, software developer, a semi-typical (not a gamer) geek, and a Bernese Mountain Dog nut!

http://savitarbernese.com | https://nz.linkedin.com/in/danywu

z2k

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#317453 12-Apr-2010 18:35

You can download .apk files to install without the Android Market but you can't move an application you bought on the Market to another phone without some form of hacking.

dpw

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#317471 12-Apr-2010 19:15

Fantastic - thanks for that. I am only concerned with the first scenario, not the latter. So does the user have to change any settings to download and install .apk not in the Market?

Thanks again.

Android user, software developer, a semi-typical (not a gamer) geek, and a Bernese Mountain Dog nut!

http://savitarbernese.com | https://nz.linkedin.com/in/danywu

z2k

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#317473 12-Apr-2010 19:17

Nope, its really straight forward.. just install a free file manager from the Android market and use it to open the file(think windows)

dpw

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#317490 12-Apr-2010 19:52

z2k: Nope, its really straight forward.. just install a free file manager from the Android market and use it to open the file(think windows)

Fantastic news! Thanks for clarifying this point.

Android user, software developer, a semi-typical (not a gamer) geek, and a Bernese Mountain Dog nut!

http://savitarbernese.com | https://nz.linkedin.com/in/danywu

ald

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SimWorks

#318233 14-Apr-2010 10:31

Or if you prefer you can grab the apk installation file through your browser. We often have apk in a shared DropBox. The just surf to the shared DropBox from the devices browser, click on the file and it will be downloaded and installed. Shame you can't just bluetooth app installation files directly to an Android device like you can on Symbian.

Best regards,
Aaron Davidson.

SimWorks International Limited

www.simworks.com - New Zealands leading developer of mobile applications

Linuxluver

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#318393 14-Apr-2010 14:41

dpw: Fantastic - thanks for that. I am only concerned with the first scenario, not the latter. So does the user have to change any settings to download and install .apk not in the Market?

Thanks again.

By default, the phone won't allow apk files from "unknown sources" to install.

You are usually prompted to change the setting if you attempt it.

To enable installing any app from any source, just go to "Menu -> Settings -> Applications" and UN-tick "Unknown Sources".

You'll also need an app capable of assisting the install. This includes most of the file manager apps (like Andexplorer or Astro or eStrongs File Manager) and the app manager apps (Like AppMonster).

Or you can manually install an app by "push"-ing it via adb from a PC and installing it via adb.

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stevenz

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#318419 14-Apr-2010 16:36

ald: Or if you prefer you can grab the apk installation file through your browser. We often have apk in a shared DropBox. The just surf to the shared DropBox from the devices browser, click on the file and it will be downloaded and installed. Shame you can't just bluetooth app installation files directly to an Android device like you can on Symbian.

Install ES File Manager, it adds a bluetooth file server so you can send the .apk to the phone and then run it to install it. It doesn't have a one-step install like Symbian but it also removes necessity for 3rd party software on your computer.

Using DropBox hadn't occurred to me, could be a handy way of getting the job done!

@KnightNZ

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Kiwipixter

246 posts

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#318464 14-Apr-2010 18:05

Its amazing the amount of knowledge of the Android platform on this site, yet until recently we only had one official device in this country. Common Voda and Telecom, get your acts together and release some decent Android devices.

Linuxluver

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#318503 14-Apr-2010 19:51

Kiwipixter: Its amazing the amount of knowledge of the Android platform on this site, yet until recently we only had one official device in this country. Common Voda and Telecom, get your acts together and release some decent Android devices.

Much of what I know was gained via spending a fair bit of time reading threads on xda-developers.com and on android.modaco.com. At first it can be bewildering due to the large volume of posts every day......but if you hit the site every day for an hour or two you get into the stream and soak it all up fairly quickly.

I've tried to help by summarising some of the material on my own blog to make it easier for Google to find it for searches. I get several hundred hits / day on my blog as people constantly hit my old posts looking for how to do this or that.

geekzone.co.nz is best tech site I've seen in NZ. I come here to share what I know and gain from what others know.

It's all good.

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