howdy, Greg!

Hi, how's it going?

just ducky

how can I help you?

I'm working on an Android application that has a lot of videos in it.

~ 600 Mb worth

eek

I obviously need them to be stored on the sdcard -- too big for the application space.

stored? you probably need them *distributed* on an SD card

You think it's too much to download?

over mobile data, sure

even WiFi, the question is how fast can the server serve it up?

mobile data the issue is bandwidth cost; WiFi, the question is user tolerance for the time (and being tied down to the location to do the download)

that's a bit outside what you were probably planning on asking, though

so we can ignore this little problem and get back to your real question if you want :-)

:-)

it was just a knee-jerk reaction of mine

so, yes, 600MB is too big for the on-board app-local file store

Yeah, there's already an iPhone version, but they're getting the video application via iTunes, which is probably downloaded over a wired connection.

yeah, that's definitely an advantage for iOS

(btw, howdy, David!)

Hi

Greg: so let's assume they download 600MB via WiFi to the SD card

what specifically is your concern?

There's not a way to package the videos to be downloaded directly to the sdcard from the Market is there?

I am interested in making an Android calendar. There are many Android calendar widgets which run with built-in Android calendar. Should I make a calendar widget or Android calendar like Google Calendar?

nope

David: hold on, let me wrap up Greg's question first

Greg: you will need to handle the download yourself

So the best way then would be for them to download the app and then download the videos as they watch them or as a service running in the background.

well, that depends on how the videos are to be used

It's basically a training application.

if the user will be viewing all 600MB repeatedly, it would be best to download them

if the user will be viewing a portion of the 600MB sporadically, streaming would be a good choice

in between, it's a bit murky

you could kinda split the difference

service downloads when the user tells it "go ahead and start caching"

stream for stuff that the user needs but hasn't been downloaded yet

That's true. Also, there's the possibility they might want to watch the videos offline.

that'd be the "go ahead and start caching" path

Right

for 600MB, they'll need to set their phone down for a while

even on a decent US DSL or cable Internet connection, congestion and server issues will limit how quickly that'll all make it down

True, that's why I was thinking download as needed.

It would put a huge dent in their monthly data limit.

worse on plans that pay by the MB (e.g., Europe)

Yeah, I would definitely want to suggest downloading over wifi.

let me take David's question, and we can swing back to you in a bit for more discussion

Ok, thanks Mark.

David: I do not understand your question

at least, I don't understand the "or"

I would think that would be an "and"

For Android calendar, should I make an android app or widget?

if you write your own calendar app, you might want to write an app widget for it

there is no "Android calendar"

there is a Google Calendar client in the Android open source project

it ships on some phones

it is not part of the Android SKD

Right, there is no calendar SDK yet.

er, SDK

if you want to make your own Google Calendar client, there's a GData API for getting/setting calendar data

Thanks.

it's not part of Android, but since it is just HTTP and Atom, you should be able to make it work

or you can create a calendar app that has nothing to do with Google Calendar

either syncing with some other Web-based calendar, or just purely local on the device

did that answer your question?

Yes. Thank you.

ah, OK

Greg: back to you -- got another question or follow-up from the first one?

Not really, I'm writing this application for a friend / client and they already have an iPhone app where the videos are downloaded as part of the app.

Like you said, that's a advantage of iOS.

yup

I didn't realize how big the videos were until they gave me the zip file.

is this app for the Android Market or some other form of distribution?

The Android Market.

phooey

yeah, there's no real good answer for distributing a 600MB app on the Market

you'll want to watch for connectivity changes during your downloads, in case the user kicks it off and then leaves WiFi AP range

yeah, I was hoping there would be a way to put the videos in an area that would be downloaded to the sdcard.

there are broadcast Intents on ConnectivityManager and...ummm...NetworkManager? WifiManager? I forget

nope

Yeah, that's a good point.

I've long been opposed to the APK being both the executable and the distribution package

we need a container for the APK that can handle simple rules like "copy this directory to SD"

One thought I had was that the application could be installed directly on the sdcard.

and that the container can be distributed via the Market

Yep.

yes, for Android 2.2, and that assumes you don't have anything else that runs afoul of the apps-on-SD limits

David: do you have another question?

Right. This was probably going to be a 2.X only application due to the size of the videos.

But I didn't want to limit it to only 2.2.

if either of you come up with a question, jump right in!

Ok, well I hate to run off early, but I gotta go. Thanks for your help. I'll have to discuss the options with the client.

happy to be useful!

Have a good evening!

any last questions?