Android App - "BMI Master"

10/14/2016

I have been longing to write an app and put it up on App Store. I recently pick up my slack and start working on an Android App. I called it "BMI Master", is a simple app that calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). I can only work on this over the weekend or after work. After approximately 3 weeks, I managed to put everything together and ready to publish.

The best feeling ever, when you hit the publish button and hope for the best. Everything went well. "BMI Master" appears on Google Play Store within like 30 mins or so. 

Here's the link from Google Play Store: BMI Master

Here are some technical details:

Android Studio : 2.1.3

BitBucket - Git Version Control System, allows private repository up to 5 users (since I am the only one, that works well for me)

Fabric: Crashlytics - I used it to track any issues using the App. so far so good.

Fabric: Mopub - I used it for Banner and Interstitial Ads. I also linked up Admob in Mopub. I am using the marketplace feature for now. I am still learning, not 100% sure what I am doing :). Ads from marketplace has been showing up.

GreenRobot:GreenDAO - Android ORM for SQLite DB.

GreenRobot:EventBus - Event Bus.

Thats pretty much all you need to create this app. 

This is the first App that I wrote to try out the App market, I have so much fun working on it. It feels really good to be able to put your app out there. There are more apps that I plan to publish. 

Please download it and give it a try. 

Android App - "Dog Food Calculator"

11/16/2016

So this is my second Android App that I put on App Store. My first app was calculating BMI for Adults, Kids and Infants. I don't expect a lot of downloads or install with these apps. It was a lot of fun working on it and it doesn't take that much time to do. I spent about approximately 2 and a half week to finish this app.

Here's the link from Google Play Store: Dog Food Calculator

This app calculates the food requirements for your dog based on the energy (calorie) needs to maintain a healthy weight for their life stage. The calculation depends upon their energy and activity level. What I have added that I don't see from other dog food calculator out there is that it allows you to put in the dog food information like KCal/Cup, KCal/Kg, Bag Size, Price / Bag. Based on these information, I calculate the amount of food needed for your dog (Cups / Day). I also calculate the Cost / Day and how long will the bag lasts.

I thought it would be fun to add the dog breed list and used their min & max weight to calculate the costs based on the energy / activity level that user has chosen. I wrote some scripts to collect the dog breeds information that I think is fun from the internet. I added a Dog Breed Details where it allows you to change the weight on the fly and it calculates the cost based on the Energy / Activity level that user has selected.

 

I also thought it would be good to have it translated into Spanish and Chinese. I basically use Google Translate and since I don't speak Spanish, I rely on my friend to review the translation. As for the Mandarin, I did it myself even thought I am not very good at it. I was quite impressed with Google Translate, I wouldn't have thought of using some of the words if I were doing it myself.

Here are some technical details:
Android Studio: 2.1.3
BitBucket - Git Version Control System.
Fabric: Crashlytics - I used it to tract failures.
Fabric: Mopub - I used Banner and Interstitial Ads.
GreenRobot: GreenDao - Android ORM for SQLite DB.
GreenRobot: EventBus - Event Bus.
Proguard: Obfuscate android code.

It was a lot of fun working on this. I am working on a third App now.

If you have a dog and you don't really know how much you should feed your dog? Please download this app and give it a try. Your dog might be starving :).

Android App - "Tip Calculator"

10/16/2016

My third Android App in Google App Store. I spent approximately 1 week to finish this app, just doing it after working hour. So within like 2 months, I was able to publish 3 apps in total. Even though they are all simple apps but it does take some time to make them look good (at least to my standard).

"Tip Calculator" is what I wanted to create from the very start. I never like the job to split the bill at the end of a lunch gathering with friends / coworkers, coz it feels like I have to showoff my quick math skill that I don't necessarily possessed. It can be a bit stressful for me at times.

I don't like most of the tip calculator out there and I thought I can make a better version of it within a very short time. So this app is totally "Free" to download and there is No bloody Ads.

Here's the link from Google Play Store: Tip Calculator

This is mainly for users in United States because tipping is a culture here. We never really tip back in Malaysia and I did embarrassed myself once in Japan. It was my first time in Japan and eating in a restaurant by myself. At the end, I left some tips and left. The waitress chased me down the road and gave me back my money thinking that I left it accidentally. Japanese are super honest and what a great country.

Anyway, tipping in the US... I don't necessarily agreed with paying tips based on the total bill after tax. Most of the suggested tip amount that you saw at the bottom of the bill are calculated based on the after Tax value. I know many people still do it as they think that the difference is so insignificant. I do it sometimes too depending on the amount. But like my friend "Dennis" always says: "5 dollar is 5 dollar...". There are times you need to be generous but not always.

So this app actually let you have the option to include / exclude the tax calculation. Like my previous apps, I translated them into English, Spanish and Mandarin.

If you have the same problem like I did splitting the bills, try this app and I hope it will make it easier for you :). Please give this app some likes too.