Droid Sector

Let’s create a simple Automator app to make installing apk files a little easier.

• Download the Android SDK for Mac and extract it to an Android folder in your home directory.
• Launch Automator and create a new application.
• Add an action “Run Shell Script” with a sh shell.
• Paste this command: ~/Android/android-sdk-mac/platform-tools/adb install -r “$1″
• Add another two actions shown below if you want a feedback from the script.
• Save the application to the Applications folder.
• Associate apk files with your new application.

Now you can install Android apps by double clicking on apk files.

Download: Automator App.

Update: adb now stored by default in platform-tools folder, please check location of adb file on your computer. You can also drag adb file from Finder to Automator to insert the complete path.

In case of problems, open Terminal app and run command adb devices. You should see an id of your Android device. If no device listed, try the following:

• Reconnect USB cable.
• Toggle USB Debugging option off and on again.
• Run commands adb kill-server and then adb start-server.

A latest SDK now allows developers to create and run virtual devices with tablet-size screen. Just create a new device and set the size to 1024×600 or bigger.

If you are interested in writing Android apps, this tutorial is a great place to start:
http://www.vogella.de/articles/Android/article.html

More detailed guide about installing ADB/USB drivers in Windows:
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/

On Mac, just add path to the SDK to file .bash_profile in your home folder. If you don’t have Path Finder or other file manager that shows hidden files, here is a small guide:

1. Extract SDK to your Documents folder, as example.
2. Open Terminal from Applications/Utilities.
3. In Terminal Type “ls -a” and see if there is a .bash_profile in your home folder.
4. If not, type:  touch .bash_profile to create this file.
5. Now type open -e .bash_profile to open it in TextEdit.
6. Add the following line: export PATH=${PATH}:~/Documents/android-sdk-mac/tools