Mobile Development: Android and iOS Device Setup

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If you’re thinking about getting into mobile development you can only go so far without getting content ont a device. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to use a MacBook Pro and an Android device running Android 2.2. (I’m personally a fan of the Samsung Galaxy S2).  From there it’s literally “plug and play”. Just connect your Android device via USB and use Flash Pro to publish directly to the device.

If you have a PC or are interested in publishing to iOS devices things get a little more complex. I thought I’d outline those steps to hopefully avoid some headaches with connecting those devices/platforms:

Android Device Setup

The following device hardware and software is needed to publish to an Android device.

Device Software

AIR must be installed on the Android device. Simply search “Adobe AIR” in the Android Market on your device.

Device Hardware

  • Device must have Android 2.2 or higher with an ARMv7 processor or higher. For a compatible devices please refer to this list of certified devices: http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/certified_devices/
  • Necessary USB cable for your device.

Configuring Your Android Device

  1. On your device, select the submenu button and select Settings.
  2. Select Applications.
  3. Select “Unknown Sources” so non-market apps can be installed.
  4. Select Development.
  5. Select “USB Debugging”.

Some devices may have an extra step or two. Samsung devices, for example, need to have you manually mount them in order for it to connect.

Installing Android USB Drivers

If you are on a Mac, on device driver is needed. For PC do one of the following. Be sure to set USB connection to “Charge Only” on devices such as Droid X.

Windows 7:

  1. Connect your Android device to your computer’s USB port.
  2. Windows will try to install the driver software and if it fails with no driver found error, proceed to the next step.
  3. Right-click on “Computer” from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select “Manage.”
  4. Select “Device Manager” in the left pane of the Computer Management window.
  5. Locate “Other devices” and right click on your device and select “Update Driver Software…”
  6. A prompt will ask how you want to search for the driver software. Select “Browse my computer for driver software.”
  7. Click “Browse…” and to browse to Flash Pro CS5 installation folder to select Android_Drivers folder, check the “Include subfolders” checkbox.
  8. Click “Next.”
  9. When Windows 7 asks if you’d like to install the device software, click “Install” to install the driver.

Windows Vista:

  1. Connect your Android-powered device to your computer’s USB port. Windows will detect the device and launch the Found New Hardware wizard.
  2. Select “Install from a list or a specific location (Advanced)” and click “Next”.
  3. “Search for the best driver in these locations” is selected by default, select “Include this location in the search” and click Browse to browse to Flash Pro CS5 installation folder to select Android_Drivers folder.
  4. Click “Next”; Vista may prompt you to confirm the privilege elevation required for
  5. driver installation. Confirm it.

Windows XP:

  1. Connect your Android-powered device to your computer’s USB port. Windows will detect the device and launch the Found New Hardware Wizard.
  2. Select “No, not this time” when it asks to use Windows update to search for the driver and click “Next.”
  3. Select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click “Next”.
  4. Select “Include this location in the search” and click “Browse…” and browse to Flash Pro CS5 installation folder to select Android_Drivers folder; click “Next” to install the driver.

iOS Device Setup

If you are building for iOS you will need to obtain all of the necessary provisioning profiles, developer certificates and have iTunes installed. For the iOS provisioning process see the iOS Dev Center.

Register as an iOS Developer

  1. Enroll in the iOS Developer Program
  2. The Apple Developer Center will walk you through the necessary steps to either create a new Apple ID for an individual or company, or use an existing Apple ID. As an individual your name will be listed as the seller. If it’s for a company then the company’s name will be used.
  3. Choose ‘iOS Developer Program’ as the program.

Pay $99/year.

You will then receive an activation email where you will choose a contract type. There are two types:

  • Free Applications Contract —managed through iTunes Connect. Login to set up the enrollment step.
  • Paid Applications Contract — You will need to complete a separate contract through iTunes Connect for applications you are selling including your bank info (where to distribute proceeds and deduct payments), a W-9 tax form and contact information. Know that you can always go back and update to a Paid Applications Contract later.

Setup Certs/Devices/Profiles in the Apple iOS Provisioning Portal. See the iOS Provisioning Portal for details and tutorial videos.

Add Certificate and Provisioning Profile to Flash Professional

Windows users, check out Lee Brimelow’s Developing Applications for Windows

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