Why not develop an Android version

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searchtear
Posts: 2

Post by searchtear »

I want to buy a Android tablets used with electric piano, but no Android version
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

I may go in that direction eventually. For now though, I can only take one step at a time. Today that step is Synthesia for iPad. ;)

March-2014 EDIT: We are now planning an Android version to be released sometime during 2014.
Seto
Posts: 39

Post by Seto »

I'd like to see synthesia for android as well. Android is with the ability to connect midi with OTG cable as well.
I'll absolutely buy it when it supports android.
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birdbrain
Posts: 23

Post by birdbrain »

several apps at the Android (google play) store named close to Synthesia. I love one of the top comments "I was looking for the piano thing not this"
grofit
Posts: 2

Post by grofit »

Hi,

I have just downloaded the application and am blown away by how great it is, as someone who has recently bought a keyboard in an attempt to learn how to play this is a HUGE LEAP forward in tutoring software... my only problem is that I don't have enough room where my keyboard is to put a laptop where I would normally *Attempt* to read the sheet music... this is where I thought... WHY OH WHY isn't there an android version? as then I could just sit my tablet on the sheet stand and away I could go... Granted I dont know of an android tablet that has a USB port for midi hookups... but oh well...

From comments here and on other posts it looks like you are going to be going towards an IPad version but (without going to technical or boring) have you thought about using something like MonoDroid/Touch to target both platforms at once (and you could probably get a windows based version together too then)? I assume you have some native dlls you would be dependant on but if you could just abstract the P/Invoke calls away via interfaces etc and pretty much target all platforms with a shared code base. Is this something that has been thought about? as im sure it would be a kick in the teeth if work has already begun on an IPad version, but if you are still just in the prototyping stage I would give some thumbs up for this approach (having used it before for multiple platforms).

Anyway seriously impressed with the software and just bought the learning pack!
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Everything is already pretty close to being able to compile (using the NDK) on Android. All of the code is portable C++. I would just have to write the thin interface to each of the hardware bits (touchscreen input, MIDI out, filesystem, etc.)

Now that the iPad version is nearly out the door, an Android version is a thousand times more feasible. The hard part was getting things ready for touch. That part is finished. Porting to a different platform is the (mostly) easy part. Though I haven't looked into MIDI on that side, I suppose.

Anyway, like I mentioned before:
Nicholas wrote:I may go in that direction eventually. For now though, I can only take one step at a time. Today that step is Synthesia for iPad. ;)
March-2014 EDIT: We are now planning an Android version to be released sometime during 2014.
grofit
Posts: 2

Post by grofit »

Its all progress!

Dont worry as soon as you make an android version you can take my money :)
TheRetroSpectrum
Posts: 1

Post by TheRetroSpectrum »

*bump*

I'd love to see this happen!
Since the iPad version is pretty much ready for release, I'm also wondering if there will be an iPhone 3GS version?
I don't know what it takes to move it over to another Apple platform, but I'd love to see it happen if it's not too much more difficult than making the Android version (my first choice above all)

Either way, I can't wait to hear more news on this.
Keep at it!
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

TheRetroSpectrum wrote:I'm also wondering if there will be an iPhone 3GS version?
I don't have any plans to make Synthesia for anything smaller than a tablet form factor. Porting the code would be trivial (... actually, I don't think a single line would have to change just to get it to compile and run). But the poor usability of Synthesia on a screen that small would mean the vast majority of the user interface would have to change.

I'm not even sure how I'd solve those problems. My guess is that Synthesia just isn't a good fit for something that small.

If/when I decide to do an Android port, it will have a minimum screen size/resolution requirement that would place it on tablets-only.

March-2014 EDIT: We are now planning an Android version to be released sometime during 2014.
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jimhenry
Posts: 1899

Post by jimhenry »

Perhaps making a MIDI file player based on the Synthesia code would lead to an app that could fit on a phone.
Jim Henry
Author of the Miditzer, a free virtual theatre pipe organ
http://www.Miditzer.org/
Tomji
Posts: 1

Post by Tomji »

+1
There is a developer that already makes Piano app's that can connect to "real" pianos, but he doesn't make them in a game format:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... dpiano.pro

I don't understand why Ipad was selected first, it cannot interface with keyboards... is it going to work via microphone?
Edit: I've read the iPad thread and it seem it will work with a USB adapter that can be bought for 30-40$. Since I got both Android and IPad3, I may go with that because it's a 10inch vs. 6inch.
Lemo
Posts: 313

Post by Lemo »

Nicholas wrote:I don't have any plans to make Synthesia for anything smaller than a tablet form factor. Porting the code would be trivial (... actually, I don't think a single line would have to change just to get it to compile and run). But the poor usability of Synthesia on a screen that small would mean the vast majority of the user interface would have to change.

I'm not even sure how I'd solve those problems. My guess is that Synthesia just isn't a good fit for something that small.
How about something like this?
Where people could review, download, or even buy their midis while on the run
Stuff & experiments for Synthesia: Gramp v0.2SkinboxFireSynthVideoWebradio
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jimhenry
Posts: 1899

Post by jimhenry »

Lemo wrote:How about something like this?
Where people could review, download, or even buy their midis while on the run
Yes, that is the sort of thing I was thinking of. If the ability to display lyrics from .kar files was added, it might find a following with people who want to use their phones for karaoke. This could be a nice way for Nicholas to leverage his existing code into a second product with a different customer base.
Jim Henry
Author of the Miditzer, a free virtual theatre pipe organ
http://www.Miditzer.org/
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Yeah, a player is a neat idea. Before all this mobile work, I'd had a "Reuse the code base on a simple player" slated for a desktop release on my extended to-do list for a few years. Though the free download of Synthesia acting as a perfectly serviceable player stayed my hand.

The viability of it in the smaller form factors -- especially when there are so many devices out there in the smaller form factors -- might prompt me to prioritize it quite a bit higher. That's the type of thing where a simple $0.99 up-front purchase makes a lot of sense. Simple for me to implement and users to understand. I'm also not as worried about communicating the value-proposition of a simple player. That's probably the ability I'm the most confident in, with the current code base. Seems a fair price to take the falling notes on the go with you, in your pocket. :lol:
abstracte
Posts: 45

Post by abstracte »

I personally don't see the need for portable versions. Synthesia is great as a desktop app.
chase
Posts: 2

Post by chase »

Midi devices connected to android are not as well supported as they are on iOS. People are starting to create libraries to support it. See the last message here: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18812
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

I'm starting to get that same impression now that I've been poking around looking for the various analogues I'd need to use for an Android. It's starting to sound like they might be nearly as far behind as WinRT is with MIDI support. That's a shame.

Thanks for that link! Lots of good information there.

March-2014 EDIT: We are now planning an Android version to be released sometime during 2014.
shadowdude777
Posts: 6

Post by shadowdude777 »

Nicholas wrote:I'm starting to get that same impression now that I've been poking around looking for the various analogues I'd need to use for an Android. It's starting to sound like they might be nearly as far behind as WinRT is with MIDI support. That's a shame.

Thanks for that link! Lots of good information there.
Hi, I hope I'm not unnecessarily bumping this thread. First, I just want to thank you for all the work you've done on trying to make Synthesia as cross-platform as possible, and I'm really looking forward to trying out the iPad version. I also want to thank you for actually giving Android the attention it deserves, as many developers neglect the platform entirely.

With that said, I noticed that the link posted by chase provides slightly outdated information (though it was correct at the time). Even the most recent post in that bugtracker page is from May 2012. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released in July 2012 and provides greatly decreased audio latency. As an example, the Galaxy Nexus used to have ~100ms audio latency on Android 4.0, but on 4.1, it has ~12ms latency. Google has indicated that they are going to continue working on the latency as well. There's more detailed info here: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/07/a ... ess-today/

I'm not a developer, so I hope what I'm saying is still somewhat useful. But information from pre-Android-4.1 no longer applies to devices on Jelly Bean, such as the Nexus 7, which is by far the most popular Android tablet on the market. Android 4.1 is actually a viable platform for MIDI-based apps.

Other major music production programs such as FL Studio are porting to Android. They had trouble before summer 2012 when Google provided support for low-latency audio, but it looks like their prospects are much better now: http://www.image-line.com/documents/android.html

Sorry if any of this information isn't useful or if it's stuff you already knew. Again, even if you don't end up going through with the Android port, I just want to thank you for actually considering the platform and for being a responsive developer. Hopefully there are some new resources in 4.1 and 4.2 that would make a Synthesia port viable.
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stephenhazel
Posts: 223

Post by stephenhazel »

That's great news - thanks for the info!
deed02392
Posts: 38

Post by deed02392 »

I'm still deciding on when I'll buy a tablet but I'll surely be buying an Android whenever that is. I do hope to be able to do away with stacking my laptop folded flat out precariously on my sheet music holder.

Please bring Synthesia to Android!
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