GSam Labs

I started my Android Development by simply creating an app for my own use - I wasn't happy with existing battery monitors, and wanted much more detail.  So I created Badass Battery Monitor.  The name was a joke - but I liked it, and it was unique, so it stuck. As the app has grown in popularity, I get frequent comments from users complaining about the name.  While Badass isn't necessarily a 'bad word', it certainly is considered vulgar in certain company.   Nothing in the app is at all risque or offensive in any way other than the name, so why risk alienating possible users just for the sake of the name?  If I could start over, I'd definitely choose a different name.  Can I rename the App in flight? Yes - I'm going to rename the app and see how it works.  I run the following risks: There are numerous reviews, forum posts, etc. that all refer to Badass Battery Monitor.  A significant portion of download traffic can be attributed to this....

GSam Screen Dimmer - Users Guide  (Version 1.4) Is your Android screen too bright for reading at night?  Even on it's lowest Brightness setting, many people find that their screen can be too bright for reading in a dark room.   GSam Screen Dimmer lets you dim the screen way past what many built-in brightness setting will allow, giving you a much better night reading experience. You can dim your screen without ever leaving the app you are currently running. Better yet, you can see the content on your screen while you dim - no need to launch into separate screens. GSam Screen Dimmer Main Screen : GSam Screen Dimmer has one screen.  This can be launched from the Notification Bar (if enabled), or directly from your launcher tray.  Note:   Since this is a utility app you'll use often, it will not always show up on your Kindle Carousel.  This is to prevent this app from always showing up in the first few Carousel items. Launching...

As of version 2.2 of Badass Battery Monitor (all versions), it's now possible to create third-party icon packs that will work with Badass Battery Monitor. See the following link for details as to how to do it.  Instructions are provided in the wiki, and the source tab of course contains all the source for a complete Eclipse Android project.  It's fairly simple to do - very little modification is needed - with the exception of the icon sets of course! You're free to create your own icon packs for your personal use, or make your creations available in the Market or Appstore (for free of for $$$ - up to you). Here's the wiki showing you how to do it: http://code.google.com/p/badass-battery-monitor-iconpack-template/wiki/CreatingAnIconPack You can see available themes in the market using the following URL: https://market.android.com/search?q=BadassBatteryMonitorTheme&c=apps Enjoy!

We have released a paid version (currently $1.99) of Badass Battery Monitor.    The free version of Badass Battery Monitor is still free, and will continue to get updates.  Why a Paid version?  Read on... Badass Battery Monitor has become quite popular on the Kindle Fire for monitoring the Fire's battery. As of this post, it was #189 on Amazon Appstore for all free apps.   80% of the downloads from Amazon Appstore are coming from Kindle Fire users (for this particular App). Badass Battery Monitor recently got written up by Sharon Vaknin in her c|net blog about the Kindle Fire. Kindle users tend to be a different breed from the average Android user.  They have very different expectations, and are looking for apps that fit their particular device.  While the Kindle Fire is using Android as it's underlying operating system, it is a very unique device, and apps designed for Android Phones - particularly Battery Monitoring apps fail miser...

I've always been intrigued with device monitoring, so when I got my Android phone, I really wanted to know more details as to it's power usage.    There are an amazing amount of battery monitoring apps out there - most of them are pretty terrible, but there are a few really good ones.  Unfortunately, even the good ones don't do everything I really wanted.  With that in mind, and as a way to learn how to write a basic Android application, I decided to create my own. You can now download Badass Battery Monitor for free in the Android Market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gsamlabs.bbm There are no ads - it uses Internet Access for graphing, but otherwise requires no special permissions. What makes Badass Battery Monitor different? Percent and time estimate quick view: A way to always see how much battery is left, and easily see estimates of remaining time.  Other apps have this - but non all in one place.  This was the key item that I...