Android Portfolio (2017)
When I began programming in 2017 I was advised to build projects as a way to learn. Here are 3 Android apps I built & deployed to the Play Store that kickstarted my learning path.
I'm proud of these early projects despite their imperfections. They helped get me to where I am today.
Walmart Scanner app
What it did: Allowed you to scan the barcode of products at Walmart to check the price and add to your shopping list. This allowed you to track your sum total amount while shopping.
Why: When I saw Wal-Mart had released a beta version of their products api I was eager to practice using their 3rd party web api. I was also tired of searching aimlessly for the physical price scanner at different Wal-Marts to check a products price. This was before Wal-Mart released their own scanner app.
Fun Fact: This app was downloaded 50k times and earned me $1200 after I put ads on it.
Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUMAX8sF4Ks
Github: https://github.com/Ncastro878/WalmartScanner
Almost There app
What it did: You entered someones phone number & address, then selected a distance in miles. When you were within the distance of their address(converted to gps coordinates) it would automatically send a text message to their number such as, "I am almost to your location", or a custom message of your choosing.
Why: I used to pick up my sister from her job at a busy intersection. Texting and driving near that area was dangerous plus it was outlawed. I hated texting her when I pulled up because she would take forever wrapping up(aka chatting w/ coworkers). So I built this app to text her when I was 1 mile away so she could meet me outside sooner.
Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlUR67pBY6s
Github: https://github.com/Ncastro878/AlmostThere
Dropspot Chat app
What it did: You could create a chatroom and the chatroom would map to your gps location. If anyone wanted to join your chatroom they had to be within 1 mile of that gps location.
Why: I'd gone to multiple music festivals and wished there was an easy way to interact exclusively with strangers around me. Sort of like Twitter but with the restriction of your location, so you could meet new people nearby. After learning to use Android's gps functionality I wanted to persist data in a DB as well (using Google's Firebase db), so I built this app for fun.