Gcal version 0.3: touch support, local events, and a bunch of fixes!
Version 0.3 of Gcal, the J2ME Google Calendar client, is finally out!
Most of the work was done to improve device compatibility and fix bugs on specific handsets (e.g.: BlackBerry devices, Nokia E61, and many more).
Release details
New cool features are introduced:
- Touch-screen support: if you have a device supporting touch, now you can easily interact with Gcal with stylus/fingers!
Touch gestures are also implemented: go from a day to another simply swiping! - Event saving on local calendar: you can now save an event on your local calendar. If you’re creating a new event, just check the “Save on local calendar” option. Instead, if you’re viewing a saved event, choose “Actions” -> “Save locally” from the options menu.
New settings are also available:
- Font size: introduced to improve readability, and to allow users with touch-screen to have larger touchable areas
- Alternative soft-keys: devices without hardware soft-keys can now use ‘*’ and ‘#‘ keys to substitute them, and so use Gcal without any more problems
- Show only calendars with events: this will allow users with a lot of calendars to show only the ones actually selected in the “Filter calendars” screen, greatly improving events readability
Among the fixed bugs:
- Calendar loading errors on various handsets
- Filters scrolling and selection in calendar filtering screen
- Screen size/orientation changes are now better handled
Give your feedback
A lot of new features are still under development, and surely a lot are the missing features that you would like to see into your Gcal. Just leave your comment here, and your feedback will be surely considered for the next Gcal releases!
David Bilek, 
Cindy Christensen, and 27 others are discussing.
aston 4:11 pm on February 16, 2009 Permalink
I do not know why.
I can not use on blackberry 7290 .just said:Error while connecting to Google.
help me.
pit 4:48 pm on February 16, 2009 Permalink
Hi aston,
I’ve sent you an email about your issue, please give it a look.
Thanks,
Pit
J2ME, Flash Lite, Symbian, Iphone, Android and Ajax news, tutorials, source code » Blog Archive » J2ME Google Calendar client! 5:01 pm on February 16, 2009 Permalink
[...] NEW: check out the new Gcal 0.3 version! [...]
Stefan 6:01 pm on February 16, 2009 Permalink
good job, both bugs (wrong sorting of recurring and once only events, limitation on calendar filter) fixed in 0.3!
Thanks a lot – this app definitely makes my handset a more valuable companion.
Danik 2:20 am on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Hey pit, two news, the good one is that I managed to run GCal 0.3 on my E61 no prob, everything working like a charm, the bad one is that from the first run I encounter this strange bug – anytime an information popup goes off, by no means on Earth I can confirm it and continue whatever I was doing with the app… Actually the only way I was able to work this out was to restart the app. Of course I tried switching the Emulate Soft Keys setting and of course I know that I should press the very bottom left button in order to access the */# keys. Also I know that some Java apps require the bottom left and the * or # button pressed together and some require the bottom left button pressed prior to the * or # button. I tried all those options, none worked for me.
By all other means, this app is a charm, i love it! Gonna make my everyday easier. Thank you for all your effort! Hope my bug report will be of any use for you. Keep a-rollin’! :o)
Chris 6:39 am on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Think I might have left my last message in the wrong forum. Downloaded the 0.3 version today, still getting the cannot connect to google message on my Helio Ocean (Pantech PN-810), looking forward to the diagnostic version when you have it ready, thanks:)
pit 9:55 am on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Hi all,
@Stefan: I’m happy to know it works now
@Danik: I’ve fixed the popup issue, a new version (0.3.1) is available, just update Gcal and it should work!
@Chris: I’m working on it, It’ll be ready soon.
Thanks again for your feedback!
Pit
aston 10:27 am on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Fix for the blackberry version?
Danik 12:58 pm on February 17, 2009 Permalink
@pit: thanks man! Downloading right away, looking forward to the experience :o) Keep up.
Wael Nabil 3:00 pm on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Dear pit,
Thanks it work fine in E71.
i have one issue
Creating Event and pressing fire key while selecting any text control to edit it like name and details and open and close immediate so i can’t write event..it work when i start to write while selecting it “it open and i start write after that.”
i have feature request.
Sync my current saved calendar event to google calendar.
Thanks
Wael
pit 3:52 pm on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Hi,
@aston: working on that
@Danik: hope it works now!
@Wael: really strange :-\ I have not a Nokia E71 to test right now, but I’ll do it really soon.
Pit
Ethan 9:04 pm on February 17, 2009 Permalink
Thanks! This app just keeps getting better
Any chance of alerts of upcoming events with vibration
or sound?
It would be a nice feature, but I don’t
even know if it is possible with google’s
API and it requiring the gcal app to be
running in the background.
aston 3:13 am on February 18, 2009 Permalink
@Pit can login now. but can not create new event.
Julie 8:51 am on February 18, 2009 Permalink
Hi Pit
Have installed the new version (on my Nokia E90), and here’s my feedback:
I had trouble connecting the first couple of times I tried and had to re-enter my loging details, but all now seems to be fine.
Only calendars with events are displayed, which is great. Thanks for that.
However, all appointments are still showing as All day, even when they’re not.
In Filter Calendars options (in which I couldn’t get to the calendars near the end of the list in the previous version), the first time I tried it (and ticked/unticked boxes as I went), I saw Unhandled Exception Error part way down the list. By choosing to ignore it I could continue. I can’t now reproduce this, so maybe it’s a “first run only” error?
Julie
pit 11:10 am on February 18, 2009 Permalink
Hi,
@Ethan: something similar can be surely done and, since it’s definitely useful, next releases will surely include this
@aston: I’ll send you an update asap
@Julie: I will make some checks for the bugs you’ve reported. About the “All day” issue, can you tell me your timezone, and the start and finish date&time of some of the problematic events?
Thank you,
Pit
Julie 3:49 pm on February 18, 2009 Permalink
Hi Pit
Re “All day” events, nothing controversial, I’m afraid.
TimeZone is GMT (maybe that’s TOO easy?)
One appt yesterday, 9:30-10:30am
One recurring “appt” today, 8:00am, zero duration
One appt tomorrow, 2:30-3:30pm
One appt on 28th, 9pm-11:30pm
There are no doubt others, but these seem pretty straight-forward with nothing in common – nothing crossing midnight, for instance, one repeating but the other three are non-repeating. Tomorrow’s gets regularly copied (duplicated), but yesterday’s was a one-off meeting.
All show as All Day in gCal. Much as I’d like to be out horse riding all day tomorrow, I can’t really afford it ;-).
Julie
pit 4:24 pm on February 18, 2009 Permalink
Thanks Julie, your reply actually helped me a lot! Expect a new version later today, that should definitely fix this issue
Pit
Julie 4:31 pm on February 18, 2009 Permalink
Don’t tell me: it was the “TOO easy” bit?
pit 10:18 am on February 19, 2009 Permalink
Yes, it was (at least, I hope
)
Version 0.3.2 is now available, this should solve the “All day” problem.
Pit
Chris 6:28 pm on February 19, 2009 Permalink
FYI, tried 0.3.2 on my Helio Ocean (Pantech PN-810) just in case, still get the cannpt connect to Google error… Chris
aston 7:36 am on February 20, 2009 Permalink
Can I set up the * and #, I meanse i do not use * or # key ,but I can config it. For example,the fist time I run Gcal,I can set up the key that what I want. After set up , I can use at the next time.
The default event create on Google calendar can make the default alert is alert by sms?
now have no alert option. I must go to google calendar edit the event and make the alert option. thanks.
and a bug: when I create a new event,it said some error create false. but actually it has been create success.
I use blackberry .thank u.
Tim 5:31 pm on February 20, 2009 Permalink
Doesn’t work on my LGVu. Says that it cannot download calendars.
pit 1:13 pm on February 24, 2009 Permalink
Hi all,
@Chris, @Tim: I’ll release a new version to do more accurate tests as soon as possible, to identify the cause of these problems, so stay tuned
@aston: reminders will be added in a next release. About the bug, I’ll send you another debug version with some little modifications.
Pit
Lucas 6:49 pm on February 24, 2009 Permalink
Hi,
This is an awesome program, however I am having an issue. I have the Samsung Instinct, the software loads fine and logs in OK. When it starts downloading from Google it crashes and says “uncaught exception, exiting application”.
I would love to have this on my phone, can you please fix this?
Thanks for all the hard work!
-Lucas
Lucas 11:02 pm on February 27, 2009 Permalink
As I have tired to use the program, I have found that the exception does not always occur right away. Sometimes I can be in the program for a few minutes before it crashes. Also, all of my events show up as all day, as posted in another comment. The download circle is continuously spinning, don’t know if that is related. just being as detailed as possible.
I am excited to start using this program to it’s potential, keep up the good work!
-Lucas
Marcus 3:29 pm on March 1, 2009 Permalink
Hi,
This is a fantastic tool – thanks very much.
I am using this on a Nokia E51, but here are the problems I have faced :
1. All day calendar entries continue until the day after (ie. if its a 1 day event then it shows up as 2 days, if its a 2 day event, it shows up as 3 etc.)
2. If I create an event on Gcal I get an ‘Error while saving the new event’ message. If I then doscard this addition it has saved it anyway.
3. If I create an event on Gcal and tick save a local copy, it works fine, but puts the time in 2 hours after the correct time. I live in GMT+2 so that might be the reason ?
Some other suggestions for future improvements :
1. Ability to sync all existing events with phone – and the chocei of which calendars to sync (ie. not all).
2. Ability to have sync on an ongoing basis ie. every hour, day, week etc.
Thanks again for making this app !
JamesS 11:20 pm on March 4, 2009 Permalink
I keep getting the “Wrong username/password” error on sony ericsson c510 on 3 network.
Julie 12:30 am on March 9, 2009 Permalink
“Some other suggestions for future improvements :
1. Ability to sync all existing events with phone – and the choice of which calendars to sync (ie. not all).”
This is already available (although you’ll have to pay for multiple calendar synching) from http://www.goosync.com/. It works well for me.
You can use (free) Swim from the Bergamot Project (http://code.google.com/p/bergamot/wiki/Swim) to automatically do any of your synchronisations on a Symbian S60 3rd edition phone (5th edition to follow, it appears). These can be set to happen:
… for each Sync that you have set up on your device.
Julie
mike 5:15 am on March 13, 2009 Permalink
I downloaded this for my instinct. I cant seem to log on. I have tried using name with @gmail and without…no luck
rich 2:56 pm on March 13, 2009 Permalink
Firstly, thank you for this great little app. Does a great job for me as Google Calendar website appears awful on my Nokia 6500c.
As feature suggestions:
Once again, thank you!
pit 5:25 pm on March 16, 2009 Permalink
Hi all!
@Lucas: unhandled exceptions should be now fixed, check out latest Gcal version!
@Marcus: All day issue, the “fake” error on event saving, together with the local event time issue should be all fixed by Gcal v0.3.3: give it a try and let me know if it correctly works. About future improvements: sync is surely on the plan
@JamesS, @mike: give a try to latest Gcal version (0.3.3) and let me know if it works. If it don’t, please report to me the exact error message that you get in this last version. Thanks!
@rich: thanks for the precious suggestions! They’re surely on the plans, I have just to find the time to do them all
Pit
Lucas 7:59 pm on March 16, 2009 Permalink
Thanks pit!
I am noticing that “all day” events are overlapping the day before and day after.
I am on Pacific Time GMT -08:00 if that helps, not sure if it is a time issue or not. Other than that the program is working great now!
Thanks a bunch!
-Lucas
Chris 11:36 pm on March 16, 2009 Permalink
Thanks Pitt, well I am a little closer with the Helio Ocean, when I try to connect with GCal 0.3.3, I get the following error message:
java.lang.Exception: Error while connecting to Google (javax.microedition.pki.CertificateException: Root CA’s public key is expired)
I have experienced a similar error when trying to install the GMail j2me client. Have tried to copy the PCA3ss_v4.cer file to many locations on my phone, but none of them took. It seems Snaptu was able to build the certificate in to their application as I can access my Google calendars from there app, but the implementation is not nearly as useful as yours. Please let me know if you have any ideas, thanks… Chris
pit 10:01 am on March 17, 2009 Permalink
Hi,
@Lucas: I have to to some tests about this. Do you have the same timezone (GMT-08:00) set on both Google Calendar and on your phone?
@Chris: I’m not totally sure, but if Snaptu solves this problem, then it’s likely that it uses a proxy server to forward your requests to Google Calendar servers and get the responses back. This way, the certificate problem would be solved by the proxy server itself. Anyway, I’ll dig inside it a bit more and let you know!
Pit
I lettori segnalano | Googlisti.com 8:28 am on March 23, 2009 Permalink
[...] le informazioni sul post “ufficiale” relativo all’ultima versione [...]
T-Mobile G1 vs. Nokia E71 oder: Android vs. S60 7:30 am on March 25, 2009 Permalink
[...] Grund (Android?) hat Google den Kalender wieder aus dem Sync entfernt. Nach wie vor gibt es jedoch GCal oder CalSyncS60. Während GCal ein eigenständiger Client ist, mit dem man auf all seine Kalender [...]
K. 6:40 pm on March 27, 2009 Permalink
On a Samsung Instinct – still getting login exception (400). Tried both with and without @gmail.com in the username.
Sorin 11:12 pm on March 29, 2009 Permalink
I am using gCal on my G1 through the “Android J2ME MIDP RUNNER” (http://www.netmite.com/android/) because Google “forgot” to ad a search function to its Android Calendar application (and many other applications for that matter).
How about a native gCal Android application?!
Anyway, very nice application, quite speedy and functional. Thank you for it!
John 9:50 am on April 28, 2009 Permalink
Hi Pit,
I’m running this successfully on a SE K800i. However, I have one issue:
> I don’t think the app is adjusting for DST (I’m in the UK and we’re currently on a daylight savings offset +1 from GMT). As a result all the times given are 1hr behind.
Other than that I just have some suggestions (you’ve probably had these all before):
> Sync back to Google
> Week/Month view (week view in Google Calendar is my favorite)
Overall, thanks so much for developing this – I have looked for similar for a long time and I’m sure others have too. Keep up the good work.
John
pit 4:58 pm on April 30, 2009 Permalink
Hi all,
@K.: still working around the Instinct issue. I should be able to setup a test version in the next days, so that you can test it
@Sorin: thanks for the hint! I have to check out the official Android app, and then see if there’s still room for some “unofficial” good version
@John: about the timezone issue, you can check out version 0.3.5, that allows you to manually specify the preferred timezone. Your 2 suggestions are already on the todo-list, so stay tuned
Pit
John 10:56 pm on May 7, 2009 Permalink
Awesome – I look forward to it. Have added a post about caching on the 0.3.5 thread, but I suspect you’ve got that on your to-do list as well!
John
Steve Seyler 12:51 am on June 1, 2009 Permalink
Just downloaded the 3.5, which someone on the internet said it worked on his Instinct, but I can’t get to work on my Instinct S30 (Says Uncaught Exception – Exiting Application) …. HELP !!!
I thought this program would save me from the ridiculous calendar built into the S30.
Did I do something wrong or is it really not compatible with the S30?
If it’s not compatible, do you know of any calendar program that IS compatible with my Instinct S30?
Thanks so much !!!
Anders Westlund 12:14 pm on July 24, 2009 Permalink
Nice! Worked like a charm on a touch-screen Nokia 5800 XM.
Anders Westlund 12:29 pm on July 24, 2009 Permalink
Second impression: “Like a charm” could use a bit of qualification. Time input when creating a new event is a little rough ’round the edges, requires arrow keys to switch from hours to minutes. (Available when using ITU touchpad, so no real show-stopper.)
And it say “You cannot create an event that ends before it starts,” when From date is 2009/07/24 18:30, and To date is 2009/07/24 19:00. If I write 18:30 as end time, and 19:00 as start time, I get an event that starts AND ends at 19:00.
Promising app, though. Thanks!
Vinz 8:42 am on August 21, 2009 Permalink
Hello !
That’s really seems to be a great application, but it does not pass the Initializing page, Loading calendars. I am using a LG KP501.
However thanks for your work !
hokus 12:08 am on August 29, 2009 Permalink
Very nice application!!!
It would be great if i can see more than one day on the screen at the same time. Maybe you can add a setting to chose the number of days to display.
Thank you.
Didier 2:04 pm on August 30, 2009 Permalink
Hello,
I tested your application on an Samsung GT-S5230 Star but like the Vinzn it doesn’t pass initializing page.
Any idea what I could check to make it work?
Thanks in advance,
Didier
Stefano 2:37 pm on October 15, 2009 Permalink
did you plan to support ‘tasks’ ?
thanks for great work (from Italy
Hugh 4:12 pm on November 10, 2009 Permalink
Hello, I’m using this on an N95, great app, thanks.
I am able to view,create and delete events in all my calendars, but am unable to edit events. Is it possible to edit events?
Chad 2:36 pm on December 2, 2009 Permalink
Your product is great and I love it but I have two bugs in the 3.5 version I am running. I am running it on a sumsung impression.
1. If I have an “all day” (single day) event it shows up on the correct day and the day before that.
2. Is there a way to get “other calendar” support? Google Calendar has “other” calendars such as Holiday calendar and your favorite sports team.
Keep up the good work! Thanks!
Chad