Robot Media

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Linking to Android Market apps is somewhat problematic. Because Android Market links only work from Android devices, the most common way to link to an Android app is to offer a QR code of the app link that can be scanned with an app like Barcode Scanner.

However, when browsing from an Android device, a direct link to the Android Market is preferred. What works well for Android devices does not suit the rest and viceversa.

To solve this problem in our website we have created a very simple WordPress plugin called WP Android Shortcode. The plugin uses the [android] shortcode to convert Android Market links to the best option based on the platform. Android devices get a direct link to the Android Market, while the rest get the corresponding QR code. In both cases our nifty Android Market badge is used to clearly indicate that this is a link to an Android app.

For example, the following shortcode…

[android]market://search?q=pname:net.robotmedia.findtherobots[/android]

…is rendered as:

You can also specify the app name like this:

[android href=”market://search?q=pname:net.robotmedia.findtherobots” title=”Find the Robots!”]

…which is rendered as:

We encourage you to download the WP Android Shortcode plugin from WordPress.org and use it on your website.