I updated the map tutorials to v1.5 as well.  There were enough tricky challenges to getting maps working on Android that I thought it best to pass the information along. Here are the source files for this tutorial as well as all my other tutorials.

Tutorial 1: Transparent Panel (Linear Layout) On MapView (Google Map)
Tutorial 2: “Hit” testing on a View (MapView)

The first challenge to using Google’s Maps in Android is simply informing Eclipse that you’ll need access to Google’s mapping API.  Instead of writing my own tutorial on this, I’ll simply point you to the same well-documented Android v1.5 MapActivity setup that I followed.

The second challenge as always is getting your Map API key to function properly. Google provides full details on installing your Google Map key.  I spent several hours trying to figure out why my API key wasn’t working though…my Google maps always displayed as empty white/gray tiles.  Eventually I tracked the problem down to the fact that Android had created multiple debug.keystore files on my computer.  I’m running Vista so my .keystores were located in both of these directories:

Incorrect: C:\Users\acopernicus\AppData\Local\Android\debug.keystore
Correct: C:\users\<username>\.android\debug.keystore

I wasted time by using the .keystore in my AppData folder as this was the original place where the .keystores were stored in Android v1.0.  However it now seems that Android now uses the .android directory instead.  If you have problems, figure out which directory Eclipse is pulling your .keystore from when signing your apps.

Source: pocketjourney blog

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