The correct way to retrieve the current time is to use the Calendar object. The syntax is not immediately obvious, so here is an example:
// Calculate and set current server time (hh:mm): Calendar current = Calendar.getInstance(); int hours = current.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY); int minutes = current.get(Calendar.MINUTE); String sServerTime = Integer.toString(hours) + ":" + Integer.toString(minutes);