Is it just me, or... (Android app/game quality)

[mejoyh]

Only time will tell, developers need time to port games to 2.x, and create original games. Patience is good, I believe the advances android has made in OS, applications, and hardware has advanced quicker then the beginning of the first iPhone. Open source helps spread fast development.

lol this reminds me of the philosophical debates we had in university on open source vs closed code. It still seems like a techie vs rest of the world debate. While studying, i had the pleasure to experiment in all the various flavours of Linux operating systems. For the most part even though it never crashed and was stable as a rock, nothing worked. I remmeber trying to install a usb sound card on Debian. After a week of searching and trying various drivers, I nearly put my fist through the screen and just gave up. And i was a computer scientist! How in the world is open source going to work for the average consumer?

While open source drives innovation and invention, sometimes too much choice is equally damaging as too little. As seen from MS vs Linux/Unix. Lol, anyway apologies for going on a tangent. Am keeping faith with Android for now! Hope they blow apple out of the water! Cant wait to start telling ppl that Android is better then iPhone

 

[miamicanes]

I see the argument that android is a totally open platform where everyone can develop anything

You know, what's really sad is that I think the guys who hacked ripped copies of Windows Mobile 6 to run on older Windows Mobile 5 devices actually had an easier time than the guys trying to get the camera to work under Android 1.6, let alone 2.x, on the staggeringly huge crop of 1.5 phones that hit the market in October, November, and December... months after 1.6 was already yesterday's news. At this rate, it looks like HTC won't be releasing the sourcecode to 1.5 for the CDMA Hero until after 2.x is officially released, and 1.5 is nearly moot.

It's absolutely tragic, but right now, for people who own most 1.5 HTC Android phones, Android is no more free (as in liberty OR beer) than Windows Mobile. You can't get either OS without buying an expensive phone tied to an even more expensive ETF, and once you have a WM phone, as a practical matter you can download and bake your own ROMs until you're bored of it. Both allow unlimited freedom to develop and run apps, including native code. Android is theoretically free, Windows Mobile is de-facto free.

Case in point: Cyanogen got smacked by Google for being politically incorrect, despite being one of the best selling points for Android they have. Name one single site that's *ever* gotten a takedown notice from Microsoft over Windows Mobile ROM images. I'm sure that will change if they decide to sell WM7 as a boxed retail product to owners of older phones, but for now it does kind of make Google's boasts about Android's openness ring kind of hollow.

IMHO, it's a sad day when Android accidentally manages to make the most dysfunctional phone OS on planet Earth look good by comparison. No, I don't mean out of the box. I'm talking about a fully tricked-out and tweaked WM phone vs a comparably tricked-out and tweaked Android phone shackled to Cupcake (at least, if you want the camera to work). The WM phone won't blow the Android phone away, but it won't BE blown away in any meaningful sense of the word BY the Android phone, either. And that's just wrong. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Google needs to push on HTC like there's no tomorrow and pressure them to get every last 1.5 phone sold to date upgraded to 2.x yesterday. Every day a sizeable plurality of 1.5 users remains is a day that ultimately makes Google look bad, Microsoft look a tiny, tiny bit less bad, and Apple look (cough) good (cough, cough, cough). It's good that they've realized that they need to take a more active role in Android's future vis-a-vis the Nexus One, but they need to go a step further and send out the lifeboats to everyone currently marooned at 1.5, suffering limitations and bugs that ceased to be an issue with 1.6 months ago.

 

[bbrosen]

I agree with you miami, I have been told by HTC that the carriers have to ask for the updates or HTC will not bother. if this is true, companies may find themselves in a world they never really wanted to be in, software designers and developers. They need to get on board fully and get into it neck deep, or get out of the way and become the pipelines for this info and sell contracts and phones. IMHO they need to quit trying to have their own app stores and quit putting their crap software on top all because they want to brand it for themselves. most people want to customize their phones their way now and coming preinstalled with stuff is an outmoded idea. I am with a small cellular company here in the south, the cell service is great, very very few service issues such as congestion or dropped calls, but short on the latest information and knowledge of software. most of the employees do not even know that their own company puts their own software on the devices. Some were not even sure what android was and that they thought you used the same app store as apple uses.


Are they really going to push the issue of upgrading all the various handsets with all the various software levels and hardware differences everytime? Their coders will be working overtime ad infinitum and i highly doubt thats where most companies want to be. Sure this will all shake out in the end but at the consumers expense. Most people now expect when they get a high end smartphone it will be able to be software upgraded at least for a few generations until hardware truely won't permit. 600.00 for a phone? I would expect to keep it for awhile and at least upgrade the software as it comes out to enhance the product.

It will take years, and i mean twice as long for Android to shake all this out on it's own through natural selection. The 600.00 phone buying public will not tolerate this for long, I assure you. sorry, but in business accumen, software and hardware, Apple has set the bar and set it high. I love Apple, I only now own an Ipod, I get free service thru my employer with cellular south all i have to pay for is the phone. I cannot justify Iphone plans on top. But comeing from an Iphone, man let me tell you, even the first iphone was better than the nexus today. Smooth scrolling, fast and stable, intuitive, sexy.

 

[TheBigCheese]

Perhaps this is small but for instance, a messaging app (messagenow) i downloaded for both iphone and android. I wont go into the cosmetic stuff but there was one function which is to delete a contact you have added. On the iphone, its standard, you have that delete logo that comes up on the left hand side (i assume this is part of the API definition, maybe i am wrong) and you delete a contact. Simple. On the android version, this wasn't enabled until 2 updates by the developer. Shouldn't stuff like these be defined as a minimum requirement? As this is small startup dev team of 2-5 ppl, i also guess they are all camped out in a room/garage/basement together somewhere in California. So i find the basis of lack of communcation difficult to see.

Shouldn't stuff like these be defined as a minimum requirement?

That's completely missing the point. The point is that it isn't required. Sure, there's a lot of crappy applications, but there's a lot of crappy applications for regular computers too. Who's forcing you to download them. It's easy to tell whether the application is worthwhile by checking the ratings and comments.

You're also implying that you'd rather wait 2 months for an app, rather than having beta access 2 months earlier with a few flaws. Maybe it's my techie outlook on things, but I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want a beta access.

The fact is that Android isn't for people who just want a few apps and a game that work. It's for those who want the most they can squeeze out of a small plastic case, and then some. You'll find that nearly all of your OS problems can be solved by installing Cyanogen, which is 3x faster than the regular android build, plus all the goodies from the latest 2.x builds as well, regardless of your carrier. Heck, if you're really desperate for a specific application on your phone, you could even install Debian in parallel with Android, and install any application available for linux. I've got Firefox on my phone. That's what Android's all about.

 

[bbrosen]

That's completely missing the point. The point is that it isn't required. Sure, there's a lot of crappy applications, but there's a lot of crappy applications for regular computers too. Who's forcing you to download them. It's easy to tell whether the application is worthwhile by checking the ratings and comments.

You're also implying that you'd rather wait 2 months for an app, rather than having beta access 2 months earlier with a few flaws. Maybe it's my techie outlook on things, but I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want a beta access.

The fact is that Android isn't for people who just want a few apps and a game that work. It's for those who want the most they can squeeze out of a small plastic case, and then some. You'll find that nearly all of your OS problems can be solved by installing Cyanogen, which is 3x faster than the regular android build, plus all the goodies from the latest 2.x builds as well, regardless of your carrier. Heck, if you're really desperate for a specific application on your phone, you could even install Debian in parallel with Android, and install any application available for linux. I've got Firefox on my phone. That's what Android's all about.

Then Android will never be accepted by the masses, and if you are fine with android being for geeks then it's all ok then, the average person will not, cannot root and mod their phones and will not accept shoddy releases, long waits for os updates filtered via handset makers and carriers and limited apps due to app size constraints for long, they will tire very quickly and android will go quietly into geekdom.

I am an IT person and i will not root my hero...I have modded my ipod touch and iphone, rooting android is a whole nother story..

 

[trekgraham]

Then Android will never be accepted by the masses, and if you are fine with android being for geeks then it's all ok then, the average person will not, cannot root and mod their phones and will not accept shoddy releases, long waits for os updates filtered via handset makers and carriers and limited apps due to app size constraints for long, they will tire very quickly and android will go quietly into geekdom.

I am an IT person and i will not root my hero...I have modded my ipod touch and iphone, rooting android is a whole nother story..

I think it is already being accepted by the masses, 1.2 million sold so far, and I've run into non tech types using them and loving it. Infrequent OS updates? How often do you get updates to windows on ya pc? Or linux or apple os? Why should phones get better OS updates then computers? I think a lot of non technical people are used to updates coming every few years. Have you beeen drinking the kool aide?

 

[choffy21]

Mobile games, to me, are defined as how good of "shitter games" they are. Abduction, Bebbled, Flood-It!, Labyrinth and Monkey Kick Off are the type of games I love to play. Easy to pick up, jump-in, jump-out gameplay.

 

[bbrosen]

I think it is already
being accepted by the masses, 1.2 mil755
lion sold so far, and I've run into non tech types using them and loving it. Infrequent OS updates? How often do you get updates to windows on ya pc? Or linux or apple os? Why should phones get better OS updates then computers? I think a lot of non technical people are used to updates coming every few years. Have you beeen drinking the kool aide?

Having to. Bug my carrier to bug htc to upgrade is ridiculous.
By the time I get 2.1 it will be July according yo my carrier.
How is that for timely?
I had an iPhone I know what It Is was like. Even the first one .



Android needs across the board standards for software and hardware. As well as a Standard desktop program for syncing apps music and video. And it can still be open . It also needs apps on the forage card not the phone. What does those thoughts have to fo with being a blind follower of apple. Nothing. Throwing out Apple taunts does.nothing for your argument. Android has potential but without standards it will splinter and die.

Android Is new and newsworthy and will get alot of people on the wagon at first.its natural. But keeping a loyal base other than geeks will be whats needed.

 

[3devious]

While I share your position, bbrosen please remember the reason that many platforms have been able to remain strong is the opensource community that drives innovation.
Google has almost always relied on user created content. They are even honing their google earth advantage with google building maker. This open platform is blowing ESRI, an established leader in GIS applications for over a decade, out of the water.

I am not saying that this is going to happen to apple, but fostering independent innovation is certainly the way to go.

 

[TheAndroidWorks]

miamicanes,

It is easy to tell that your very insightful posts originate from an obvious high level of analytical capabilities and a sea of technology knowledge in depth and breadth that is rarely matched on a board as general as this one. I enjoyed reading and relating to all of your posts.

Bbrosen,

The standards are coming... and they are slowly being documented from the ground up. Considering how long ago Google bought Android - I am more than impressed with how quickly everything is falling into place and evolving. We are not talking about a simple feat here, and the only company I would even give the nod to in imagining they could pull off a formidable mobile OS adversary (this late in the game) to systems that are more than a decade in the making is Google. There is so much left to do, but it is all being addressed and making headway.

There are a lot of standards that Google is not enforcing that developers just continue to not adhere to for one reason or another. Even though this has nothing to do with functionality it is an important case in point.

Read up on the specifications for a launcher icon that Google has set in the documentation. Come back to me and tell me what percentage of the apps you have downloaded have cooperated... Google has the tough decision of being a Nazi like apple and forcing compliance or allowing more flexibility in the environment. Over time as it grows they will start to lock things down, but I feel that right now they are going to do as little as possible to slow the development of anything that contributes to the overall "Android System."

 

[bbrosen]

Thanks android works..I am new to open source software, I guess i need to understand there are tradeoffs for being open as opposed to closed...I do love the potential of android, guess I am not as patient as i used to be...To be fair there were things i disliked about Iphone OS too, mostly only 1 app at a time is what really bothered me. I am not sure if I would switch back to the iphone now if I had a choice, well actually I do but since my service is paid for thru my work, I cannot justify paying for iphone service for myself. I am more frustrated than disappointed.

 

[TheAndroidWorks]

Yes, there are definitely Pros and Cons to all of the mobile OS's. It will take a while to shake out, but in the end there will likely be only two or three to survive. Despite all of its problems in these early, immature years this money is on the dark horse: Android.