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The fragmentation of the Android market (dot releases / hardware specs), the lack of a consistent UI and a less organized marketplace are far more of a threat t

The fragmentation of the Android market (dot releases / hardware specs), the lack of a consistent UI and a less organized marketplace are far more of a threat to Android than any future speed disadvantage is to Apple.

eavc 16y ago
Lack of consistent UI? Android phones have 4 buttons that are universal across phones and across applications. If anything, it has a more consistent UI for that reason.
- pkulak 16y ago
  Sure, but the library support makes you do a lot more yourself in Android, which means everyone coming up with their own custom solution.
  - vetinari 16y ago
    Care to elaborate? Even if a vendor uses custom skin, it does not mean that applications are inconsistent. You have to actively work around to look and behave out of place.
- wzdd 16y ago
  I have seen this comment come up a few times, and it seemed convincing -- you would think that a specific "menu" button and a specific "back" button would mean that Android apps would at least be consistent in these two areas. But it doesn't seem to be the case. Some apps have half their settings in a "main menu" which is activated by touch and hang the rest of the "menu" button. Some apps put everything in "menu". Others have multiple "menu"s depending on where you are -- K-9 mail is a good example of this, where "menu" is context-sensitive, and preferences (for example) are distributed across three different displays. This is only intuitive once you grok the app layout. Others do horrible things such as putting menu items labelled "more" in their menus. With the "back" button, there is no guarantee that pressing "back" will take you back. Sometimes it takes you to what you were previous doing, browser-style. Sometimes it takes you to an application's main screen. Sometimes it takes you to the home screen. It depends (I guess) on how the app author has organised the Activities in her app. Really, the only consistent button on Android phones is the iPhone-like "Home" button.
  - eavc 16y ago
    I just haven't found this to be the case at all. I almost never have issues navigating an application the moment I begin playing with it. You might be right, though, and I may just get by despite the UI problems, but that's surprising if so.

eavc 16y ago

Lack of consistent UI? Android phones have 4 buttons that are universal across phones and across applications. If anything, it has a more consistent UI for that reason.

pkulak 16y ago
Sure, but the library support makes you do a lot more yourself in Android, which means everyone coming up with their own custom solution.
- vetinari 16y ago
  Care to elaborate? Even if a vendor uses custom skin, it does not mean that applications are inconsistent. You have to actively work around to look and behave out of place.
wzdd 16y ago
I have seen this comment come up a few times, and it seemed convincing -- you would think that a specific "menu" button and a specific "back" button would mean that Android apps would at least be consistent in these two areas. But it doesn't seem to be the case. Some apps have half their settings in a "main menu" which is activated by touch and hang the rest of the "menu" button. Some apps put everything in "menu". Others have multiple "menu"s depending on where you are -- K-9 mail is a good example of this, where "menu" is context-sensitive, and preferences (for example) are distributed across three different displays. This is only intuitive once you grok the app layout. Others do horrible things such as putting menu items labelled "more" in their menus. With the "back" button, there is no guarantee that pressing "back" will take you back. Sometimes it takes you to what you were previous doing, browser-style. Sometimes it takes you to an application's main screen. Sometimes it takes you to the home screen. It depends (I guess) on how the app author has organised the Activities in her app. Really, the only consistent button on Android phones is the iPhone-like "Home" button.
- eavc 16y ago
  I just haven't found this to be the case at all. I almost never have issues navigating an application the moment I begin playing with it. You might be right, though, and I may just get by despite the UI problems, but that's surprising if so.