5 ms·

As a side-time Android developer, I can tell you that the platform is anything but buggy. For a while Android antagonists were painting the diversity of handset

• gcheong 16y ago
  Do you recommend any particular handset?
  • ryandvm 16y ago
    I'm pretty pleased with the Droid Incredible. It's quite fast, so it makes a good dev handset. I'm not necessarily sold on the HTC Sense UI. I don't think it's necessary. Especially since I suspect it increases the amount of time it takes them to port new Android releases.
    • seancron 16y ago
      Wouldn't a slower handset be best to test on? That way, if it runs smoothly on the slower handset you'll know it runs smoothly on faster ones.
• roc 16y ago
  > "I have yet to hear of a device that it doesn't work on" Other than those that can't access the store and those that won't be getting an update to 2.1?
  • veeti 16y ago
    "those that can't access the store" ...such as?
    • roc 16y ago
      Pick a tablet.
      • veeti 16y ago
        You mean the Samsung Galaxy Tab? It has the Market. Perhaps the upcoming Motorola XOOM? Yep, it has the Market. The only two exceptions I can think of are the Archos tablets and Notion Ink: Archos doesn't fulfill Google requirements, and I don't know what the problem with the Adam is. (Obviously, no-name Chinese tablets also don't get the Market, but that's not a huge surprise.)
        • roc 16y ago
          I'd have phrased it the other way: the only two exceptions that I know of that can access the market are the Galaxy and Xoom. One of which isn't available and the other is almost a poster child for the uncertain upgrade path problem. No-name Chinese tablets aren't a surprise, but the fact that they get casually included when people talk about ecosystem devices and sales is part of the problem.
    • zrgiu 16y ago
      besides devices that can't access the store are those with limited access. Like the HTC Wildfire and the other devices with screen resolutions lower than 320x480
      • veeti 16y ago
        The HTC Wildfire (and any other phone with a low resolution screen like it) can access the Android Market.
        • zrgiu 16y ago
          yes, they do, but it's limited, meaning there are a lot of applications that don't show up in their markets.
  • roc 16y ago
    Look, downvotes, I know that all platforms eventually cut off older hardware. But with Android the inconsistency in support for the market and OS updates are a notable part of the fragmentation concern. The fact that hardware under a year old has been cut off is a cause for concern. The fact that hardware is launching without the market and/or will be launching with third party market apps is a cause for concern. Device numbers are bandied about in the general sense -- x-gajillion devices per month! -- but no context is available as to how many of those can access the store or got the last OS update, let alone how many will get the latest. That's a cause for concern. I'm not suggesting Android's a bad or flawed platform. I'm just not willing to pretend that it's all roses either. We're honest when we say "Going iOS can make you a ton of money, but the gravy train is always a subjective-review away from coming to screeching halt." So what exactly is wrong with pointing out that this fragmentation thing isn't something we can just hand-wave away?
    • Kylekramer 16y ago
      Cause not developing for Android cause of non-Market accessing devices and the fact that some 10% of devices are below 2.1 is like not developing for Apple cause a certain number of people never update their phones and the looming app rejection. It is a real problem, but it is really kinda something you have to handwave away if you are going to be realistic about doing business on a platform.
      • roc 16y ago
        Who said it was a reason to not develop? No-one's making that argument. I'm arguing in favor of being realistic. And part of that includes admitting that there are causes for concern. And because of them, you might invest efforts into an app only to find yourself in 2012 facing the most-popular android devices shipping with only a carrier- or manufacturer-specific markets installed by default, each with their own hoops. And, no, even that situation won't be a blanket argument against developing for Android. But it also won't mean fragmentation was something that is a non-issue so long as you have a good coder.
  • ovi256 16y ago
    I feel like the lack of Android OS upgrading is the best planned obsolescence ploy ever. Not even Apple dares to pull such an heist, offering updates to most old devices.
    • Kylekramer 16y ago
      Updates that vary in features and have a history of crippling devices. Trust me, every tech company is on the same page. Most obvious recent Apple example: cameraless iPad. Of course, Apple does a remarkable job of positioning themselves as customer friendly, so that helps lower the blowback.
• miniatureape 16y ago
  What platform are you on? I found the emulator unusable on modern OSX and Windows 7 desktops and, to my surprise, perfectly usable on my two year old laptop running Ubuntu.
  • cosgroveb 16y ago
    I find the emulator rather slow on Ubuntu... Best just to develop on a handset!
    • barista 16y ago
      It's a pain to use on Windows. I had a pretty beefy machine that was brought to a crawl by the emulator. I hope Google is listening. Visual studio for Windows Phone 7 was not such a hog and I tend to spend more time working in it these days.
    • barista 16y ago
      It's a pain to use on Windows. I had a pretty beefy machine that was brought to a crawl by the emulator. I hope Google is listening. Visual studio for Windows Phone 7 was not such a hog and I tend to spend more time working in it these days.
  • nl 16y ago
    What SDK version are you using in the emulator? I find 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 good (on Windows), but the 3.x prerelease is pretty slow (it's unoptimized yet, so I guess I should expect that)