4 ms·

Google IO : Android Announcements

52 points by amnigos 15y ago

kenjackson 15y ago
So what all is Ice Cream Sandwich about? It's simply bringing Honeycomb to the phone? It seems like a long time to move working code to a smaller form factor (and with QHD, similar resolutions).
- orangecat 15y ago
  All indications are that Honeycomb was a rush job in an ill-advised attempt to beat the iPad 2 to market. There's probably a large amount of refactoring needed to support phones, and of course there will be new functionality as well.
  - glhaynes 15y ago
    I wonder how it'll work with regard to the "phones have the four hardware buttons, tablets don't" thing. Also: in the Apple world, many apps look/work very differently between their iPhone and iPad versions. Can anybody say anything about what guidance is given as far as when an Android app should "switch"? In other words: suppose I make an app that runs great on my 3.5" phone, then I make a more tablety version of the app that runs great on my 10" tablet... which version should run on a 5" or 7" screen?
    - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
      Ideally, you should be using the various SDK options for handling various screen sizes and densities so that you don't have to care about what the actual size is. The SDK can handle a lot of the ambiguity for you. http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support... http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/fragments.html http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/fragm... http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providing-resources.html#AlternativeResources http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providin...
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  New UI, new app framework, all those Android at home API's (I think, if they're not in Honeycomb 3.1 already).
Maascamp 15y ago
"To start, we're jointly announcing that new devices from participating partners..." (Verizon, HTC, Samsung, Sprint, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Motorola and AT&T) "...will receive the latest Android platform upgrades for 18 months after the device is first released, as long as the hardware allows." That to me is the most significant of all the announcements listed.
- wccrawford 15y ago
  Sadly, it doesn't say they'll receive timely releases. At least Google is listening and doing something about it, though.
  - montagg 15y ago
    They need to do more. Not having to think about updates at all on iOS devices is absolutely huge for adoption. My mom doesn't care about "Gingerbread" or "Honeycomb." She just wants something that she understands and won't confuse her later. Right now, the only mobile platform that will handle that elegantly is iOS. Google still has a long way to go if this is all they've got to announce.
    - Kylekramer 15y ago
      The general population doesn't care about updates. XP is the world's most popular desktop OS and it was released the same week as the original iPod. Google does need to work on updating, but I find it very hard to believe it slows down Android adoption at all.
      - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
        They did not now about Apps either until Apple popularized the term. Now my parents ask me about iPhones and iPads and what they can do. If apple believes updates are an important differentiator I bet they will start advertising it.
    - Niten 15y ago

52 points by amnigos 15y ago

So what all is Ice Cream Sandwich about? It's simply bringing Honeycomb to the phone? It seems like a long time to move working code to a smaller form factor (and with QHD, similar resolutions).

orangecat 15y ago
All indications are that Honeycomb was a rush job in an ill-advised attempt to beat the iPad 2 to market. There's probably a large amount of refactoring needed to support phones, and of course there will be new functionality as well.
- glhaynes 15y ago
  I wonder how it'll work with regard to the "phones have the four hardware buttons, tablets don't" thing. Also: in the Apple world, many apps look/work very differently between their iPhone and iPad versions. Can anybody say anything about what guidance is given as far as when an Android app should "switch"? In other words: suppose I make an app that runs great on my 3.5" phone, then I make a more tablety version of the app that runs great on my 10" tablet... which version should run on a 5" or 7" screen?
  - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
    Ideally, you should be using the various SDK options for handling various screen sizes and densities so that you don't have to care about what the actual size is. The SDK can handle a lot of the ambiguity for you. http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support... http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/fragments.html http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/fragm... http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providing-resources.html#AlternativeResources http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providin...
nextparadigms 15y ago
New UI, new app framework, all those Android at home API's (I think, if they're not in Honeycomb 3.1 already).

Maascamp 15y ago

"To start, we're jointly announcing that new devices from participating partners..." (Verizon, HTC, Samsung, Sprint, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Motorola and AT&T) "...will receive the latest Android platform upgrades for 18 months after the device is first released, as long as the hardware allows." That to me is the most significant of all the announcements listed.

wccrawford 15y ago
Sadly, it doesn't say they'll receive timely releases. At least Google is listening and doing something about it, though.
- montagg 15y ago
  They need to do more. Not having to think about updates at all on iOS devices is absolutely huge for adoption. My mom doesn't care about "Gingerbread" or "Honeycomb." She just wants something that she understands and won't confuse her later. Right now, the only mobile platform that will handle that elegantly is iOS. Google still has a long way to go if this is all they've got to announce.
  - Kylekramer 15y ago
    The general population doesn't care about updates. XP is the world's most popular desktop OS and it was released the same week as the original iPod. Google does need to work on updating, but I find it very hard to believe it slows down Android adoption at all.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
      They did not now about Apps either until Apple popularized the term. Now my parents ask me about iPhones and iPads and what they can do. If apple believes updates are an important differentiator I bet they will start advertising it.
  - Niten 15y ago