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Android's UI as a "media consumption" device is terrible compared to what Kindle Fire and Nook have done. The average user (say your parents), aren't going to g

Android's UI as a "media consumption" device is terrible compared to what Kindle Fire and Nook have done. The average user (say your parents), aren't going to go to the Google Play Store (which is a terrible non-obvious) name to buy books, movies, apps, etc. unless you explain to them that you have to use the Play app to download content. Kindle Fire nailed the obviousness of this with the top bar being labeled with Movies, Music, Apps, Books, Web. Nexus 7's home screen widget is a poor attempt and trying to shoehorn media discoverability into an OS that isn't built for media consumption, it's built for phones primarily. You could make the same arguement for iOS, but iTunes has already trained users that you go to iTunes to get content or you go to the obviously named App Store. Make it easy, make it obvious. Nexus 7 is a small step in the right direction, but it needs work.

ten7 14y ago
Have you used it? At this point, these are just opinions based on a demo and no hands on experience.
ajross 14y ago
I think the first point is pretty suspect, and definitely not a trait of the "average user" (who, on a tablet, remains a techie early adopter). You get content the same place you get apps. You're saying that the "average user" can't download an app, either? I tend to agree that "Play" as a brand is a terrible name, though. But then I feel that way about most marketing, and find my intuition there routinely wrong. So I won't judge.
- cheeze 14y ago
  My grandmother and parents all have iPads. No, they wouldn't be able to download an app unless it was blatantly obvious (see: app store).
  - ajross 14y ago
    That seems to be getting pretty far off into silly now, though. Your contention is that grandparents with iOS devices can download apps (and presumably view media) there, but not on Android, precisely because the "app store" is called "Play Store". Really? Is there any research at all that bears this out?
    - lmm 14y ago
      It's not silly. Even as a fairly serious tech guy, the first time I saw "play store" I thought "what the fuck is a play store?" (and, half an hour earlier, "where the fuck did the market go?"). Because I'm a tech guy I have the confidence to click random things and see what they do (plus I could put two and two together in this case), but I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't; they'd just stay away from the strange icons, and stick to the ones they recognize, like youtube and browser.
      - ajross 14y ago
        Getting sillier by the hour, it seems. You're taking one usability problem (that the upgrade from "Market" to "Play Store" is non-obvious) and trying to use that to reason that once someone uses "Market" they will never be able to use "Play Store". Ridiculous. Among other things, how did they find "Market" in the first place? I don't see how that's any more or less obvious, frankly -- the words are synonyms, for goodness sake. People find videos in something called "iTunes" after all. This fixes itself the instant someone asks "where do I get an app?". Please. Is "Play" a bad product name? Sure. But you're attributing powers to it that it simply doesn't have.
AncientPC 14y ago
Let's be honest here. Kindle family of devices is aimed at average consumers. It's sold at retail stores, and everything is setup for you out of box. In fact, it's a bit of a pain to break out of Kindle Fire portal and revert back to native Android. OTOH, Google Nexus family of devices is targeted towards a different crowd. Nexus devices are comparatively sparse, receive latest updates, and not marketed at all. With a Nexus 7, there's nothing stopping me from downloading the Kindle app and buying / reading my Amazon content. Try using a Kindle Fire to read Google Market content. If you've never used a Kindle Fire, you have to "jailbreak" out of the Kindle portal where they keep closing the holes.
myko 14y ago
How is 'Google Play Store' non-obvious? Especially once the app is opened?

ten7 14y ago

Have you used it? At this point, these are just opinions based on a demo and no hands on experience.

ajross 14y ago

I think the first point is pretty suspect, and definitely not a trait of the "average user" (who, on a tablet, remains a techie early adopter). You get content the same place you get apps. You're saying that the "average user" can't download an app, either? I tend to agree that "Play" as a brand is a terrible name, though. But then I feel that way about most marketing, and find my intuition there routinely wrong. So I won't judge.

cheeze 14y ago
My grandmother and parents all have iPads. No, they wouldn't be able to download an app unless it was blatantly obvious (see: app store).
- ajross 14y ago
  That seems to be getting pretty far off into silly now, though. Your contention is that grandparents with iOS devices can download apps (and presumably view media) there, but not on Android, precisely because the "app store" is called "Play Store". Really? Is there any research at all that bears this out?
  - lmm 14y ago
    It's not silly. Even as a fairly serious tech guy, the first time I saw "play store" I thought "what the fuck is a play store?" (and, half an hour earlier, "where the fuck did the market go?"). Because I'm a tech guy I have the confidence to click random things and see what they do (plus I could put two and two together in this case), but I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't; they'd just stay away from the strange icons, and stick to the ones they recognize, like youtube and browser.
    - ajross 14y ago
      Getting sillier by the hour, it seems. You're taking one usability problem (that the upgrade from "Market" to "Play Store" is non-obvious) and trying to use that to reason that once someone uses "Market" they will never be able to use "Play Store". Ridiculous. Among other things, how did they find "Market" in the first place? I don't see how that's any more or less obvious, frankly -- the words are synonyms, for goodness sake. People find videos in something called "iTunes" after all. This fixes itself the instant someone asks "where do I get an app?". Please. Is "Play" a bad product name? Sure. But you're attributing powers to it that it simply doesn't have.

AncientPC 14y ago

Let's be honest here. Kindle family of devices is aimed at average consumers. It's sold at retail stores, and everything is setup for you out of box. In fact, it's a bit of a pain to break out of Kindle Fire portal and revert back to native Android. OTOH, Google Nexus family of devices is targeted towards a different crowd. Nexus devices are comparatively sparse, receive latest updates, and not marketed at all. With a Nexus 7, there's nothing stopping me from downloading the Kindle app and buying / reading my Amazon content. Try using a Kindle Fire to read Google Market content. If you've never used a Kindle Fire, you have to "jailbreak" out of the Kindle portal where they keep closing the holes.

myko 14y ago

How is 'Google Play Store' non-obvious? Especially once the app is opened?