6 ms·

Apple finally admitted that bigger phones are better. Looks like Google is finally admitting that 4:3 is the right tablet aspect ratio. I'm kind of curious wha

by jbellis 12y ago

Apple finally admitted that bigger phones are better. Looks like Google is finally admitting that 4:3 is the right tablet aspect ratio. I'm kind of curious what the secret sauce is that makes Google think they are ready to sell a premium-priced tablet. Lollipop may be better than iOS 8 but is that enough to overcome the app gap? (Anecdata: my wife had her ipad mini stolen last week. We have 5 Android devices in the house, but as long as Civilization is only available on iOS this isn't a serious contender for a replacement.)

s9ix 12y ago
I'm not quite sure the 'app gap' exists still, does it? Recently switched from iPhone 5S > HTC One M8, and nothing reallllly I miss.
- EduardoBautista 12y ago
  That's on phones. The tablet app gap still exists.
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  It's a big problem for music apps. Android has not delivered low-latency MIDI/audio up to now, allowing Apple to own that market (much like it did with Mac v windows for a long time).
  - DominikR 12y ago
    What kind of music apps are you referring to, and how big is the audience?
  - yincrash 12y ago
    To clarify, you are talking about music production apps? Android L introduced new APIs to improve that, so hopefully it will improve soon.
    - anigbrowl 12y ago
      Yes. I was glad to see it has finally been addressed but realistically it will take several years to close the gap, since people who have gotten used to various iPad apps have little incentive to switch platform.
sheldor 12y ago
And what exactly would that "app gap" be? I'm genuinely curious.
- emsy 12y ago
  In my experience, it's not the amount of software, but the amount of quality software. For instance, I wasn't able to find a decent RSS reader that doesn't stutter on the Nexus 7 (2013). Not to mention the ridiculous amount of rights some of the readers want. On my iphone, it's hard to decide which reader I'll use because they are really good (I've tried quite a few). Music apps are still pretty much dominated by iOS. Also some quality games are only available on iOS or are released much later on Android. While I do think that the "app gap" does indeed exist, I believe only dedicated geeks/musicians/gamers will notice it.
  - amaks 12y ago
    Feedly works great. Press too.
  - elithrar 12y ago
    I've always, always had a hard time finding: * A good Twitter app for Android (like iOS' Tweetbot or Twitteriffic) * A decent RSS app (like Reeder - slick, w/ Instapaper + Evernote hooks) * A reasonable SSH client (like Prompt, although I haven't looked too hard here) I'd also miss Office - using Word + Excel out in the field for work (i.e. RF spreadsheets during field surveys) are a huge bonus. Not sure how good Google Sheets is on tablets/Android. Otherwise, the Nexus 9 + keyboard would be great for travelling and I'm tempted to sell my iPad Mini Retina for one, if not just to experience Android L.
    - frio 12y ago
      Press is a brilliant RSS reader.
    - lut4rp 12y ago
      For a Twitter client, Fenix (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.mvilla.android.fenix https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.mvilla.andr...) is beautiful and fast, and doesn't make me miss Tweetbot when I'm not using my computer.

by jbellis 12y ago

s9ix 12y ago

I'm not quite sure the 'app gap' exists still, does it? Recently switched from iPhone 5S > HTC One M8, and nothing reallllly I miss.

EduardoBautista 12y ago
That's on phones. The tablet app gap still exists.
anigbrowl 12y ago
It's a big problem for music apps. Android has not delivered low-latency MIDI/audio up to now, allowing Apple to own that market (much like it did with Mac v windows for a long time).
- DominikR 12y ago
  What kind of music apps are you referring to, and how big is the audience?
- yincrash 12y ago
  To clarify, you are talking about music production apps? Android L introduced new APIs to improve that, so hopefully it will improve soon.
  - anigbrowl 12y ago
    Yes. I was glad to see it has finally been addressed but realistically it will take several years to close the gap, since people who have gotten used to various iPad apps have little incentive to switch platform.

sheldor 12y ago

And what exactly would that "app gap" be? I'm genuinely curious.

emsy 12y ago
In my experience, it's not the amount of software, but the amount of quality software. For instance, I wasn't able to find a decent RSS reader that doesn't stutter on the Nexus 7 (2013). Not to mention the ridiculous amount of rights some of the readers want. On my iphone, it's hard to decide which reader I'll use because they are really good (I've tried quite a few). Music apps are still pretty much dominated by iOS. Also some quality games are only available on iOS or are released much later on Android. While I do think that the "app gap" does indeed exist, I believe only dedicated geeks/musicians/gamers will notice it.
- amaks 12y ago
  Feedly works great. Press too.
- elithrar 12y ago
  I've always, always had a hard time finding: * A good Twitter app for Android (like iOS' Tweetbot or Twitteriffic) * A decent RSS app (like Reeder - slick, w/ Instapaper + Evernote hooks) * A reasonable SSH client (like Prompt, although I haven't looked too hard here) I'd also miss Office - using Word + Excel out in the field for work (i.e. RF spreadsheets during field surveys) are a huge bonus. Not sure how good Google Sheets is on tablets/Android. Otherwise, the Nexus 9 + keyboard would be great for travelling and I'm tempted to sell my iPad Mini Retina for one, if not just to experience Android L.
  - frio 12y ago
    Press is a brilliant RSS reader.
  - lut4rp 12y ago
    For a Twitter client, Fenix (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.mvilla.android.fenix https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.mvilla.andr...) is beautiful and fast, and doesn't make me miss Tweetbot when I'm not using my computer.