[Q] Developing apps and trying them on a physical device - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello everyone!
I will soon (well, not really that soon, but in the future i guess) need to develop an Android app for a university class i will be attending. I'm really interesting in the mobile world and Android looks like a great platform/OS, pretty open and customizable.
Since i do not own any Android device i think i will buy one soon, not only because of the class but also because i want to learn and explore Google's mobile OS. I know i can develop and try the app using the emulator but since the app will be using wireless features i'd like to test it on a physical device.
Keep in mind that i know nearly nothing about Android development; here's the question: what are the hardware limits of installing and testing apps?
I'll explain it a bit better. Since i don't want to spend too much money on the Android phone i'll buy, i was thinking to buy a chinese phone running Gingerbread (2.3.6 or later to be more precise). So my question is: can i test my developed apps potentially on any type of Android phone, with any type of hardware specs, (let's say mid-range device) even if it is not from a famous brand?
P.S. : i'm perfectly aware that very cheap (and also good, why not) phones are available even from famous brands (like Samsung, LG maybe HTC too and so on), but my question is the above and i kindly ask you not to point out the thing i mentioned in this P.S.. Many Thanks to all!

There might be some issues using chinese phones, that might or might not happen on other devices. (Some apps just don't want to work on my Ainol Novo7 Elf for example)
My best bet for you would be to buy an "old" phone from Samsung or HTC.
If you would give us an aproximate price range, we may be able to help you better-ish

nejc121 said:
There might be some issues using chinese phones, that might or might not happen on other devices. (Some apps just don't want to work on my Ainol Novo7 Elf for example)
My best bet for you would be to buy an "old" phone from Samsung or HTC.
If you would give us an aproximate price range, we may be able to help you better-ish
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Thanks for the reply.
This is exactly what i want to understand. If we forget about the chinese phone for a moment; how is app compatibility determined? Are there requirements or something else?
In other words, why shouldn't an app (i'm not talking about heavy 3D games, of course) run on a random Android device (which have all working features and stuff, like for example a random Android-based Samsung phone has)?

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Thanks. Anyone can help me or suggest something else?

Related

iOS or Android?

Maybe I posted this in the wrong section,so sorry,asking to Zecanilis . Do anyone have an iPhone here? If so,anyone can tell why Android/iOS is better? I don't wanna know it,wanna know your opinions only
So,I prefer Android because it's opensource p) and because it's more "customizable" ha
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Wow, why do we need a topic like this ? Sorry, but if you write this on Google you can find thousands of them. This will only end with flames and fights. Nothing useful.
badeaioan said:
Wow, why do we need a topic like this ? Sorry, but if you write this on Google you can find thousands of them. This will only end with flames and fights. Nothing useful.
Click to expand...
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Yeah,infact I firstly posted and already-existing thread and I had to change thread theme. I apologize for this but what could I do?
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Actually, I like such threads, because they remind macfa...uh....macfans D) to keep quiet when it comes to comparisons to Android. Android is superior from almost any point of view.
metalboy94 said:
Actually, I like such threads, because they remind macfa...uh....macfans D) to keep quiet when it comes to comparisons to Android. Android is superior from almost any point of view.
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Yeah. But... I have to admit,for me AppStore games are better
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adobe ceo has said that apple can only dream of flash coming to ios because they are simply not going to make adobe flash of ios...
this is BIG + for android...
ciaox said:
Yeah. But... I have to admit,for me AppStore games are better
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Care to explain why? 'Cause both AppStore and Android Market contain their fair share of crap.
@ccdreadcc: True, although with the advent of HTML5 I'm not sure how long Flash support will continue to be an advantage of Android...
Android wins do to notifications the apps not games there more intgrated with the os an its changeable u can change everything an make ur phone look diffrent an i enjoy that no 2 phones look the same an iphone there identical but they do have better games an browser is better with pinching an zooming but my sgs is a little faster with apps closed but with stuff runing its laggy an ios is mostly smooth all the time but they dont have real multi tasking
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this old comic tells everything LINK
soberspine said:
this old comic tells everything LINK
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Exacly its ur phone u can do wat u plz tphone(therephone) 4 its not yours but u payed 1million 4 it
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You honestly can't go wrong with either and really depends on what you like. Honestly, I think why iPhone sales are so high is because people are misinformed about the product. Everyone gets it because they have been told to or think its cool since everyone has one, but at the end of the day both operating systems can do the same or maybe better(android).
I'd say both have their plus points. I've got my O1, which is my first android device. I love the ability to customise each and every part of it. We are all fans of this OS, we already know how great it is
But what I don't like about android, is the lack of quality content on the market, specially for low end devices like ours. I've got an iPhone 3GS too, and when you access the appstore on it, there's lots of great stuff out there.
Another downside is the lack of software optimisation. We got great hardware, with ****ty software: not a great combination. For e.g. my old iPod Touch 2nd gen still runs every damn single game I put on it without a drop of lagging, whereas we all know what happens on our O1. If we did not have such great developers here, we wouldn't be enjoying our O1 that much. :/
And before someone says something like, "you got a weak device, you should buy a SGS2 or whatever to feel the true power of android," I got one thing to say: each and every one of apple's products are optimised directly from manufacturers, their users dont need to depend on external developers. We can't say that much about our devices though.
Well my experience with iOS comes from an iPod Touch 3rd Gen that I've owned for 1.5 years, and my experience with Android comes from my O1 that I've owned for 2 weeks.
As others have mentioned I love my O1 and I think that Android as an "OS" it's definitely great, and I believe that if we were to compare iOS Vs. ANDROID only at the "OS" level, the Android OS it's superior essentially because it's a powerful, open source OS that allows you to go under the hood and tweak it or improve it, whereas with iOS is just a black box that you access only through APIs published by the manufacturer.
The thing is that comparing OS to OS does not makes much sense to the end user since what's more important is comparing "The Experience" of owning and using a phone with iOS Vs a phone with ANDROID, and at that level I think that iOS/iPhone definitely provides a much solid, cohesive and overall better experience to the end user (at least from my point of view):
1-) On iOS the OS and the Hardware are "One", since we have one company that manufactures the hardware and builds and optimize the OS to run only on that hardware, providing a longer life cycle for your product since the strategy of the manufacturer (Apple) is not focused on launching a new model every 3-4 months (as it is with Android phone manufacturers). Apple's focus is actually selling as much of the same model as they can over a period of at least one year.
2-) The Appstore even though is much more restrictive (than the Market) provides a much more controlled and predictable experience for App Developers, because they only have to worry about complying with the guidelines established by their development platform, and not with developing an App that will have to run as good as possible on hardware created by 8 or 10 different manufactures who have 100+ different phone models. Volume becomes an issue and so far developers have more success selling a 99 cents app on the Appstore than selling a $5 app on the Market. Take a look at this post from a renowned Game Developer talking about his experience about porting a hit game on the Appstore to the Android Market
Bottom line is that it all comes down to the Apps more than the hardware itself (we know that phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 beats the crap out of an iPhone 4 and basically anything else), but all that powerful hardware, dual core processors and beefy GPUs can't do much if quality Apps are not there to take advantage of it, and so far Apple has done a better job in creating a suitable environment for developers at all levels: Programming, Marketing, Billing and Post-Sales Support.
When it comes to consumers (us) I definetely prefer the android cause i'm not willing to pay a sh1tload of money to buy a marketing bloat product which targets to rip off the ignorant gudget fashion victums. I want to be able to have a smartphone for 200 euros and to be able to customize it and use it the way I want and not the way they want.
And I don't want to hear a thing about better games etc etc cause if I want games i'll go and buy a psp and the total amount of money for low/mid-end android + psp will still be conciderably lower than an apple icrap
I will write my opinion, but everybody has an unique opinion so it may not matter.
As stated above, iOs and the hardware of the iPhone are one, they are designed and built as an entity. The result is the most powerful phone. Apart from the antenna problem the iphone had, the phone is perfect. And it will still be. The single-core iPhone 4 runs as smooth as dual-core android phones. Because android phones took everything that was good in linux, but also what is bad.
Android is for the guys that like customization, playing with their devices. You will never have to jailbreak an iPhone, as it's os is godlike anyway. The nasty part is that most of appstore games cost $ and some people may not be so willing to pay for every app they have.
Apart from the price, ioS is better than android, and i consider that anyone who disagrees is just sad he can't afford an iphone.That doesn't mean android is not good, because it is excellent, but still not quite at the apple's product level. Peace
Well I have also tried iOS, I own an iPod Touch 2G (MC, so it's the newer iteration). Sure, there are quality games by Gameloft & co. on the AppStore which also run alright on the iPod, but on 4.2 it gets really slow if you have any other tweaks on it, or if you activated multitasking and wallpapers.
What would definitely improve the Android experience is Gameloft getting their head out of their @ss and port their great games to lower-end devices as well. I really can't see what's the problem with minimum requirements for CPU and RAM if they really think 320x480 games would confuse customers, due to it being the most popular Android low-end resolution.
Other than that, Android is better than iOS simply because it allows you to do more stuff without hacks. First and foremost, the ability to use the phone as a mass storage device (Google should allow mass storage without additional drivers, it would be useful in certain situations, such as at school, where computers are usually blocked from installing drivers ).
@vador9: Sorry mate, but you're just as much of a d*ck as the other Apple fans. I can afford an iPhone, but that doesn't mean I WANT to spend that much money. Partly because the only reason for that price is the glass in it.
metalboy94 said:
Well I have also tried iOS, I own an iPod Touch 2G (MC, so it's the newer iteration). Sure, there are quality games by Gameloft & co. on the AppStore which also run alright on the iPod, but on 4.2 it gets really slow if you have any other tweaks on it, or if you activated multitasking and wallpapers.
What would definitely improve the Android experience is Gameloft getting their head out of their @ss and port their great games to lower-end devices as well. I really can't see what's the problem with minimum requirements for CPU and RAM if they really think 320x480 games would confuse customers, due to it being the most popular Android low-end resolution.
Other than that, Android is better than iOS simply because it allows you to do more stuff without hacks. First and foremost, the ability to use the phone as a mass storage device (Google should allow mass storage without additional drivers, it would be useful in certain situations, such as at school, where computers are usually blocked from installing drivers ).
@vador9: Sorry mate, but you're just as much of a d*ck as the other Apple fans. I can afford an iPhone, but that doesn't mean I WANT to spend that much money. Partly because the only reason for that price is the glass in it.
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You can actually do Mass Storage without the drivers.
And please, do not insult any other forum members. Whatever his opinion may be, its his, it should be respected. Its only a sharing of opinion, not a war.
Android has a great user interface, its highly customisable, it offers whatever someone may want. It's just that rare are the devices which really makes android look so good.
To explain this, I'll take the example of our fabulous O1. Forget about the pricing, let's just analyse the phone in itself: a nice phone, with great features, and a wonderful OS. The OS can do pretty much everything. Now where is the problem? LG, LG is the problem. I agree we paid for a low end phone, but that doesnt mean it should contain ****ty bugs, like the screen lag for example. Even with gingerbread out, it still has not been solved.
Its often the device which holds many a problems, not the OS. This is where iOS has an advantage, it's been used only on a couple of devices, and both the devices and the OS are manufactured by the same company. This causes a great optimisation. For example again, on any iOS device you may not be able to send a file via bluetooth properly (limited by the OS), but you have a smooth touchscreen with no lag at all and you almost never have an error popping up now and then (from the manufacturer).
Moreover, when we say "Appstore offers a larger range of quality apps than that of Android Market", its not just about games. Often basic apps are of much lower quality on the Market, e.g. compare the Facebook app on both platform, and you'll see that the Android version is weak.
Overall:
Android wins when it comes to customisation and performance (provided you have a good device), and iOS has an upper hand when it comes to best user experience and high quality apps
( ) iPhone
( ) iPad
( ) iPad 2
( ) iPod Touch
(✔) iDon't have money
(Certainly not for overpriced hype from a vendor whose customer attitude is way worse than Microsoft's )
Vip_blast said:
You can actually do Mass Storage without the drivers.
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You can? Please enlighten me, I thought it really needed the LG Android drivers for that.
Also, he insulted us first, by implying we all are too poor to get iPhones and that's why we're jealous and say iOS is worse.

[Q] Should I buy an android phone or tablet for development?

So I'm an iPhone developer looking to start writing some Android apps. I know what I can get away with in terms of actual device testing in the iOS world, but not the Android world. I don't want a contract or monthly service (so no new phones). I'll initially be building apps targeted for mobile phones, but if possible, I would like to avoid owning a phone just for development, so if I can get away with a tablet, then that would be perfect because I can use it for other things.
With that said, is that a smart idea? I figure I need the following:
- Used, to keep costs down
- wifi since I won't have cellular service.
- 2.1-2.1 for development.
- Used Phone with no contract to save on price.
- hdpi screen for maximum compatibility testing (according to android dev site, looks like 75%+ phones in use are hdpi)
- Not too old, so that with some upgrades my phone doesn't become unbearable to use.
If I were to get a tablet, am I better getting something with 2.1 or 2.2? Or if I got something with 3.0, would I be able to test compatibility with apps targeted for 2.1 or 2.2? On an iPad for example, I can install iOS5, but build apps targeting iOS4 and test on an iOS 5 device.
I'd like to keep my purchase under $300 either way...obviously less would be even better if I can get away with it...
Anyways, any tips would be great!
I'm partially in your shoes, but going the other direction after a few projects (i.e. Android to iOS). I have a Droid X phone and will probably be getting an iPad...just need to sell a few more apps
Android runs on a multitude of devices and none of them are the same. I think the last app I published said it would be compatible with over 200 Android devices. A far cry from iPhone/iPad and just 2 devices.
I would think the phone would be the cheapest path to go....look on ebay. Luckily I have a friend with a xoom tablet and he can test stuff for me. If you're going to be in this (Android) for the long term, I might suggest a tablet as the better way to go
3.0 is only on tablets at this point and the Android SDK will let you set your release level down as required. Android phones should have just gotten an upgrade to 2.2.3
Objective C to JAVA and xml files....lucky you LOL
Is objective C harder?
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Tablet. We need more tablet developers and tablet optimized apps.
Rootstonian said:
I'm partially in your shoes, but going the other direction after a few projects (i.e. Android to iOS). I have a Droid X phone and will probably be getting an iPad...just need to sell a few more apps
Android runs on a multitude of devices and none of them are the same. I think the last app I published said it would be compatible with over 200 Android devices. A far cry from iPhone/iPad and just 2 devices.
I would think the phone would be the cheapest path to go....look on ebay. Luckily I have a friend with a xoom tablet and he can test stuff for me. If you're going to be in this (Android) for the long term, I might suggest a tablet as the better way to go
3.0 is only on tablets at this point and the Android SDK will let you set your release level down as required. Android phones should have just gotten an upgrade to 2.2.3
Objective C to JAVA and xml files....lucky you LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated! I'm definitely leaning towards tablet, unless I hear of any reason why it's a bad idea! Again, coming from an iOS world, I'm worried about displays, and things looking their best, and acting properly...but as long as a tablet device can give me a reasonable enough device for testing that isn't an emulator, then I'll be happy...I figure the longer I do this, then much like my iOS development, I will build up a collection of test devices...fortunately for iOS developers, that collection doesn't have to be too big!
iynfynity said:
Is objective C harder?
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As a former C# and Java developer, I will say that Objective C is generally "harder"...not necessarily because of the language...but because of the environment...Objective C has come a long way, and definitely is getting better, but I would guess that any C based language is generally harder to pick up successfully compared to more managed languages like C# or Java...
Now when it comes to device development, I can't tell you yet if writing Java for Android devices will be easier or harder...but give me a few months and I'll let you know!
SwiftLegend said:
Tablet. We need more tablet developers and tablet optimized apps.
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Click to collapse
I'll say this, I do love writing code for the iPad,...tablets are fun, and open up a world of opportunity...with that said, I'll initially be writing for mobile phones, but I'm sure that will expand eventually to tablets...
Well, I was in your situation just an year ago an I did:
1 - I bought an HTC Magic used from ebay, rooted at 2.2 (payed 150$ more or less)
2 - I used all the suggestions on the web to improve my java coding using Eclipse (i suggest you stackoverflow guys)
3 - Now, I'm looking for a tablet to enlarge the opportunities of my apps.
The emulator sucks, leave it as soon as you can for a device. You will boost your coding and debug.
If you know people with android phones, ask them to test your app. Unfortunately, it seems that the unique manner to be sure your app will work on all devices is to test it everywhere
I can confirm that emulator is ver slow, but as a last resort is ok.
If I were you a would have bought phone first. You don't want to develop applications that work perfectly on tablets that have 1% of a market share only to find out that after publishing they don't work on more popular devices.
Buy one of most popular phones (for example Samsung Galaxy S) and you will be in good shape.
get google development phone from google
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Android tablet
Here is a cheep android tablet to start dev on http://conamee.com/products/wm8850-android-4-0-cortex-a9-1-2ghz-tablet-pc-7-inch-4gb-coffee

[Q] Do you also develop for iOS? Why choose Android?

I can't seem to find much on this, so I thought I'd ask the question. I personally use a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and was a previous owner of a Galaxy S1. I also sport an Apple Macbook Pro and I love the computer.
There's been a constant "reminder" from various articles how developing for iOS appeals to the developer more than doing so for Android.
This topic has spawned countless of times, and with the recent intro of Instagram to Android, that topic has been re-written once more to show why iOS is "dominant" among developers compared to Android. Article HERE.
Thing is, with all this talk about developing for iOS being better, I find myself asking "if that were true, then why do developers still develop for Android? If that were true, Instagram wouldn't even bother coming to Android...especially since it's free."
So what would make developers for Instagram want to make an app for Android when according to these articles:
Developing on Android is "harder" because it has to adapt to countless hardwares
Android developers make less than iOS developers
Do you develop for both iOS and Android? What's your take? What actually entices you to want to work on the Android platform?
It would be nice if a developer who works on both platforms can give some insights. Please no fanboy or anti-apple talk here...I am sure many of you Android users like me, would have had your friends who are iPhone users bring up such a topic on how they've read that developing for iOS is better, and you can't explain to them why people still make apps for Android cause there's little material online to covers that topic. I'm genuinely curious to know from a developer's perspective
Developers want to get their program out to as many people as possible so they develop for platforms where the customers are at. The two biggest phone operating systems right now are iOS and Android.
Developers choose iOS first because their is a lot less device diversity with iOS devices so developing an app is probably easier. It has also been shown that there is more money to be made selling iOS apps than Android apps which could be due to the fact that people who are on a tight budget may see an Android device as a better deal or may have a carrier that doesn't even sell the iPhone. Piracy is an issue on both platforms but it could be argued that Android is easier to pirate on since apks can be sideloaded without rooting where as iPhones have to be jailbroken. But sideloading apks is used for legit reasons as well, like testing betas, nightlies and other apps that aren't distributed through App Stores.
Android apps have to account for multiple screen resolutions, ratios, and densities. Most regular apps scale just fine. Games seem to be where there are the most issues and I really wish Google would address the issues. It seems each GPU type needs its own support (PowerVR, Nvidia, Adreno, etc). I really wish Google would implement something like DirectX so games can be played on any GPU with enough power. iOS has the advantage here because only a single GPU type is used, PowerVR I believe, so all games can be optimized for it. Couple that with the fact that iOS tends to bring in more money and this is why the game developers usually favor it over Android.
Thanks for the insight. I figured gaming would be difficult for developers but didn't understand why, I just naturally assumed that "if the app seems more complicated, it naturally equates to more complications making it run on various hardwares".
Am I right to say then that when tech reviewers write about how Developers favor iOS to Android, it's mostly pertaining to gaming?
What about non-gaming apps? Is reaching as many people as possible the only incentive to go Android? Take Whatsapp, or Instagram that recently came out...it's free on Android, it also has to deal with multiple hardwares (though now I'm assuming it's actually not as tough as it sounds to accomplish if the app's fairly simple)...is there an incentive for developers to create an Android App...cause the guys at Instagram or Whatsapp could have gone "Well there's nothing here for me, I'll just stick to iOS"...because from what I see, it looks like opening it to the Android market meant having to stress their servers with a sudden influx of users, which mean spending more money to maintain them so it doesn't slow down too much...it seems like a lose-lose situation from where I'm standing. =\
I guess for some apps, google ads are what keeps them going...like Draw Something. I do wonder though how Whatsapp and Instagram manages its upkeep when it doesnt have ads...and if the answer is that they use the money earned from iOS to manage their expansion, is it really worth it if the goal is just branding purposes.
If there is a market to reach developers will develop. Web developers had to put up with the terrible non standard supporting ie6 for years. It was a real pain to develop for but had a large user base that couldnt just be ignored. Android is the same way, developers go where they can reach the consumer. Luckily android its nowhere near as bad as ie6 was.
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spunker88 said:
If there is a market to reach developers will develop. Web developers had to put up with the terrible non standard supporting ie6 for years. It was a real pain to develop for but had a large user base that couldnt just be ignored. Android is the same way, developers go where they can reach the consumer. Luckily android its nowhere near as bad as ie6 was.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the input! From your take, it seems like developers make apps for Android not because they want to, but they have to.
Do you or any of the developers reading this, can testify that there are some ups to developing on Android as compared to iOS.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
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Moving to Q&A
lufc said:
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
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Hi, sorry the topic may be [Q] but it's meant to generate comments and thoughts pertaining to the Android platform as per the sub header for Android General
Could it please be sent back to Android General? The Q&A section seems to be a place for people to post technical questions they need help solving.
Anyway, anyone else able to share their thoughts? Do you develop for both iOS and Android? It seems so far that people prefer to develop for iOS and lesser for Android, but they do it cause they have to as a means of reaching to the masses, but not really because they want to.
Anyone beg to differ? Do you have a reason why you actually prefer developing for Android over iOS?
Hi,
I'm a web developer, and when I decided to try mobile development, I made the choice to develop only for Android, for various reasons, but mainly because I'm not a fan of the Apple ecosystem.
This is not fanboyism here, I'm not bashing Apple, they make great products. But I prefer a fragmented ecosystem, with various companies, various devices, various app markets, etc. because this is a great source of opportunities. I also like the fact that android is open-source, leaving the availability to study the source code and hack around.
As for the difficulty to develop for various devices, I'd say that I'm used to it, being a web developer. Web devs are used to cope with various browsers (some of them being pretty old) and different screen sizes. See for example the mediaqueri.es site (cannot post link since I'm a new user)
thibaultj said:
Hi,
I'm a web developer, and when I decided to try mobile development, I made the choice to develop only for Android, for various reasons, but mainly because I'm not a fan of the Apple ecosystem.
This is not fanboyism here, I'm not bashing Apple, they make great products. But I prefer a fragmented ecosystem, with various companies, various devices, various app markets, etc. because this is a great source of opportunities. I also like the fact that android is open-source, leaving the availability to study the source code and hack around.
As for the difficulty to develop for various devices, I'd say that I'm used to it, being a web developer. Web devs are used to cope with various browsers (some of them being pretty old) and different screen sizes. See for example the mediaqueri.es site (cannot post link since I'm a new user)
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Thanks for your 2 cents! Am I right to assume that in fact, having to deal with different hardwares and screen sizes are actually a norm among developers before iOS came along? In other words, yes, Apple is right to say criticize that other platforms are harder to work with compared to iOS but that's because iOS is the exception among developing platforms where it's system is easier to work with?
spunker88 said:
I really wish Google would implement something like DirectX so games can be played on any GPU with enough power.
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Click to collapse
But Android and iOS already have something like DirectX - OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0.
The_R said:
But Android and iOS already have something like DirectX - OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the additional input...if there always is a direct standard like Open GL in both iOS and Android, what's the difficult part about manufacturing games for Android?
iOS required Apple computer to install their development environment. And You must pay 99$ per year for being the official iOS developer..
ayen1234 said:
iOS required Apple computer to install their development environment. And You must pay 99$ per year for being the official iOS developer..
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I'd actually say that it is worth it.
yeahyeahright said:
Thanks for the additional input...if there always is a direct standard like Open GL in both iOS and Android, what's the difficult part about manufacturing games for Android?
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I think its large number of the types of Android devices. It really isn't as simple as just supporting different screen sizes. Doing that is actually a really simple task using OpenGL.
With my own games I've experienced that what generally works on my test device won't necessarily work the same way on someone else's. For example, some devices support textures of any size while some devices have a constraint of the texture size being a power of 2. On many of my games which need multitouch, I've experienced that it doesn't always work the same on all devices either. On some it is downright broken while on other it just works fine.
There are many such other issues which you'd be aware of only after experiencing them.
The reason for this is the different hardware and the different software implementations that each phone manufacturer brings in. Even if the game "works" on a wide range of devices, there is always a different feel that you get when playing on a different device because of the hardware variations. You might get a good frame rate on a high end phone but have you tried playing it on a low end one? I've seen games from even the big publishers working fine on a high end phone but it just is completely glitchy on a low end one.
Now for a small developer with limited resources it can get really hard to test on and support as many devices as possible. This is one of the main reasons I feel that it can get really hard to develop games on Android. It just requires more effort if the developer wants to guarantee a good experience on a wide range of devices.
The other factor as stated before is that the iOS platform is more uniform. And moreover there are more people who are apparently willing to pay for your game on iOS than on Android. With one of my own games I've experienced that I've made more money in the last 10 days by selling it on the iOS App store than on Android in the last one year with ad revenues.
I actually started developing games on Android initially and one of the really big disappointments for me has been that I am not able to sell my games on the market(now Google Play) because Google checkout for merchants is only available in a few countries. This was the main reason for me to consider moving over to iOS. I think I could sell on a different market like the Amazon App store if I really wanted though.
Inspite of all that I'd say that Android is a great platform.
Wow thanks a lot for the insight! It's great to understand it from a developer's POV, especially one who works on both platforms.
I realise people do comment a lot about Android users less committed to pay for an app, I wonder why...I don't think it's due to their budget, my guess is that their afraid it may not work well on their devices...to that I think Google could really push hard and promote it's 15 minutes refund policy which I think a lot of users are not aware of....I use the 15 minute window a lot and it helps me to decide if something is worth my time buying or not.
I guess the "openness" of Android has allowed phone manufacturers to get really creative with their products (Touchwiz, Sense, Dual Screens, Qwerty Keypads etc) but at the same time, makes it harder for a developer to create stuff, probably even harder than creating stuff on a Windows Desktop.
Do any of you think that having "game settings" like you get on a Windows PC will help change this experience? Either one where the user gets to tweak the graphics (low, med, high) and performance, or perhaps one where the game will adjust graphics to the "recommended setting based on your hardware"? Is this even possible on Android or it's more complicated than you'd get on Windows?
yeahyeahright said:
Do any of you think that having "game settings" like you get on a Windows PC will help change this experience? Either one where the user gets to tweak the graphics (low, med, high) and performance, or perhaps one where the game will adjust graphics to the "recommended setting based on your hardware"? Is this even possible on Android or it's more complicated than you'd get on Windows?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have actually seen a few games that do that, and it does help. But it also requires some extra time and effort on the developer's part.
In some of my games too, I've added some simple settings in order to change the control schemes, so that if one of them doesn't work for you, you could choose the other one. Graphically, though, my games are really simple.
yeahyeahright said:
Thanks for your 2 cents! Am I right to assume that in fact, having to deal with different hardwares and screen sizes are actually a norm among developers before iOS came along? In other words, yes, Apple is right to say criticize that other platforms are harder to work with compared to iOS but that's because iOS is the exception among developing platforms where it's system is easier to work with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having to deal with different hardwares started to be a thing of the past, with the explosion of web apps. One platform for all, what a dream! Then came smartphones and tablets, and developing for a native platfrom became cool again.
Anyway, building for the web is still the only way to reach anyone with an internet access. The only problem with web apps is that it's harder to monetize. But the web's decentralized architecture is not a bug, it's a feature. That is what guarantees it's freedom and independance. You don't have such guarantees on a centralized market managed by a single company, whose first goal is profit.
Well, this post was slightly off-topic, sorry about that.
Thanks both of you for the really good insight. I guess Android is great as a supposedly "open" phone os, it certainly has a lot of hurdles to clear in order to please and entice developers the way iOS does, I'm not certain it can get there, but I do think they do make an effort, like the just upgraded emulator which shows Google's commitment to better developed apps (talk about timing!).
I'm certainly happy with my Android phone and from what I've read about the negative results developers gain from working on Android than on iOS, I take my hat off to those that stick around on this platform and try to make things happen. *clap*
=)
I choose Android for one reason. It's much cheaper. Only 25$ one time. iOS is 99$ every year

[Q] Is it all about one platform?

Hey guys,
now I am currently in front of a big decision (its big for me yeah), but I think there are many people thinking about this.. Let's get to the point. I want to buy a new phone (I am deciding between latest devices on the market). Personally I don't think it is all about purchasing the best phone for you and that is it. Therefore I think the question should be something like: 'What brand I want to buy?' rather then what phone I want to buy. What do you think about this? Is it like that?
Here I am referring to things like smart TV mirroring, branded accessories, NFC accessories etc.
Android brands are becoming more conservative.
Personally I think the Nexus 4 is the best phone on the market, but then when i think about their accessories and things you can connect it to I am quite conscious. I know Samsung probably has the largest basis but its not android anymore, I love stock android. I hate rooting.
So what would be a possibility to eg. mirror a screen on N4 to some smart or normal LCD TV?
Is it the platform that makes a market now?
Does it make a sense to buy a nexus device?

Question: Is it possible to root the new Blackberry Q10 to run Android?

Hey guys. Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but it wouldnt allow me to post in other area as I have fewer than 10 posts. Appologies if it should be in a different area
Anyways. I am a big blackberry fan due to the physical keyboard, and although the new OS is good, im still an android lover when it comes to software
i'm just wondering though, now that their chipset has changed to the snapdragon processor, would this make it any easier to root the device to run a version of android in the future? Or would it be very difficult?
I remember they did it to the HTC device that was on windows 6.5 a while back and the initial process took quite a while, but once some people had android up and running the rest was a breeze
so question is, would anyone else be interested in this? there is a real lack of high-end phones with physical keyboards and this is one of the reasons i bought the Q10. i do however still love android
anyone else interested? post here or let me know how difficult the process would be.
I was thinking the same.
I would immediately buy Android phone with Q10 form factor. I would even try using BB10 because I dont use as many apps on my GNote. Problem is me relying heavily on Google services (drive, music, etc.) and it seems like BB10 lacks native Google apps.
Also I burned myself with Palm (and I have to say Pre 3 was great, definitely on-par with Android phones of its time) and can't be sure Blackberry will be around in six months from now
Same here
yodjone1 said:
Hey guys. Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but it wouldnt allow me to post in other area as I have fewer than 10 posts. Appologies if it should be in a different area
Anyways. I am a big blackberry fan due to the physical keyboard, and although the new OS is good, im still an android lover when it comes to software
i'm just wondering though, now that their chipset has changed to the snapdragon processor, would this make it any easier to root the device to run a version of android in the future? Or would it be very difficult?
I remember they did it to the HTC device that was on windows 6.5 a while back and the initial process took quite a while, but once some people had android up and running the rest was a breeze
so question is, would anyone else be interested in this? there is a real lack of high-end phones with physical keyboards and this is one of the reasons i bought the Q10. i do however still love android
anyone else interested? post here or let me know how difficult the process would be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I really need a qwerty phone, but LTE Android phones don't have it...
Yes, Please provide a way of rooting q10. I love qwerty phones. But no android phones has qwerty keypad.
You have the priv which is an android, and also you could have a jolla +physical keyboard (sailfish) which it is suppose that can run google services seamless. It is a non sense this lack of physical keyboards... we are going to a very basic scenario. Time ago we has touchkeyb, physical keyb and stylus. Can we call it progress?
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