More Android Love from Developers

Android Love can be so PAINFUL!

Android’s Rapid Growth Has Some Developers Worried
from Gadget Lab by Priya Ganapati

A year after its release, Google’s open source Android operating
system has become a sensation. After a slow start, it is now available
on at least 12 phones, with more devices waiting in the wings.

Good news for Android fans, right? Not really, say some developers. A
slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they
say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0),
custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between
different models.

For users, it means apps in the store could be buggy, might not work
well depending on their handsets, and could deliver a frustrating
experience. Unaware of the increasing back-end complexity, they would
then be more likely to leave bad reviews for those apps — a
potentially lethal blow for small businesses, say developers.

“Instead of working on updates to our apps, we find we are trying to
make each app work for multiple versions of the OS and different
hardware capabilities,” says Chris Fagan, co-founder at Froogloid, an
Android focused application development company. “We are not
complaining about all the growth, but if you are a small or a new
Android developer coming in and trying to learn I could see your head
exploding. It would be overwhelming,” he says.

The problem echoes similar concerns over Java in the 1990s. Originally
touted as a way for developers to build apps that would run on any
computer (”write once, run anywhere”), developers found that wide
variations in Java virtual machines as well as available hardware
meant that Java’s promise was really “write once, debug everywhere.”
While Java is still used — particularly in the mobile space, where it
powers games and other apps written for Java-capable cellphones — it
is not nearly the cross-platform panacea it was originally conceived
as.

Fagan’s concerns about the fragmentation of Android is being echoed by
other developers, says Sean Galligan, vice president of business
development at Flurry, an mobile app analytics company.

“There’s no question that we are starting to hear developers express
concern,” says Galligan. “Android is growing very fast and there’s a
lot of excitement for it but it’s also a lot for work, especially for
medium and small developers.”

Since the launch of the first HTC T-Mobile G1 phone running Android
OS, a number of handset makers have jumped on the bandwagon. HTC alone
has five Android handsets available, while others like Motorola have
shifted completely to the Android platform. In the past two months,
Motorola released two new Android-based handsets, the Cliq and Droid.
And in a bid to differentiate themselves, handset makers are creating
custom user interfaces like the HTC Sense, the Motorola Blur and the
Rachael UI from Sony Ericsson.

Android phones vary significantly in the hardware, too — phones with
and without camera flash, some have physical keyboards, others don’t.

“You may build an app that works perfectly with all three firmwares,
but then when you run it on carriers’ ROMs it completely blows up,”
says Fagan. “So we find ourselves having to create apps that are
compatible with multiple firmwares, multiple ROMs and multiple devices
with different hardware.”

It’s in sharp contrast to the iPhone platform. Apple has tightly
controlled the introduction of new iPhones and updates to its
operating system. It has just three iPhone models available since it
first introduced the phone in 2007. And all iPhone users are prompted
to update their phones to be on the same version of the operating
system.

While Apple pioneered the app store idea with the iPhone, Android,
too, offers Market, a store for distribution of third-party programs.
Unlike with the Apple app store, Android developers do not have to go
through an approval process to get their apps on the Android
Market.Currently, the Android market has about 10,000 apps compared to
the 100,000 in Apple’s app store.

For developers, Apple’s autocratic ways may be frustrating, but they
can pay off.

“Apple maintains an iron grip on what they do and there’s an advantage
to that,” says Kelly Schrock, owner of Fognl, which has three apps on
the Android market. “IPhone developers don’t have to worry about
fragmentation and creating apps for the iPhone is much easier.”

Android Versions Create Confusion

Founded about the same time as the first Android phone hit the market,
Froogloid today has more than 100,000 users across its three apps:
a2b, Key Ring and CowPotato. But with Android’s growth, managing these
apps is becoming quite a challenge, says Fagan.

The diversity of devices running Android OS has led to some unexpected
results, says Fagan.

For instance, the Sprint HTC Hero was launched without its GPS setting
turned on. When run, the a2b application could trigger it — but
Froogloid soon found that the standard commands they used reacted
differently on the Hero than on other Android devices. Instead of
launching the GPS settings, it set off the “screen unlock pattern”
settings, says Chris Pick, requiring Froogloid to write custom code in
their app for that particular device.

Google says it has emulators available that allows developers to test
their application running on simulated devices so they can see how it
behaves.

But it doesn’t always work, says Fagan. “In a sense, we are shooting
blind with the emulators because we have no idea how it is really
working on the device.”

For instance, explains Pick, the graphics for their 3D game app,
Cowpotato worked fine on the emulator but crashed when run on
Motorola’s Droid phone. Pick suspects a bug in the graphics driver on
the Droid. Writing for a fix for it took care of the problem but its
not the best solution, he says.

“When we have to start writing rules based on the phone model in our
code, it adds more code to our code base, creates more work for us and
makes the app heavier,” says Pick.

Different versions of the OS also means new functionality is added or
some removed. Understanding these changes and making software backward
compatible takes time, say Schrock. “It’s a multiplication of work to
support all of them.”

A bigger problem is the customization of firmware or custom ROMs. For
instance, Google offers a basic homescreen with the Android code. But
device manufacturers or network carriers can always modify it.
Sometimes the changes are simple, such as replacing all white color
with grey, or red with yellow. That allows handset makers and carriers
to tailor Android better for their customers, something that Google
says it supports “strongly.”

“That isn’t a big deal,” says Fagan. “However, when they start
changing fundamentally how certain activities are controlled, such as
user settings and screen orientation, it creates issues for developers
that have built their apps on an out of the box version of the
firmware/SDK.”

Custom ROMs are always available for developers to look through,
points out Froogloid.

“Google has mandated that every one base their releases on the
standard versions,” says Pick.”But this slips under the radar.”

Ultimately, developers will have to start making tough decisions on
who they want to target and versions of the operating system they want
to support, says Galligan.

“Developers have to identify which devices and carriers appeal to the
market they are creating an app for and develop just for it,” he says.

A one-man band, Schrock says without any employees he can’t maintain
four different app versions.

“It’s getting a lot riskier on the Android. It’s not 4x increase in
the cost but it will be a lot more work.” And while Schrock says the
apps are not his meal ticket, he doesn’t want to make choices that
could cut off some Android users from his apps.

“I will have to decide then how much return I am getting and if it is
worth it.”

See Also:

* To Play With Giants, App Devs Risk Getting Squashed
* Android Army Pumped for All-Out Attack on iPhone
* Now, a $100 Android Smartphone in the HTC Droid Eris
* 12 Phones Strong, Android Army Mobilizes for Explosive Growth
* Google Muscles Android Developer, Offers Olive Branch

On Nov 16, 10:13*pm, "Verizon Wireless now charges up to $350 early
termination fees per phone on your account" <vic.hea...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Android Love can be so PAINFUL!
>
> Android’s Rapid Growth Has Some Developers Worried
> from Gadget Lab by Priya Ganapati
>
> A year after its release, Google’s open source Android operating
> system has become a sensation. After a slow start, it is now available
> on at least 12 phones, with more devices waiting in the wings.
>
> Good news for Android fans, right? Not really, say some developers. A
> slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they
> say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0),
> custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between
> different models.
>
> For users, it means apps in the store could be buggy, might not work
> well depending on their handsets, and could deliver a frustrating
> experience. Unaware of the increasing back-end complexity, they would
> then be more likely to leave bad reviews for those apps — a
> potentially lethal blow for small businesses, say developers.
>
> “Instead of working on updates to our apps, we find we are trying to
> make each app work for multiple versions of the OS and different
> hardware capabilities,” says Chris Fagan, co-founder at Froogloid, an
> Android focused application development company. “We are not
> complaining about all the growth, but if you are a small or a new
> Android developer coming in and trying to learn I could see your head
> exploding. It would be overwhelming,” he says.
>
> The problem echoes similar concerns over Java in the 1990s. Originally
> touted as a way for developers to build apps that would run on any
> computer (”write once, run anywhere”), developers found that wide
> variations in Java virtual machines as well as available hardware
> meant that Java’s promise was really “write once, debug everywhere.”
> While Java is still used — particularly in the mobile space, where it
> powers games and other apps written for Java-capable cellphones — it
> is not nearly the cross-platform panacea it was originally conceived
> as.
>
> Fagan’s concerns about the fragmentation of Android is being echoed by
> other developers, says Sean Galligan, vice president of business
> development at Flurry, an mobile app analytics company.
>
> “There’s no question that we are starting to hear developers express
> concern,” says Galligan. “Android is growing very fast and there’s a
> lot of excitement for it but it’s also a lot for work, especially for
> medium and small developers.”
>
> Since the launch of the first HTC T-Mobile G1 phone running Android
> OS, a number of handset makers have jumped on the bandwagon. HTC alone
> has five Android handsets available, while others like Motorola have
> shifted completely to the Android platform. In the past two months,
> Motorola released two new Android-based handsets, the Cliq and Droid.
> And in a bid to differentiate themselves, handset makers are creating
> custom user interfaces like the HTC Sense, the Motorola Blur and the
> Rachael UI from Sony Ericsson.
>
> Android phones vary significantly in the hardware, too — phones with
> and without camera flash, some have physical keyboards, others don’t.
>
> “You may build an app that works perfectly with all three firmwares,
> but then when you run it on carriers’ ROMs it completely blows up,”
> says Fagan. “So we find ourselves having to create apps that are
> compatible with multiple firmwares, multiple ROMs and multiple devices
> with different hardware.”
>
> It’s in sharp contrast to the iPhone platform. Apple has tightly
> controlled the introduction of new iPhones and updates to its
> operating system. It has just three iPhone models available since it
> first introduced the phone in 2007. And all iPhone users are prompted
> to update their phones to be on the same version of the operating
> system.
>
> While Apple pioneered the app store idea with the iPhone, Android,
> too, offers Market, a store for distribution of third-party programs.
> Unlike with the Apple app store, Android developers do not have to go
> through an approval process to get their apps on the Android
> Market.Currently, the Android market has about 10,000 apps compared to
> the 100,000 in Apple’s app store.
>
> For developers, Apple’s autocratic ways may be frustrating, but they
> can pay off.
>
> “Apple maintains an iron grip on what they do and there’s an advantage
> to that,” says Kelly Schrock, owner of Fognl, which has three apps on
> the Android market. “IPhone developers don’t have to worry about
> fragmentation and creating apps for the iPhone is much easier.”
>
> Android Versions Create Confusion
>
> Founded about the same time as the first Android phone hit the market,
> Froogloid today has more than 100,000 users across its three apps:
> a2b, Key Ring and CowPotato. But with Android’s growth, managing these
> apps is becoming quite a challenge, says Fagan.
>
> The diversity of devices running Android OS has led to some unexpected
> results, says Fagan.
>
> For instance, the Sprint HTC Hero was launched without its GPS setting
> turned on. When run, the a2b application could trigger it — but
> Froogloid soon found that the standard commands they used reacted
> differently on the Hero than on other Android devices. Instead of
> launching the GPS settings, it set off the “screen unlock pattern”
> settings, says Chris Pick, requiring Froogloid to write custom code in
> their app for that particular device.
>
> Google says it has emulators available that allows developers to test
> their application running on simulated devices so they can see how it
> behaves.
>
> But it doesn’t always work, says Fagan. “In a sense, we are shooting
> blind with the emulators because we have no idea how it is really
> working on the device.”
>
> For instance, explains Pick, the graphics for their 3D game app,
> Cowpotato worked fine on the emulator but crashed when run on
> Motorola’s Droid phone. Pick suspects a bug in the graphics driver on
> the Droid. Writing for a fix for it took care of the problem but its
> not the best solution, he says.
>
> “When we have to start writing rules based on the phone model in our
> code, it adds more code to our code base, creates more work for us and
> makes the app heavier,” says Pick.
>
> Different versions of the OS also means new functionality is added or
> some removed. Understanding these changes and making software backward
> compatible takes time, say Schrock. “It’s a multiplication of work to
> support all of them.”
>
> A bigger problem is the customization of firmware or custom ROMs. For
> instance, Google offers a basic homescreen with the Android code. But
> device manufacturers or network carriers can always modify it.
> Sometimes the changes are simple, such as replacing all white color
> with grey, or red with yellow. That allows handset makers and carriers
> to tailor Android better for their customers, something that Google
> says it supports “strongly.”
>
> “That isn’t a big deal,” says Fagan. “However, when they start
> changing fundamentally how certain activities are controlled, such as
> user settings and screen orientation, it creates issues for developers
> that have built their apps on an out of the box version of the
> firmware/SDK.”
>
> Custom ROMs are always available for developers to look through,
> points out Froogloid.
>
> “Google has mandated that every one base their releases on the
> standard versions,” says Pick.”But this slips under the radar.”
>
> Ultimately, developers will have to start making tough decisions on
> who they want to target and versions of the operating system they want
> to support, says Galligan.
>
> “Developers have to identify which devices and carriers appeal to the
> market they are creating an app for and develop just for it,” he says.
>
> A one-man band, Schrock says without any employees he can’t maintain
> four different app versions.
>
> “It’s getting a lot riskier on the Android. It’s not 4x increase in
> the cost but it will be a lot more work.” And while Schrock says the
> apps are not his meal ticket, he doesn’t want to make choices that
> could cut off some Android users from his apps.
>
> “I will have to decide then how much return I am getting and if it is
> worth it.”
>
> See Also:
>
> * * * To Play With Giants, App Devs Risk Getting Squashed
> * * * Android Army Pumped for All-Out Attack on iPhone
> * * * Now, a $100 Android Smartphone in the HTC Droid Eris
> * * * 12 Phones Strong, Android Army Mobilizes for Explosive Growth
> * * * Google Muscles Android Developer, Offers Olive Branch

One needs to read and reread this post. The implications are mind
boggling.

The whole Google Android concept is beginning to fall apart right
before your eyes with only twelve Android phones!

I did not realize how bad it was until today when I read this account
from actual Droid developers. Will you have one of the phones a
particular developer will love and support or will you have an orphan
while you are still locked into a two year contract? Every new Android
phone becomes a threat to your happiness if it ceases the fancy of an
over worked starving Android developer who just doesn't have the time
to mess with the Droid any longer.


Yes the Android app store may get 100,000 applications someday, but
how many apps will run on your particular Android without problems?
Who are you going to sue if you paid money for a bad experience and
crushed hopes?

> One needs to read and reread this post. The implications are mind
> boggling.
>
> The whole Google Android concept is beginning to fall apart right
> before your eyes with only twelve Android phones!
>
> I did not realize how bad it was until today when I read this account
> from actual Droid developers. Will you have one of the phones a
> particular developer will love and support or will you have an orphan
> while you are still locked into a two year contract? Every new Android
> phone becomes a threat to your happiness if it ceases the fancy of an
> over worked starving Android developer who just doesn't have the time
> to mess with the Droid any longer.
>
>
> Yes the Android app store may get 100,000 applications someday, but
> how many apps will run on your particular Android without problems?
> Who are you going to sue if you paid money for a bad experience and
> crushed hopes?
>
..
Well, I feel it's a little early to say the sky is falling. It's always
good for early adopters to exercise caution. If I get an android phone any
time soon I'll be making sure it performs every essential function I need
out of the box, but I won't be worrying about how many additional
applications are available for it. The people who are disappointed are
always the ones that don't do their homework in advance. The article
rightly points out that the iPhone is the way to go if compatibility (of
third party apps) is the first priority. Apple has always provided that
compatibility and charged a premium for it.

At 16 Nov 2009 19:13:15 -0800 Vic wrote:
> Android Love can be so PAINFUL!
>
> Android’s Rapid Growth Has Some Developers Worried
> from Gadget Lab by Priya Ganapati
>
> A year after its release, Google’s open source Android operating
> system has become a sensation. After a slow start, it is now available
> on at least 12 phones, with more devices waiting in the wings.
>
> Good news for Android fans, right? Not really, say some developers. A
> slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they
> say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0),
> custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between
> different models...


How is this any different from other platforms? Wintel PCs certainly
don't have 100% standardized hardware; Blackberries, WinMo and Symbian
devices have form factors and hardware and firmware differences all over
the map, and even the iPhone platform has become fragmented; you have
devices without microphones (1st-gen iPod Touch), some with and some
without a GPS, only one with a compass, etc. And, unless Apple wants to
be leap-frogged eternally, even its "standard" 480x360 display size will
eventually have to give way to higher res displays, potentially breaking
compatibilitywith the entire app store catalog someday (although
presumably Apple will empoy some type of pixel-doubling "compatibilit
mode" when the day comes.)

A platform is just that- a platform, not a device. As Android continues
to shake out, device manufacturers will have to ensure compatibility with
the growing base of applications, not the other way around, like Tandy
discovered with their "quasi"-PC compatible computers of the early 1980s-
at first they were able to court developers to rewrite or patch their
software to run on the Tandy platform but Tandy was eventually forced to
"get in line" like everyone else and make their products conform to the
market's wishes. Android will be the same- if a significant number of
Andriod apps won't run a model such-and-such, that manufacturer will
learn a painful lesson and shape up.


Of course, devs will also have to learn to play by the rules and avoid
coding for undocumented functions and features- something one can get
away with on a platform with just a few devices, but not one with dozens
or hundreds.

On Nov 17, 1:17*pm, Todd Allcock <eleccon...@AnoOspamL.com> wrote:
> At 16 Nov 2009 19:13:15 -0800 Vic wrote:
>
> > Android Love can be so PAINFUL!
>
> > Android’s Rapid Growth Has Some Developers Worried
> > from Gadget Lab by Priya Ganapati
>
> > A year after its release, Google’s open source Android operating
> > system has become a sensation. After a slow start, it is now available
> > on at least 12 phones, with more devices waiting in the wings.
>
> > Good news for Android fans, right? Not really, say some developers. A
> > slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they
> > say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0),
> > custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between
> > different models...
>
> How is this any different from other platforms? *Wintel PCs certainly
> don't have 100% standardized hardware; Blackberries, WinMo and Symbian
> devices have form factors and hardware and firmware differences all over
> the map, and even the iPhone platform has become fragmented; you have
> devices without microphones (1st-gen iPod Touch), some with and some
> without a GPS, only one with a compass, etc. *And, unless Apple wants to
> be leap-frogged eternally, even its "standard" 480x360 display size will
> eventually have to give way to higher res displays, potentially breaking
> compatibilitywith the entire app store catalog someday (although
> presumably Apple will empoy some type of pixel-doubling "compatibilit
> mode" when the day comes.)
>
> A platform is just that- a platform, not a device. *As Android continues
> to shake out, device manufacturers will have to ensure compatibility with
> the growing base of applications, not the other way around, like Tandy
> discovered with their "quasi"-PC compatible computers of the early 1980s-
> at first they were able to court developers to rewrite or patch their
> software to run on the Tandy platform but Tandy was eventually forced to
> "get in line" like everyone else and make their products conform to the
> market's wishes. *Android will be the same- if a significant number of
> Andriod apps won't run a model such-and-such, that manufacturer will
> learn a painful lesson and shape up.
>
> Of course, devs will also have to learn to play by the rules and avoid
> coding for undocumented functions and features- something one can get
> away with on a platform with just a few devices, but not one with dozens
> or hundreds.

Then a logical conclusion is that the Android isn't a desirable
platform to develop for at this time but might be someday?