The Official Android thread.

I thought Rio was Amazon/Android exclusive, but it looks like iOS has it as well. Apparently Rovio (the developers) are still using ads in the game, even for the paid version (which is all iOS has right now) - the comments in the itunes store show some pretty angry people. If I had paid for it I'd be mad too, I think that's shady.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Apple lawsuit against Amazon for the use of 'Appstore' (as opposed to Apple's patented "App Store")? I personally think both terms are too generic to patent, but I can see Apple's point that they have had an App Store for so long, it would be confusing. But, really, I'd imagine it would be "Amazon Appstore" and "Apple App Store" - in which case there is no confusion. The Android Market never gets confused with Raley's Supermarket, that I know of. I think app and store are really too generic to be patented, but then IANAL and I might be misunderstanding patent law or what is required.
 
I wonder if I end up deleting Angry Birds Rio if next week I can download it again. I would think I would be able to with it being on my account.
 
[quote name='sendme']I wonder if I end up deleting Angry Birds Rio if next week I can download it again. I would think I would be able to with it being on my account.[/QUOTE]
That's a good question. The my apps and devices page said this:
How to delete apps from my phone
Deleting applications from Amazon Apps is just like deleting other applications
...
You have now deleted the application from this phone. If you later change your mind and decide to re-install the application, you can find it under "My apps" in Amazon Apps from where you will be able to download and install the application again.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you can just redownload it.
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']That's a good question. The my apps and devices page said this:

Sounds like you can just redownload it.[/QUOTE]

Thats good. Just would be nice if it would register with the Market also. That way when I go to update I don't have to use the appstore to do so. I'm wondering now if they will have all the updates just as fast as the Market.

Now about the EVO 3D. I think as soon as I can put a preorder in on this I will. I will keep my current EVO as a backup just in case the 3D one dies and I need to send it out to be fixed. Hell I can always play around with rooting my EVO then. I just wonder what battery life and the price will be. If it comes out after August 21st I will have had one year with Sprint. Not sure on the upgrade options if I do change my mind about keeping the EVO.

EDIT: Anyone that plays Gun Bors if you download the World Series of Poker app from Amazon for free you get the 35 war bucks. The app is a 4.99 app and like others have said today is free. Both are from Glu.
 
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Anyone have an issue loading angry birds rio today? Worked fine for me yesterday, but today I launch it and it freezes before the logos load up.
 
[quote name='Sinistar']Anyone have an issue loading angry birds rio today? Worked fine for me yesterday, but today I launch it and it freezes before the logos load up.[/QUOTE]

Works for me too. Try rebooting the phone, see if that helps. If it doesn't you might want to uninstall/reinstall.
 
I'm pretty sure they disappear. I had to format my phone to its original settings a few days ago and when I reinstalled the games, i had to start over.
 
^ Excellent idea. In case you don't know how to do this: Settings > Manage Applications > Select Application > Press the 'Clear Cache' button.
 
I really don't know how useful this amazon app store will be. Maybe ok for sales and such, just seems redundant otherwise.
 
[quote name='Clak']I really don't know how useful this amazon app store will be. Maybe ok for sales and such, just seems redundant otherwise.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree. I have only been using it to get the one free app a day. The World Series of Poker app I deleted as I'm not really that into poker.
 
I'm glad that the apps show up in my app drawer. I was worried I would have to launch the Amazon app each time to use apps from them. I don't mind having another app store on my phone - and hopefully it creates a strong competition to Google and they step up their game.
 
[quote name='Clak']I really don't know how useful this amazon app store will be. Maybe ok for sales and such, just seems redundant otherwise.[/QUOTE]

Well that's where it's a good thing . More app stores=more competition which should mean more sales etc.
 
I personally like the new Amazon appstore a lot more. The one thing that I found lacking on the Android was that you can't sort by rating, which the Amazon appstore already has covered.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Well that's where it's a good thing . More app stores=more competition which should mean more sales etc.[/QUOTE]
I don't know about this amazon store, but that's usually up to the publishers themselves. Now these daily sales Amazon does, I don't know how that's working. Seems like it's Amazon's decision, but then that's hard for me to believe.
 
[quote name='seen']I'd try to clear the program cache, see if it works before doing a reinstall.[/QUOTE]

I did clear cache and also clear data to resolve the issue so I didn't have to reinstall, though I lost my save games, I guess only clear cache would have worked ;)
 
They're supposed to be working on something with AT&T. Among stupid wireless policies, that's one of the dumbest.
 
I want to trial run the android platform but don't want to commit 2 years yet. I've been scoping out droid 1s on CL, what's a good price for one? 80?
 
I'm looking at buying an Optimus V on virgin mobile. I hear that the Huawei ideos X6 is really good though and coming out in May. Any thoughts, folks if I should wait 1 month? Also, anyone know anything about the optimus not having flash? is that a big deal?
 
[quote name='steve nash']I want to trial run the android platform but don't want to commit 2 years yet. I've been scoping out droid 1s on CL, what's a good price for one? 80?[/QUOTE]

Take a look on Amazon through their AmazonWireless. I got a Droid X a week ago for $50 (w/ extending my contract) and the phone might be free if you get a new contract. Verizon was selling it in store for $150.
 
[quote name='PenguinoMF']Take a look on Amazon through their AmazonWireless. I got a Droid X a week ago for $50 (w/ extending my contract) and the phone might be free if you get a new contract. Verizon was selling it in store for $150.[/QUOTE]

I think he doesn't want a contract is the main part.

But if you do get a contract, wirefly was good to me when my wife and I bought Droid's ($50 w/$50 Bing Cashback). I believe they are pretty competitive to Amazon.
 
So things are getting weird with Honeycomb and Google.

It's "open," not open.

This is not a good start to establishing a presence in the tablet market. If they had their ducks in a row, they could blow tablets wide open by the end of 2011. Instead, it's looking to be a long, long battle. Such a waste, too, because the Honeycomb experience really is *that* good. Lousy news.

And I understand them wanting to exert some kind of control to make sure Honeycomb is used on devices that showcase how outstanding it is as a tablet OS. I understand they don't want it being dumped on crap hardware. But really, who gives a shit? Get it out there and let everyone sort it out, don't fiddle around protecting Motorola and Samsung as though that's a long-term strategy that will benefit Google (it won't, Motorola's a turd). Get Honeycomb out there and let it sort itself out the same way the billions of other flavors of Android have.
 
Was discussing that earlier over on AC. I understand them wanting to keep it off crap hardware, but then that isn't really open, is it. I've been drooling to get full Honeycomb on my Nook and now I don't know if that will ever happen. They may release it eventually, they may not.
 
I have mixed feelings about the way Android is being handled.
On the one hand, as a tech enthusiast, and a lover of open source, it's awful. They've really been mistreating the platform.
But on the other, more practical hand, some measure of control needs to be in place in Android or it's not going to survive. The iPhone, with all of it's closed-ness, does a lot of things right for consumers. Because of less control, we have:
  • Tablets running Froyo, phone software - yes iPad does it too, but IMO it's an inefficient use of a tablet.
  • A market with malware apps (I personally think if someone got into trouble in this area, an iPhone might be more their speed - but from a business point of view, to have this be a possibility is not a good thing).
  • Manufacturers and carriers skinning Android and then waiting months - if ever - to update when new versions come out.
All of these things mar Androids image. So if we have Chinese knock-off phones trying to run hastily thrown together Honeycomb UI's, Android starts to look much worse. Personally I would like to see it released to AOSP. But I can see where it can hinder them as well.

I used to think a completely open and hands-off approach would be awesome. Now I'm just wishing Google would find a balance between where it's at and the iPhone.
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']
I used to think a completely open and hands-off approach would be awesome. Now I'm just wishing Google would find a balance between where it's at and the iPhone.[/QUOTE]

I do agree with that and the rest of your post.

They've got to find a balance. They've got to stop the fragmentation. Many developers just go with the iPhone as it's one iOS version at a time and usually they're pretty backwards compatible with apps anyway.

Android has more phones, but multiple OS versions out so it makes it a pain for developers and is one of the things keeping the Android App store from catching up to Apples.

And the Malware app issue just can't be allowed to happen. I spend enough time dealing with malware and viruses on my PCs, I don't want to have to hassle with it on my phones and tablets.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Android has more phones, but multiple OS versions out so it makes it a pain for developers and is one of the things keeping the Android App store from catching up to Apples.
.[/QUOTE]

My understanding of the app dev side of things is that if you are doing it right, you just need to code once for a base target platform (say, 2.1), and then create different images for different sized displays, and it all should flow into place regardless of Android versions afterward. However this might not be the case with manufacturer skins (or I might be way off entirely).

I think iOS is just a proven platform that came first, so developers go there first. Android does have a LOT of issues, which can scare away devs. I think the divide is closing though - we may not see many apps hit Android before iPhone (except ones that are particularly geeky - there's a nice MediaPortal remote being made that I don't expect to see on iPhone), but I think we'll see more and more on both platforms at the same time, instead of months apart.

I am getting tired of there being awesome games like Cut The Rope on iOS and I'm left wanting on Android. :(
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions'] So if we have Chinese knock-off phones trying to run hastily thrown together Honeycomb UI's, Android starts to look much worse.[/QUOTE]
Does google honestly think that consumers are going to buy a trashy Chinese tablet, watch the unit fail on them or display the screen weird, and write into Google to say, "ANDROID SUX IT BROK ME TABLT!!"? That's thinking from 10 years ago, it's not giving credit to how savvy people have become. The general user understands that performance isn't guaranteed if you're using cheap/flimsy/out-dated hardware, people "get" that now (e.g. my parents' attempt to install and run Win 7 on a 5-year old eMachine).

Releasing Honeycomb in full would get it on more devices. To me, that's the bottom line. Honeycomb is a much better tablet experience than iOS, and my feeling is that if you put that better tablet experience on affordable tablets, you'd convert a lot of people who don't see a need for a tablet device. So just get it out there, get it on devices.

There's got to be more to this story -- maybe there is something incredibly wrong with Honeycomb, maybe it is broke in a way that can be disguised through Motorola/Samsung. I don't understand why they're hesitant to release this thing, it would convert a lot of people who aren't convinced that they have any use for a tablet-like device.

Then again, maybe their strategy is informed by the mobile experience. I know that they didn't see big adoption numbers for Android until the Droid came out, and then things exploded. Did they think the Xoom would be the Droid-equivalent for tablets? Ugh, that's a depressing thought.

[quote name='dmaul1114']They've got to stop the fragmentation. Many developers just go with the iPhone as it's one iOS version at a time and usually they're pretty backwards compatible with apps anyway.

Android has more phones, but multiple OS versions out so it makes it a pain for developers and is one of the things keeping the Android App store from catching up to Apples.[/QUOTE]
I disagree with this. The "fragmentation" is a ghost issue, it's a problem of the carriers and manufacturers. The refresh on the Android OS is exactly what makes it dangerous to iOS. It's what allowed Honeycomb to surpass iOS. Where Apple wants to sit and do yearly refreshes on its OS, Google continues to refine Android. The fact that they're pushing Android forward (the addition of the WebOS UI guy was a sign that they are serious about this) is a very good sign.

In time, the carriers/manufacturers will get over the need to control everything. They've had their cake and ate it too for long enough. Consumers will scrap them for the carriers/manufacturers who refresh OSs more liberally.

Again, the evolution of Android, and its willingness to change, is the main advantage it has over iOS. If they change this, they risk falling into the stagnation that has strangled Apple in the past and will strangle iOS unless Apple gets aggressive.
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']My understanding of the app dev side of things is that if you are doing it right, you just need to code once for a base target platform (say, 2.1), and then create different images for different sized displays, and it all should flow into place regardless of Android versions afterward. [/QUOTE] That is exactly how it works. You develop for a base platform, then change the images for each screensize and it works fine afterwords. It's actually a real nice and painless experience with google's extensive library of development libraries.

[quote name='dothog']Does google honestly think that consumers are going to buy a trashy Chinese tablet, watch the unit fail on them or display the screen weird, and write into Google to say, "ANDROID SUX IT BROK ME TABLT!!"? That's thinking from 10 years ago, it's not giving credit to how savvy people have become. The general user understands that performance isn't guaranteed if you're using cheap/flimsy/out-dated hardware, people "get" that now (e.g. my parents' attempt to install and run Win 7 on a 5-year old eMachine).

Releasing Honeycomb in full would get it on more devices. To me, that's the bottom line. Honeycomb is a much better tablet experience than iOS, and my feeling is that if you put that better tablet experience on affordable tablets, you'd convert a lot of people who don't see a need for a tablet device. So just get it out there, get it on devices.

There's got to be more to this story -- maybe there is something incredibly wrong with Honeycomb, maybe it is broke in a way that can be disguised through Motorola/Samsung. I don't understand why they're hesitant to release this thing, it would convert a lot of people who aren't convinced that they have any use for a tablet-like device.

Then again, maybe their strategy is informed by the mobile experience. I know that they didn't see big adoption numbers for Android until the Droid came out, and then things exploded. Did they think the Xoom would be the Droid-equivalent for tablets? Ugh, that's a depressing thought.


Again, the evolution of Android, and its willingness to change, is the main advantage it has over iOS. If they change this, they risk falling into the stagnation that has strangled Apple in the past and will strangle iOS unless Apple gets aggressive.[/QUOTE]
Defiantly this in regards to iOS. iOS works fine on the iPod touch and iPhone but just increasing the screen size and nothing else is a horrible UI choice. On my nook I got widgets and icons which makes way better use of screen real estate than just empty white space of iOS.

I don't think there is anything wrong with honeycomb, but instead what I think it is, in reality is either google making deals with phone carriers, or too many companies are afraid to risk a tablet device. The tab and xoom both come with bullshit 3G data plans to dock the cost a bit but your left with a 3G data plan. What really needs to happen is we need to see honeycomb out in the wild and adopted by companies who wont want to fuck people over on data plans by cell networks. I seriously think honeycomb could be a serious challenge to the iPad if they just would get it on a device cheaper but as powerful as the iPad with no data plan. The UI is just that much better than the iPad.
 
[quote name='dothog']Does google honestly think that consumers are going to buy a trashy Chinese tablet, watch the unit fail on them or display the screen weird, and write into Google to say, "ANDROID SUX IT BROK ME TABLT!!"? That's thinking from 10 years ago, it's not giving credit to how savvy people have become. The general user understands that performance isn't guaranteed if you're using cheap/flimsy/out-dated hardware, people "get" that now (e.g. my parents' attempt to install and run Win 7 on a 5-year old eMachine).[/QUOTE]
Google's not worried about the end user buying this crap, their worried about the bad press and perception that ALL Android devices are inferior to (insert other phone OS here).
Last year there was a terrible tablet released in Walgreens for $100 (if I'm remembering correctly). Everyone hated it, apparently some people bought it. Those few people don't need to be impressed - they *might* have seen that tablet and been able to see that the cost of it probably has more to do with their poor experience than the OS itself - but I can also see them saying "next time I'll spend a little more and just get an iPad." But again, these people don't matter.

What matters is the bad press this tablet got. It wasn't huge, but it definitely made an impact. And people see headlines like "terrible Android tablet can't compete with iPad" and they don't really think past that. The same thing happened with the Xoom. At $800 off-contract it technically is only $70 more expensive than the most similar iPad model. But people compare it to the WiFi 16GB model and see a jump of $300. (In that case it is hard not to compare it that way - but to the average Joe, they don't see specs and hardware differences. They want to get online and play Angry Birds, they don't need 16GB extra storage and they don't know what 4G is).

I would like to see Honeycomb released to AOSP, personally, but for the sake of Android overall, I want to see it become more standardized. I want to see Android's potential realized, and to get there it needs to keep it's momentum and can't have all this bad press steering people away from it.

I also believe in a month we'll see Ice Cream (Sandwich?) released at Google I/O which will incorporate most of the necessary features of Honeycomb into the phone. Most likely the 'shortcuts' to Honeycomb are taken back in with the next release.
 
[quote name='dothog']
I disagree with this. The "fragmentation" is a ghost issue, it's a problem of the carriers and manufacturers. The refresh on the Android OS is exactly what makes it dangerous to iOS. It's what allowed Honeycomb to surpass iOS. Where Apple wants to sit and do yearly refreshes on its OS, Google continues to refine Android. The fact that they're pushing Android forward (the addition of the WebOS UI guy was a sign that they are serious about this) is a very good sign.

In time, the carriers/manufacturers will get over the need to control everything. They've had their cake and ate it too for long enough. Consumers will scrap them for the carriers/manufacturers who refresh OSs more liberally.

Again, the evolution of Android, and its willingness to change, is the main advantage it has over iOS. If they change this, they risk falling into the stagnation that has strangled Apple in the past and will strangle iOS unless Apple gets aggressive.[/QUOTE]


Fair points. To me, at the end of the day, it all comes down to apps/software.

I really don't care that much about the OS as I spend 99% of my time using a gadget working with in apps. Especially on a Phone.

On the tablet platform, the iOS is a bit limiting and I get frustrated with somethings on my iPad like not being able to get files directly on/off a thumbdrive, the hassle of having to use something like dropbox and send files individually to each app rather than having a global file system etc.

So I do agree it was/is a folly to just use a phone OS on a Tablet. But the iPad had the apps so that's where I went.

At the end of the day what I really want is a Tablet PC that doesn't suck like past tablet and slate PCs. Hopefully MS will nail the tablet OS they're supposedly working on to come out late 2012. Or the Android or WebOS tablet platforms will really take off etc.
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']I seriously think honeycomb could be a serious challenge to the iPad if they just would get it on a device cheaper but as powerful as the iPad with no data plan. The UI is just that much better than the iPad.[/QUOTE]

Well, there is a 32gb wifi only Xoom model coming out in a week or two that costs $599--same price as the iPad 2 with those specs.

But they also have to match form factor, app selection etc. to really compete.

I considered a Xoom, but the iPad is so much thinner. I don't like the 16x9 screen on the Xoom as I mainly use my iPad in portrait orientating for reading documents, news apps etc. rather than in landscape. And the App's just dont' compare currently.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Fair points. To me, at the end of the day, it all comes down to apps/software.[/QUOTE]
And that's fair as well.

If Android continues to grow, the apps will be there. Especially given that many iOS developers tolerate Apple's policies (the curious review process, the 30% cut, etc.) simply because of the size of the installed base. Android is supposedly easier to develop for, the audience just isn't there yet. But it will be.

Google's not helping things by keeping Honeycomb under wraps. It's really good, it deserves to be experienced.

[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']Google's not worried about the end user buying this crap, their worried about the bad press and perception that ALL Android devices are inferior to (insert other phone OS here).

What matters is the bad press this tablet got. It wasn't huge, but it definitely made an impact.[/QUOTE]
While I don't believe this is so, maybe that's what it is. Vista certainly took a roughing up, maybe Google is worried Android would be stigmatized in that way? I just don't buy it, I think either the strategy is flawed (start on the high-end) or something is seriously wrong with Honeycomb and they're just going to piss around until Ice Cream. Who knows. It's frustrating given that they could really shake up the tablet world if they didn't have their heads up their asses.
 
[quote name='dothog'] Who knows. It's frustrating given that they could really shake up the tablet world if they didn't have their heads up their asses.[/QUOTE]

Hardware is really key as well. Even if the OS is great, it's not going to sell if it's not packed in a device as thin and sleek as the iPad 2, with the same or better battery life and at the same or cheaper price.

Google's in a tough spot there since they're not a hardware company and thus can't design their own hardware and have to count on someone else to get it right.
 
I can't believe... (well... I guess I can) that if OSs and hardware equally effect a tablet that people are ok with having to deal with something so user friendly as itunes... Then again, I'm sure every unjailbroken user is brainless enough that they'll buy everything for their ipad off itunes so they are pretty oblivious to start with...
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']I can't believe... (well... I guess I can) that if OSs and hardware equally effect a tablet that people are ok with having to deal with something so user friendly as itunes... Then again, I'm sure every unjail broken user is brainless enough that they'll buy everything for their ipad off itunes so they are pretty oblivious to start with...[/QUOTE]

You don't really have to use iTunes much with an iPad though.

I just buy things through the App store on the iPad and send files to it with Dropbox etc. (I haven't jail broken--haven't had a need to yet).

Only thing you must use iTunes for is installing OS updates and backing up (and that's automated).

Guess you'd use it more if you're moving music and movies from your computer to the iPad--but I don't do that personally--and iTunes is relatively easy to use for that stuff anyway. Just clunky for photos, documents etc.

Most people are just basic users of smartphones and tablets. They just buy them and use the preloaded web browser and other apps, get things from the built in app store, maybe transfer over some music and that's pretty much it. So something like hooking up to iTunes just doesn't happen that often.

So what matters is design of the hardware, app availability, ease of use of the UI, marketing hype etc.
 
[quote name='dothog']While I don't believe this is so, maybe that's what it is. Vista certainly took a roughing up, maybe Google is worried Android would be stigmatized in that way? I just don't buy it, I think either the strategy is flawed (start on the high-end) or something is seriously wrong with Honeycomb and they're just going to piss around until Ice Cream. Who knows. It's frustrating given that they could really shake up the tablet world if they didn't have their heads up their asses.[/QUOTE]

I agree that more Honeycomb needs to be seen! I think it looks amazing (and when I played with a Xoom for 15 minutes at Best Buy it felt amazing as well).
I seriously don't understand the bad press for the Xoom, with a LOT of it focusing on Honeycomb. The price was a major flaw, but beyond that it seems very capable. Yes, it was missing three major features when released (sd card support, flash, and 4G), but none of those things can be found on the iPad2 (and other tablets so far haven't really counted). But when people say it's "unfinished" in reviews, I feel like a more apt way to put it is that it's finished with more to come. So why does it get so much bad press? It looks awesome to me.
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']
I seriously don't understand the bad press for the Xoom, with a LOT of it focusing on Honeycomb. [/QUOTE]

I haven't read much about the OS. Most of the criticisms I've seen where related to form factor (bulky compared to the iPad2) and the lack of Apps vs. the iPad.

As noted above for me personally, the 16x9 screens kill a lot of other tablets for me. I use them mostly to read and work with documents so I don't like the wide screen ratio as it's too narrow in portrait orientation for a lot of documents.
 
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