Android Issues

All that is gold doesn’t necessarily have to glitter. Android has been touted as being one of the next big platforms that would knock iPhone of its throne. However, this doesn’t seem to be the situation for Android. The ultimate problem that the platform is currently facing is the number of versions of software on phones. With a whole slew of releases available for the Android platform, many apps are not necessarily backward or forward compatible with the operating system. Add to this the various vendors providing different phones with numerous variations of hardware components means that most developers have nightmares developing code for each individual phone rather than a universal app.

The problem inherently in this situation is that cross-platform independence regardless of hardware is an ideal utopia that developers want but can never get. Similar to the BlackBerry situation where porting apps from other platforms is a nightmare, it can happen but not without a significant fight.

From a smaller developer viewpoint, Android is a difficult platform to work on. The amount of resources and time needed to code for a single application is significant for a small business; the need to re-code for various hardware and software versions is not conducive to building a customer base. Not only do variations in hardware and software affect the overall compatibility of the app, it reflects poorly on the build quality of the app. As a result, customers are naturally wary of the platform when they experience poor app quality and interaction. Developers are then compelled to write quick-and-dirty patches to resolve problems, which is inherently dangerous and shoddy programming.

(continue reading…)

Android Applications

Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer can build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Android’s applications can all be built to have equal access to a phone’s capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users are able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone’s home screen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.

Android provides access to a wide range of useful libraries and tools that can be used to build rich applications. For example, Android enables developers to obtain the location of the device, and allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications. In addition, Android includes a full set of tools that have been built from the ground up alongside the platform providing developers with high productivity and deep insight into their applications.