Posts Tagged: android

Web vs Native Apps (on Android)

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5 months ago    |   Tags: android apps mobile web experience mobile web  

I few weeks months ago I committed to using mobile web applications (where available) on my phone. I have both enjoyed, and been extremely frustrated using mobile web experiences (@lukew) vs their native counterparts. In most cases I enjoy the mobile web experience more, they seem to be updated more frequently and keep consistent with the style of the standard desktop web version. At the same time, certain functions aren’t implemented, try uploading a picture to Twitter on their mobile site, no options for that, yet.

Daily Web Apps Pros/Cons
  • Pros: Service integration is implemented faster, better metadata for tweets
  • Cons: No push notifications, limited timeline, no contact integration or images upload
  • Pros: Always in sync with desktop
  • Cons: No offline access
  • Pros: No background battery drain, access to some Facebook Apps
  • Cons: Infinite timeline loop bug, no contact integration
  • Pros: Fancy new UI
  • Cons: Limited sharing, can’t upload
Limited Mobile Web
Foursquare provides limited options on their mobile web experience. You can view venue details, badges, profiles and such, however you’ll only see those if you open a foursquare link on a mobile phone. Otherwise http://m.foursquare.com takes you to a functional, yet ugly, interface that hasn’t gotten any love for a few years. I wish they had a more robust mobile web experience and a mobile home/landing page. The mobile pages look great, however I can’t checkin to a venue (something that Gowalla’s mobile web experience allowed) through the browser.
 
No Official Native App 
Stack Exchange has a variety of third-party mobile apps build off of their API. While many may be pretty good (I’ve tried 2) they aren’t Stack Exchange proper. They guys behind Stack Overflow took their time in developing a mobile web experience that is the right blend of what you can do on a mobile and what you should do on a mobile phone. They took their sweet time, but it is a great experience. After launching their mobile initiative I uninstalled the native app I’d been using and now link directly to the site.

Android App Fragmentation Rant

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5 months ago    |   Tags: android apps fragmentation rant   |   Notes: 8

Microsoft recently released their Halo Waypoint app for Android* and iOS devices. You’ll notice the asterisk there on Android. The app was released yes, but only works on a handful of devices. The description of the app, in the Android Market, read (before recently being updated, I can only assume after numerous complaints) “compatible with Android 2.2+”, which I took to mean, devices that are running Android 2.2 or greater. This is not entirely true, you need at least Android 2.2, which is running the overwhelming majority of Android devices (over 75%). After complaining on twitter and reading into it, apparently they aren’t supporting HTC devices, and any qHD devices including the fairly new Droid Bionic. Disappointment.

This is reminiscent of the initial Android app push for both Hulu and Netflix, which were only available on select devices, which was made crystal clear when it launched. The number of supported devices grew over time and now most devices running Android 2.2+ can watch Netflix, however the number of devices that support Hulu+ is still fairly limited. I imagine that Microsoft will eventually make it compatible on as many devices “as they can”, but this is extremely frustrating as a consumer. Fail.

Should I be upset at Microsoft (and other large developers) for not having compatibility with a large majority of Android phones? Should I blame device manufacturers for not all using the same internal hardware? Should I blame Google for allowing Android to be ported/mangled/twisted and put on any thing with an electric signal? Should I simply blame the iPhone for being “so awesome”, that it is the only platform that major companies decide to take seriously? Frustrated.

I love Android, but I absolutely loathe the fact that in many cases it is treated like a second-class citizen. Too many times I’ve seen a cheap port that looks exactly like the iOS version, which creates a super buggy/laggy app that doesn’t do anyone any favors. Far too many apps have remained iOS exclusive, despite their popularity. I understand that many companies don’t have unlimited resources (Instagram) and that is the reason that they can only focus on a single OS or device type at a time. It is just really frustrating, things like this make me want to switch to the iPhone-life, where a least I know I can run pretty much any app that has been released. I love the open-nature of Android and the fact that it CAN be put on anything, this is awesome, and there are some really unique apps for the platform however that open-ness leads to some inconsistencies and therefore constraints.

Bringing this back around, in my simple-mindedness I assumed this “Halo Waypoint” app was simply going to be another entry point into my Halo stat-tracking and a way to push Halo news down my throat. Apparently it has the aforementioned, as well as some fancy graphics 3-d rendering in-game GPS-like map tracker thing, called ATLAS, which is why, I’m assuming, HTC devices are completely incompatible.

On a side note: Bungie has a mobile web experience (hat tip to @lukew’s Mobile First push), which has no ridiculous device hardware requirements for viewing Halo:Reach stats, so I guess I don’t need this silly app taking up space on my phone.