Inconsistency a big problem on Galaxy Nexus

[jdmiphone]

I recently purchased a GN, and while I love it! However, I had a friend of mine send me this article which talked about pros/cons of the GN, and one thing he touched on was the inconsistency of the UI menus.

After reading this, I can't help but agree. It's pretty frustrating to me. How do you guys feel about it? Do think Google will improve this?

Here's the article link: Galaxy Nexus review

 

[elvisgp]

While it is inconsistent, its really not three much of a problem. All u have to do is look for the menu button. If u can't do that then u are very lazy.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[raremage]

In fairness, the OP makes a good point. In general I like many of the interface decisions but that doesn't mean it is not disjointed.

Expecting consistency is not laziness!

 

[Jet300]

While it is inconsistent, its really not three much of a problem. All u have to do is look for the menu button. If u can't do that then u are very lazy.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Yeah. For real. Your either look at the top right or lower right for the menu dots. Really really tough, I know. As more apps become optimized for ICS the experience will become more "consistent" and then people will find something new to nitpick or complain about ... :-\

 

[kharrigan]

The review is admittedly biased and compares the UI of ICS to that of apps. It expects that the UI to be consistent with all apps, but ICS isn't... yet.

The UI is new and breaks from both Gingerbread and Honeycomb. Again, the UI is new. It is consistent within itself, but hasn't been around long enough for the apps to reflect the UI - thus the "inconsistency." It's not a problem, but it is irksome. I'm sure that within 3-6 months, the apps will reflect the ICS UI - or be tweaked with Sense, Blur, and TouchWiz.

IMHO, this isn't a big deal. iOS still has some inconsistency here and there too. Admittedly, the gaps are no where near as large as ICS, but they are still there nonetheless.

 

[Bob61]

You can't change the way UI works for the future if you worry about how apps written for legacy OS looks. It's great that so many older apps still work quite well with the new Android 4.0 OS, pretty good design.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[jdmiphone]

It's not a problem, but it is irksome. I'm sure that within 3-6 months, the apps will reflect the ICS UI - or be tweaked with Sense, Blur, and TouchWiz.

I like how you said that. I do hope that Apps reflect that cause for me it's a bit annoying.

 

[kenyee]

I like how you said that. I do hope that Apps reflect that cause for me it's a bit annoying.

It's another one of those fragmentation problems for developers. If you want to make your app work across all versions of Android so you don't have to maintain multiple versions, you need to code for the lowest common denominator or try running code only for ICS if needed. It's pretty ugly.

Apple's version of this is they force all app writers to use the latest/greatest version of iOS (which of course you can only develop for if you run the latest/greatest OSX) before you can upload any updates to the Apple iTunes store. It's pretty much a forced upgrade.
They also force upgrades on all their iphone users or ditch the old ones e.g., an iPhone 2G or 3G can't run the latest iOS, so they can't upgrade/install newer apps. There are a lot more Android users stuck on old versions of Android.

So that's what's going on...two different philosophies...developer's headache.

 

[FrankXS]

It's another one of those fragmentation problems for developers.

Yeah... but... it's really no different than the Microsoft verses Apple PC battle. How many times have you seen "requires Windows XP or above, Vista or above, XP w/service pack 4 or above"? While new MAC apps just don't run on old OSs. The only real difference is how many "updates" any given vendor has put out there.

So, philosophically, to me, you just have to ask yourself, do I prefer more OS updates or less OS updates.

Just my thoughts.

-Frank

 

[xxmariolxx]

It doesn't bother me at all but that should be fixed after all apps are pics optimized

 

[dammitcubs]

I should do a review. I mean, i have had an iphone for every launch and understand the pros and cons.

At the end of the day, I don't think Android is better but it's different. I went to Android and Galaxy Nexus because after 4 years, its time for a change. And it was a very welcomed change. Also, I feel I have a person who can truly understand the pros and cons of both ecosystems without being biased. All tech heads should use products for a long period of time before bashing.

As much as I actually kinda dissapointed and I think the hype was greater than the phone. The phone grew on me. I learned to cope with the cons and exploit the pros further. The more and more I use that screen and the more I use ICS plus LTE makes me never regret giving up my GS2 and sprint. It also makes me never regret trying Android while selling my iphone4.

GN is a very good phone. It's not perfect, but give me a phone that is...

 

[anon(21022)]

It's another one of those fragmentation problems for developers. If you want to make your app work across all versions of Android so you don't have to maintain multiple versions, you need to code for the lowest common denominator or try running code only for ICS if needed. It's pretty ugly.

No, because the Android developer guidelines deal exactly with that particular issue, how to code an application properly so that it looks at home on 2.x AND on 4.x. Like others said, it'll take a while for app developers to update (if they bother at all, but those who won't bother will see their apps diminish in popularity surely as more and more phones are released with ICS). (as far as I know, I haven't delved deeply in Android app development but I did skim over the document in question on the Android developers' blog/site)

Keep in mind at the moment, ICS is only available on two phone models, which aren't available everywhere on every carrier (yet). But I did notice a lot of "what's changed" in the Market app descriptions mention "ICS compatibility"...

I have a GB phone and a Froyo phone (both Sharp-made Japanese models) and an ICS phone (Nexus S).

Let me tell you the whole fragmentation argument is overhyped, because all of my apps work on all 3 phones, and they work very well. Some of them do appear differently on my Nexus S, because they have been updated to work with ICS's new UI/UX paradigms. Yet the apps look at home on Froyo and Gingerbread too... And often these ICS-optimized apps will even show the top-left app icon that acts as a go back button, as well as the search icon on top... Making apps way more consistent accross those 3 different versions of Android.

Yeah if you take into account all the apps, some that look ICS-ized and some that don't, you can probably cry fragmentation all you want, then again not even iOS has 100% consistency between apps, not OS X, not Windows... Thing is, Google is slowly steering developers and OEMs in the right direction without betraying their own ideals of "Android is open, let's see what people make out of it, and we can even take back good ideas into stock Android; everyone benefits".

(as an example of that last sentence.. the text selection/copy/paste that came up in Gingerbread - or was it Froyo? - didn't originate from Google... HTC Sense phones used that exact same system much before, and I'm guessing Google liked how it worked and implemented it, thus freeing up HTC from having to code it so now everyone can come up with more, better ideas! I like it, despite the chaos)

soooo... overblown argument.



Patrix.

 

[Johnly]

Nice and informative.....I agree for the most part....but I think that article swings for Apple to much. My nexus experience was better and the "roads" were just as good though different. Ultimately I think a apple does a better job.

 

[milominderbinde]

I think that Search is as big an issue. 400,000 apps are out there. Developers assumed that phones would have a Menu and Search button. Now they don't. Many apps have to be re-written to accommodate no physical Search/Menu buttons.