Well now that they released their SDK, it definitely is more open to the public. At least, that was my understanding.
Android from a webOS Perspective - Smartphone Round Robin Contest Thread
- Thread starter Dieter Bohn
- Start date
- Status
AZbear
Well-known member
It's harder to make rich and beautiful applications on Android. We have functional, but not aesthetically pleasing apps. From what I recall the Pre had some very nice and clean applications. Just not very many of them 
I think the aesthetics side of Android Applications are purely the remit of the developers, and not a problem with the platform at all.
Both Beautiful Widgets and Weather Widgets - Donate are rather gorgeous, so it is not a platform issue at all. Some application developers really need to raise their game in Android somewhat.
Phil.
Both Beautiful Widgets and Weather Widgets - Donate are rather gorgeous, so it is not a platform issue at all. Some application developers really need to raise their game in Android somewhat.
Phil.
But what makes the developers on the Android fail at aesthetics. I realize that the Apple OS is a completely closed OS that requires scrutiny from Apple in order to make it happen. But why is WebOS so much prettier then Android apps-wise?
I'm not too much of a technical person, so what 'open source' means confuses me. From everything I've seen on Precentral, I have to agree with you, Palm pretty much says go for it. But perhaps I just don't understand what open source means.
I think it might be the fact that webOS has an app approval process also (doesn't it?). That or the programs make themselves pretty thanks to the SDK, unlike android...
HardcorePooka
Active member
Open Source is a little more involved than just having the source code open so that people can "have at it". The GPL (General Product License) v2&3 sets conditions that ensure the openness of the software, and gives a very healthy set of rights and permissions to the user.
The great advantage of a company like Google (or Red Hat, or Canonical / Ubuntu) in having open source platforms for the majority of their software is that the OSS community will get on board with programming and bug squashing. It is through Fedora Core and the community's involvement with its development that goes into the bulk of the programming for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which in turn Red Hat sells support packages for (RHEL can be downloaded for free, it's the support from Red Hat that costs money). It is mostly through the Debian and Ubuntu communities that Canonical is able to constantly update Ubuntu, which in turn feeds back into the community with Kubuntu, Edbuntu, and Ubuntu Studio.
Conversely, it is through the Open Source Software community that Google and other companies are able to develop the Android platform for mobile devices from Android Phones to eReaders and even some netbooks.
The primary advantage of Open Source Software for the end user is freedom of choice and openness of the source code, while the primary advantage for the companies is the fast development cycles at little or no cost and constant vigilance on the bug squashing end of things.
It is a win / win situation for both parties.
Phil.
The great advantage of a company like Google (or Red Hat, or Canonical / Ubuntu) in having open source platforms for the majority of their software is that the OSS community will get on board with programming and bug squashing. It is through Fedora Core and the community's involvement with its development that goes into the bulk of the programming for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which in turn Red Hat sells support packages for (RHEL can be downloaded for free, it's the support from Red Hat that costs money). It is mostly through the Debian and Ubuntu communities that Canonical is able to constantly update Ubuntu, which in turn feeds back into the community with Kubuntu, Edbuntu, and Ubuntu Studio.
Conversely, it is through the Open Source Software community that Google and other companies are able to develop the Android platform for mobile devices from Android Phones to eReaders and even some netbooks.
The primary advantage of Open Source Software for the end user is freedom of choice and openness of the source code, while the primary advantage for the companies is the fast development cycles at little or no cost and constant vigilance on the bug squashing end of things.
It is a win / win situation for both parties.
Phil.
AZbear
Well-known member
Okay. Let me continue the confusion. Going back to why Android apps are so ugly (and as a side note, Blackberry apps are even uglier) when the WebOS apps are not. I realize that Google has NO approval process and I think Palm has a small one, but does making the platform open source really make the apps ugly? Like the people who make the Facebook app for Palm or for Apple, do they do the Facebook app for Google? And is THAT app ugly?
If the FB app isn't ugly, I would imagine that the reason their ugly is solely due to laziness of the developers and the lack of any approval process from Google (even a small one) but if it is ugly, I would imagine it has something to engrained in the actual code and OS itself to create an aesthetically unappealing interface.
I remember reading (perhaps from this forum, but maybe not) how Apple said that Google is the best at handling data but horrible at creating aesthetics while Apple is the opposite. Apple has designers who can code. Google has coders who are trying to design.
If the FB app isn't ugly, I would imagine that the reason their ugly is solely due to laziness of the developers and the lack of any approval process from Google (even a small one) but if it is ugly, I would imagine it has something to engrained in the actual code and OS itself to create an aesthetically unappealing interface.
I remember reading (perhaps from this forum, but maybe not) how Apple said that Google is the best at handling data but horrible at creating aesthetics while Apple is the opposite. Apple has designers who can code. Google has coders who are trying to design.
- Android is open source, webOS is not. Yet it seems to me that maybe webOS is more accessible and therefore more 'open' even though it's not technically open source.
Palm is trying to make it as easy as possible for developers of all kinds which if they are successful has many of the advantages of open source. The key will be can they draw in the numbers like Android has done.
- I see Pros and Cons to the notification systems on both webOS and Android. I like Android's "clear all" button, but I also like the ability to dismiss notifications one-by-one on webOS. Do you have a preference?
I'd like to see both options on one device or something similar.
- Do you use a task manager app on Android? Which Android phone do you have? Is a task manager necessary?
Droid - not sure a task manager is necessary.
- How do you rate the various touchscreen keyboards on Android?
I think they are pretty good although there is room for improvement.
- Does the fact that different Android phones have different versions of the OS bother you?
It would bother me more if my phone was lagging several others. From a user perspective, I don't care as long as I can get the key features I need on a timely basis.
- Is Android accessible to the average, non-geek user. I think the answer is yes... but how could it be better?
More education and pr about its abilities.
Palm is trying to make it as easy as possible for developers of all kinds which if they are successful has many of the advantages of open source. The key will be can they draw in the numbers like Android has done.
- I see Pros and Cons to the notification systems on both webOS and Android. I like Android's "clear all" button, but I also like the ability to dismiss notifications one-by-one on webOS. Do you have a preference?
I'd like to see both options on one device or something similar.
- Do you use a task manager app on Android? Which Android phone do you have? Is a task manager necessary?
Droid - not sure a task manager is necessary.
- How do you rate the various touchscreen keyboards on Android?
I think they are pretty good although there is room for improvement.
- Does the fact that different Android phones have different versions of the OS bother you?
It would bother me more if my phone was lagging several others. From a user perspective, I don't care as long as I can get the key features I need on a timely basis.
- Is Android accessible to the average, non-geek user. I think the answer is yes... but how could it be better?
More education and pr about its abilities.
I feel that the platform cannot be blamed entirely for the lack of good aesthetics on Android applications, as with recent iterations of Android (1.5 cupcake and above) the ability to make rather gorgeous applications has been there, but only a few applications have development teams that understand the graphical capabilities of the Android platform, notions of aesthetics underlining form and function, and the ability to bring the two together.
Again, we only have to look at applications like Beautiful Widgets to see what can be done when the developer understands aesthetics as well as coding and puts the two together in perfect harmony. And, unfortunately, we also have plenty of examples of applications that are so basic as to be hideously ugly (like the many dice roller applications you can get for free).
The aesthetic qualities of market applications has little to do with Google staff coders, as the vast majority of Android applications are made by third parties - it is purely in the hands of those who make the applications.
I am all for encouraging application developers to think far more deeply about the aesthetics of the applications they release, but as many of them are free, there is no incentive for them to bother. Conversely, those that are for sale tend to be the ones whereby the most effort has been put into them, both in coding, and in the UI design (there are also some free applications that are well designed like PandaHome, but these exceptions are there to further illustrate the general rule that without an actual incentive few free applications are going to bother much with aesthetics).
Unless we who desire nice looking applications start rating them on the Android Market in terms of how they look as well as function, I cannot honestly see much future change there.
Phil.
Again, we only have to look at applications like Beautiful Widgets to see what can be done when the developer understands aesthetics as well as coding and puts the two together in perfect harmony. And, unfortunately, we also have plenty of examples of applications that are so basic as to be hideously ugly (like the many dice roller applications you can get for free).
The aesthetic qualities of market applications has little to do with Google staff coders, as the vast majority of Android applications are made by third parties - it is purely in the hands of those who make the applications.
I am all for encouraging application developers to think far more deeply about the aesthetics of the applications they release, but as many of them are free, there is no incentive for them to bother. Conversely, those that are for sale tend to be the ones whereby the most effort has been put into them, both in coding, and in the UI design (there are also some free applications that are well designed like PandaHome, but these exceptions are there to further illustrate the general rule that without an actual incentive few free applications are going to bother much with aesthetics).
Unless we who desire nice looking applications start rating them on the Android Market in terms of how they look as well as function, I cannot honestly see much future change there.
Phil.
Does the fact that different Android phones have different versions of the OS bother you?
nope, as long as the os on the phone I got works and most apps in the market work on the phone I have.
nope, as long as the os on the phone I got works and most apps in the market work on the phone I have.
I haven't had any real time with the WebOs but from what I've seen it has a lot of potential and the UI and multitasking ablities exceed every phone except for the N900 but that's another story also that a pretty high praise. I haven't checked out any development on the WebOs but it seems to be headed it a great direction and 3D games on it will rival the iphone.
1. Open source not so much what you think even on android and its obvious some limitations exist on any platform but what is being done for Android & WebOs is for the better but I'd say its more in Android favor when it comes to updated considering in a short year how so much has been changed.
2. The notification panel works amazingly well on both platforms and its mostly person perference but there is no need to clear a specific notification IMO on android when you tap it it will take you to it clearing it from the panel but I do get your point there should be a little more flexibilty with it.
3. I own the best task manager and that would be Advance Task Manager but its only neccessary up to an extent which would be having more control over what's running in the background. I have a gripe with multitasking on android although its good it allows no real control, you have to hold down the home button to view the 6 most recent apps which is fine but why not allow that to be all running apps and allow you to kill them? I bet it will be improved on but back on topic. Its really only needed for all android phones that aren't the Nexus being how android is limited to poor hardware specs but memory management is great.
4. Touch screen keyboard are getting better but the lack of multitouch there is hurting it but HTC Keyboard, Betterkeyboard, and swype all are helping in that area but one thing that needs to be available as well is swipe genstures on the stock keyboard to make it easier on the end user.
5. The gap will be closed soon regarding different OS versions on different handsets but when you start laying your own skin on top of android that's how problems like this occur but every phone is getting 2.1 except the HTC Dream (G1) which is what I currently have but thanks to the amazing devs we have live wallpapers and more from 2.1
6. Its very user friendly and it could be much better in terms of the UI which is basically eye candy, 2.1 does a good job of improving on this but the biggest complaint is out of all the updates and revisions the only thing that still the same is the barebone music player which better be updated soon and it does work well it just leaves a lot to be desired when compared to HTC Sense UI. I would like to see other improvements with multitasking, Market, browser, video player layout and some other SDK related type stuff.
1. Open source not so much what you think even on android and its obvious some limitations exist on any platform but what is being done for Android & WebOs is for the better but I'd say its more in Android favor when it comes to updated considering in a short year how so much has been changed.
2. The notification panel works amazingly well on both platforms and its mostly person perference but there is no need to clear a specific notification IMO on android when you tap it it will take you to it clearing it from the panel but I do get your point there should be a little more flexibilty with it.
3. I own the best task manager and that would be Advance Task Manager but its only neccessary up to an extent which would be having more control over what's running in the background. I have a gripe with multitasking on android although its good it allows no real control, you have to hold down the home button to view the 6 most recent apps which is fine but why not allow that to be all running apps and allow you to kill them? I bet it will be improved on but back on topic. Its really only needed for all android phones that aren't the Nexus being how android is limited to poor hardware specs but memory management is great.
4. Touch screen keyboard are getting better but the lack of multitouch there is hurting it but HTC Keyboard, Betterkeyboard, and swype all are helping in that area but one thing that needs to be available as well is swipe genstures on the stock keyboard to make it easier on the end user.
5. The gap will be closed soon regarding different OS versions on different handsets but when you start laying your own skin on top of android that's how problems like this occur but every phone is getting 2.1 except the HTC Dream (G1) which is what I currently have but thanks to the amazing devs we have live wallpapers and more from 2.1
6. Its very user friendly and it could be much better in terms of the UI which is basically eye candy, 2.1 does a good job of improving on this but the biggest complaint is out of all the updates and revisions the only thing that still the same is the barebone music player which better be updated soon and it does work well it just leaves a lot to be desired when compared to HTC Sense UI. I would like to see other improvements with multitasking, Market, browser, video player layout and some other SDK related type stuff.
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
- Question
Trending Posts
-
[Chatter] "Where everybody knows your name ..."
- Started by zero neck
- Replies: 53K
-
-
Question Verizon unlocked, international dual sim
- Started by Michael Palyszeski
- Replies: 2
-
News Does it help to force close apps on your phone?
- Started by AC News
- Replies: 0
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram