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Sorry, to add in here that while Android’s overall ecosystem is less well-developed than Apple’s, there are still great opportunities to be had for developers that are willing to embrace the platform wholeheartedly.

For example, look at the success that apps like Pocket or Pocketcasts have had on Android. In both cases you had a category of app that was not being well-served by the main incumbents, which were too busy focussing on iOS. Those new players came into the market, they heavily embraced Android UI principles and features, and they delivered a high-quality product. By the time the iOS incumbents in those categories (eg. Instapaper) realised what was happening and belatedly offered Android versions of their own apps, it was too late. The new players were able to completely dominate the Android side of the market.

In short – Android suffers from certain problems that iOS does not have, but it also offers great opportunities for developers that are willing and able to seize them.

5 days ago on Developers Perspective: Why I Choose iOS Over Android 3 recommends

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Whenever I read stuff, I find myself torn:

1. On the one hand, it makes me sad. I know that there are some Android who have high “engagement” with the platform, eg. myself (I’ve probably purchased around 100 apps on the Play Store by this stage). But most of the other Android users I know are not like. My parents, for example, both have Android phones, and neither of them have ever purchased a single app; they just don’t see the point in spending real money for things that appear on your phone, especially when there are so many free alternatives already available on the Play Store. So I understand where OP is coming from, and it saddens me Android development doesn’t get prioritised as highly as iOS development as a result.

2. That said… I’m not that sad. I don’t actually feel like I’m missing out on some vast untapped reservoir of iOS apps. All my app needs are very well taken care of on Android. And the truth is, most of the best apps on Android are not iOS ports; they are apps made specifically for Android, made by Android enthusiasts, designed to take advantage of Android features and Android design principles. For example, Falcon Pro is far and away my favourite Twitter client on Android, and there is no iOS version at all. The same is true for Pocketcasts 4, for which the iOS version is still in development.

Also, whenever a hyped-up app from iOS does arrive on the platform, I often end up being underwhelmed. For example, I kept hearing stories about how amazing Vine is, and how Android users were so disadvantaged for not having – and now that it’s actually arrived, I can’t see myself actually using it. New social networks tend to launch on iOS first, to be honest ,I kinda feel like I already have enough social networks in my life. If this is the superior ecosystem that iOS users keep bragging about, I’m honestly not all that jealous of it.

So yes, I agree that the Android ecosystem is not as developer-friendly as the iOS ecosystem. That sucks for developers, and I hope it changes soon. As a consumer, however, I feel that the ecosystem is nevertheless healthy enough to provide for all of my need.

5 days ago on Developers Perspective: Why I Choose iOS Over Android 2 replies 2 recommends

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Speed and smoothness.

Project Butter was a decent start, but I really hope Google didn’t just say “job done” after that, because there’s still a long way to go, unfortunately.

9 days ago on Is there anything you want from Windows phone on Android? 1 recommend

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So basically, it’s a study of the effects of technology on world politics, informed by the realist approach to international relations?

I dunno, that seems pretty interesting to me. I want to read it now.

11 days ago on Being cynical: Julian Assange, Eric Schmidt, and the year's weirdest book 1 reply

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Pocket is really awesome, their developers put a lot of effort into creating a good experience on Android, and it regularly gets updated with new features. (I love the new article sharing feature, I use it all the time.)

That said, I do wish that Pocket would add some new fonts. And the way it implements paginated mode irritates me. Still, Pocket all the way.

20 days ago on Readability or Pocket? 2 recommends

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Oop, my bad.

20 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern

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It’s similar to how people who love a particular TV series are much more sensitive to uneven writing or inconsistent characterisation than people who are only casual fans.

In other words, I notice small details like this because I love Android so deeply.

22 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern 1 recommend

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This is my whole point though – the notification tray is fun to play with, while the sidebar menu is not.

I can see the argument that “funness” isn’t the most important to strive for in an interface design, but I don’t see why it should be avoided, provided that it doesn’t harm more important functionality (and in the case of my suggested fix, I don’t see why it would).

22 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern

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I’m pretty sure that the reason it doesn’t work this way is that Google wants to encourage the idea that the sidebar only slides out from the left edge, not from anywhere else on the screen. And the reason they want to do this is avoid creating a conflict between the new sidebar pattern, and the old lateral-swiping-of-tabs pattern.

23 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern

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Of course I’m nitpicking! But is that so bad? Nitpicking can help identify small UI fixes that, cumulatively, make the OS better.

See for example: http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/09/18/ux-things-i-hate-about-android/

23 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern

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Thanks for understanding what I’m getting at. It’s not a huge deal or anything; it’s not going to make me abandon the platform. It’s small annoyance that would have (imho) an easy fix.

23 days ago on The problem with the new "navigation drawer" UI pattern 2 replies 1 recommend

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I wonder if it will be possible to convert a regular S4 into the Google Edition…

27 days ago on I don't want to like the Samsung Galaxy S 4... 2 replies

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Android-first? Interesting.

about 1 month ago on Soundhalo for Android serves up professionally mixed videos as a concert unfolds 2 replies 16 recommends