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Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

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Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#81

Post by elblanco »

callahad wrote: post #28
cheald wrote: post #20

Gruber seems to make the assertion that a platform only has worth based on its exclusive "killer apps". He goes wrong there and never really recovers. Android's strength is not its suite apps, it's its flexibility. It runs on an enormous range of hardware, and doesn't require that you buy into a single vendor's toolchain to use it. The core philosophical difference between the two platforms is "Steve Jobs decides wha…

But you have to admit, there's a cultural divide between Android and iOS. Android is extremely well suited for working, passing data seamlessly between applications, etc. It makes it easy to get things done in the same way you might interact with a desktop computer. iOS, however, takes a different tack, focusing on self-contained, bite-sized apps. You hop into something, use it, then leave. And when you're in that ap…

> iOS, however, takes a different tack, focusing on self-contained, bite-sized apps. You hop into something, use it, then leave.

Right, if you think of the user workflow as a graph, the iOS enforces a kind of star topology on the experience. That's the model it's built on. You start from the homescreen, then jump to an app, then back to the home screen, repeat.

Android is more of a web browser stack model, you jump into an app, that app may launch another app, but you can always hit back and slide one step back, if you hit "back" enough, you end up where you start (or you can shortcut it with the home key). The user workflow graph is more random as people bump around between apps.

It would probably be more appropriate to call Android apps "pages" instead.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#82

Post by callahad »

5teev wrote: post #59
callahad wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you have to admit, there's a cultural divide between Android and iOS. Android is extremely well suited for working, passing data seamlessly between applications, etc. It makes it easy to get things done in the same way you might interact with a desktop computer. iOS, however, takes a different tack, focusing on self-contained, bite-sized apps. You hop into something, use it, then leave. And when you're in that ap…

I don't understand how Android allows you to pass data between applications while iOS does not. I'm under the impression that I can use copy/paste and custom protocols to pass information between applications on my iPhone. Am I missing something? If there's any cultural divide Gruber alludes to, it's that iPhone users tend not to know a whole lot about how the phone works deep inside, and whether by necessity or curi…

When speaking of passing data between applications, I'm specifically thinking of the use cases enabled by Android's intent system. Applications can register their ability to respond to and fulfill certain interactions, and then the OS mediates between them.

Say, for instance, you're in the Twitter app and click on a link. Instead of embedding a UIWebView, the application fires off a message saying it needs something to display a webpage. The OS then looks at the list of applications that can handle that intent and selects the best one available. If you only have one application that can fulfill that intent, it launches and renders the linked page. If you have multiple browsers, Android prompts you, with an option to remember your preference for that intent.

Which means that I can click a link in Twitter and open it in Opera. Or Firefox. Or any third party browser. And then when I open a link in another application, my preferred browser still gets to handle it. The Twitter app doesn't get to own that experience in the same way that it can on iOS, since it's actually backgrounding itself and letting the other application fully handle the task.

This also applies to getting directions, calling people, sending text messages, etc. The necessary data (an address, phone number, or message) is transparently shunted from the first app to the next. That dance greatly weakens the boundaries between applications, but enables some really great workflows.

Similarly, say I'm looking at my photos and I want to share one with someone. I simply hit the "Share" button, and up pops everything that can handle working with an image. In my case: Bluetooth, Messaging (SMS), Picasa, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and Gmail. Even better, were I to get fed up with the official Twitter client and go install Seesmic, it'd also pop up in that list, automatically, and without any changes to the Photo Gallery itself.

Say I install an FTP client. It'll also appear in that list. Google Goggles, too. Any image I can share, I can also send to Goggles for analysis.

As far as I know, there's nothing like this on iOS, but I'd be happy to learn that I'm mistaken.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#83

Post by shib71 »

smhinsey wrote: post #50
shib71 wrote: post #29

There is a killer app for me: Tasker ( http://tasker.dinglisch.net/ ). Being able to set up different configurations of my phone based on where I am, what time it is, what apps I'm running is very useful.

Have you used Locale? I've used it for awhile and haven't seen Tasker before.

I haven't, thanks for pointing it out. A superficial look suggests that Locale is simpler and more polished, while Tasker has a wider range of options.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#84

Post by Raphael »

ericb wrote: post #39
ddlatham wrote: post #27

So he is asking, where are the apps that are available for Android, but not iPhone that meet the following criteria 1. Not made by Google or built-in 2. Popular and well made (no long tail) 3. Don't take advantage of things Android can do but iPhone can't (home screens, notifications, deep integration, background services, etc.) Suppose you had such an app, or were developing one. While Android has passed iOS in new…

In terms of deep integration, anyone know if an Android app can access the phone's text messages? I don't think an iPhone can, right?

Yes, there are many SMS clients, such as Handcent.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#85

Post by callahad »

Estragon wrote: post #72
runjake wrote: post #46

Here's a list to start off with: Any home screen widget, because you can. ConnectBot PDAnet (no shady jailbreak needed) Barcode Scanner My Tracks Swype Google Navigation Google Voice (better than the new iPhone version) Layar Scripting Layer 4 Android Google Speech To Text (Voice Search) Slide Screen Chrome To Phone Dropbox (whoah, not limited by a weird file sandbox!?) Whatever system software that allows you to mou…

Yeah, Scripting Layer 4 Android is what I came over here to say. Why does he distinguish google-developed apps from 3rd party apps? In terms of the "killer-app" criterion, it makes no difference.

It's pretty crazy that Android has a less restricted development model, yet only first party applications seem to have anything approaching design parity with the bulk of third party iOS applications.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#87

Post by elblanco »

Tichy wrote: post #8
Garbage wrote: post #2

"If quantity of app titles were all that mattered, we’d all be using Windows, not Mac OS X, right?" Err... Wait, are we all using Mac OS X?

Also, where are the killer games for OS X?

They used to have them, most of them were made by Adobe.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#88

Post by syllogism »

The real question for me is, why are the Google apps closed source? The easiest way for Google to increase the quality of Android apps is to make development easy by providing great examples of how to do it right. Why can't we look at the code behind the gmail app or the maps app --- they'd all be great tutorials.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#89

Post by dadro »

1. Buy an Android phone on verizon and use for 1 year. 2. Cancel contract and get an Android phone on T-mobile. 3. Sync contacts/emails and never skip a beat.

You get a standardized platform that transcends mobile carriers.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#90

Post by Xuzz »

runjake wrote: post #46

Here's a list to start off with: Any home screen widget, because you can. ConnectBot PDAnet (no shady jailbreak needed) Barcode Scanner My Tracks Swype Google Navigation Google Voice (better than the new iPhone version) Layar Scripting Layer 4 Android Google Speech To Text (Voice Search) Slide Screen Chrome To Phone Dropbox (whoah, not limited by a weird file sandbox!?) Whatever system software that allows you to mou…

I'm not sure what's so "shady" about jailbreaking: the processes is very streamlined, and while you can find malicious software, the Cydia Store is about as curated -- if not more -- than the App Store.
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