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Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

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Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#91

Post by commandar »

Zev wrote: post #77
commandar wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applications on iOS aren't allowed to touch storage outside of their own data store or the photo roll. Some developers used to backdoor around this by passing data via the photo roll, but Apple started denying app approval for this a while back.

Some developers used to backdoor around this by passing data via the photo roll I've never heard of an app that did that. Can you name some?

I got it slightly wrong, it seems. Devs were using the photo roll as a way around the lack of USB mass storage support on the iPhone.[1] It's the Address Book that some devs have used to pass data between apps.[2]

[1] http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/02/apple-stanza-usb/

[2] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/220630/how-to-share-custo...

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#92

Post by 5teev »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #67
5teev wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You say "iPhone users tend not to know a whole lot about how the phone works deep inside, and whether by necessity or curiosity, Android users do." I don't think that is true. Most Android users have no idea how their phone works inside. They are not techies, they are just smartphone users. Most people have no idea what a computer does inside. Don't think that all Android users are techies because many on HN are.

I don't mean hardcore, nuts and bolts stuff, just that they're more involved with managing how the operating system behaves. And I'm not saying this, I was inferring from Gruber, who notes how many task managers, etc., are the most popular apps.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#93

Post by smhinsey »

shib71 wrote: post #83
smhinsey wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah, that seems like a fair assessment. One big win Locale has (unique at least as far as I can tell) is that it has a plugin API, so you'll find it can integrate with a few other apps.

Using Locale has made a huge difference to me. My set up is that I have two major modes, plugged in and unplugged. When I'm in plugged in mode, it turns on bluetooth and wifi, connects to my bluetooth speakerphone, and sends notifications to Android Notifier which I have running on most of my PCs. This allows me to have my ringer off and get an IM-style Growl notification when someone calls or texts, which is awesome for work. The unplugged mode is basically a typical cellphone configuration.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#94

Post by jwhitlark »

elblanco wrote: post #79

Android is the killer app.

With the Intent system, this is quite literally true. Android is much more in line with the unix "small, sharp tools" philosophy, while iOS apps seem like they would fall victim to Zawinski's Law. AFAIK, in iOS you interact with yourself or the OS, while on Android, you can interact with anyone who registers an intent.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#95

Post by 5teev »

callahad wrote: post #82
5teev wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Not all applications embed a UIWebView, and many that do also offer opening in Safari as an option. There are also between-app communications like Twitter's "Save Draft to Birdhouse..." or sending addresses to the Maps application. Not as flexible as the workflows you describe in Android, to be sure, but in that data is being passed between its apps, I believe it was overly broad to describe iOS as focusing only on "bite-sized" and "self-contained" apps.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#96

Post by ralphc »

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…

Forget PDAnet, 2.2 has a mobile hotspot built in. Also, Connectbot has SSH tunneling and Fennec (not in an app store, but you cab install it anyway) has a proxy plugin, no worries about Firesheep - try that on iOS. Reading this on my Galaxy Tab, BTW.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#97

Post by lusis »

I'd rather ask a different question.

Who the hell cares? Seriously. Why is all this attention being paid to Android by various Apple-centric/Apple-leaning outlets?

I'm not trying to be combative. If iOS is the superior platform then why keep drawing attention to something that, in your opinion, is inferior?

Technically speaking Android and iOS are fairly even in features. Android has some things that iOS doesn't and iOS has some things that Android doesn't. It's pretty much a wash. What it boils down to is what people want to use.

I use android because I honestly prefer the interface and interactions over iOS, it ties better into my Google-centric workflow and I'm a geek. Apple isn't losing a sale to me because I don't like what they have to offer.

All the arguments over which is better are entirely over subjective aspects. iPhone/iOS looks prettier. Android has better notification handling. These are all fairly end-user perspectives.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#98

Post by Zev »

commandar wrote: post #91
Zev wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some developers used to backdoor around this by passing data via the photo roll I've never heard of an app that did that. Can you name some?

I got it slightly wrong, it seems. Devs were using the photo roll as a way around the lack of USB mass storage support on the iPhone.[1] It's the Address Book that some devs have used to pass data between apps.[2] [1] http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/02/apple-stanza-usb/ [2] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/220630/how-to-share-custo...

Still wondering what apps uses that trick, and which ones have gotten rejected for trying to use it ;)

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#99

Post by thwarted »

bitsm wrote: post #42

As I read it, what Gruber's exploring is the idea that it's the app store ("app console") that matters now, not the OS. Every week seems to bring another article about how Android is kicking ass in market penetration, but who really benefits outside of the carriers who get a free OS for their phones? The Android market is so fragmented that these market stats are meaningless. Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple has been incr…

You can't even view the iTunes store without iTunes.

Re: Where Are the Android Killer Apps?

#100

Post by StavrosK »

zzzmarcus wrote: post #24
Tichy wrote: post #4

Funny, my impression is that all the useful apps tend to be on Android. For example, I use Google Talk a lot, as it saves costs for sending SMS. I keep begging my iPhone 4 friend to use it, but he never even comments. I am not sure if it is not available on iPhone (multitasking problem?), or if he just doesn't care enough. Alternatively Twitter DMs are free, too. What am I missing out on by staying on Android (except…

Well, the games are pretty big. I don't play any PC or Console games but I've somehow amassed about 30 games on my iPhone, very few on my Nexus One though. Apart from that though, what I miss from the iPhone when I'm using my Android phone are OmniFocus, GoodReader/iBooks (I haven't found an Android PDF reader that comes close), GuitarToolkit, TabTookit, OmniTuner, MobileRSS (again, haven't found a close competitor o…

There's a tuner called gStrings that looks very good, but I haven't had a chance to try it in action yet.
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