Standing Up For Android

Have you taken a look at iOS's podcasting functionality lately? It's the definition of "half baked and seemingly abandoned". Podcasting features were stripped from the iPad music app in iOS5 and podcasts aren't even recognized by Siri (and haven't been recognized by Voice Control since iOS3). It's truly atrocious.

Podcasts are a niche activity anyway and I believe that majority of users on both platforms are highly knowledgeable and quite willing to search for alternate clients. Podcasting clients have also been featured by both Google and Apple in their respective app stores. I personally suspect that the reason for PocketCasts recent revenue surge on Android is because it's currently one of the highlighted apps in Google's Android Market.

Ask TeleNav's revenue split between iOS and Android.

iTunes is the mothership of all podcasts, while on iOS podcast lacks serious features still it works and that's most people need.

"I can’t afford to invest months of development time into learning the platform and making an Android app, then supporting and maintaining it in parallel with my iOS app indefinitely, with so many other data points telling me that it almost certainly won’t be worth the investment."

I wish he'd elaborate on these data points. Not doing so, I'd still believe that Marco just hates Android.

I prefer Android. I may be biased, but I don't think by that much. I own an Android phone and I do some Android development. I also own a Mac and an iPod touch, and would get into development on iOS given the time (seriously, "install XCode and get to Hello, World" is actually on my todo for this weekend). I really like all of these devices (my MBP the most though). But I prefer the Android OS for two primary reasons: the back button and the menu button.

When I'm lost in some interface I can usually find my way to what I wanted or find my way out using those buttons. With my iPod Touch, I end up mashing the home button and starting over, which sometimes just doesn't even do what I wanted.

You might say that I am just used to Android, and that's probably true, but I have had the two devices for almost the same amount of time, and use them both daily. I just prefer Android. Yes, iOS is way smoother, the UI is prettier, and the hardware is even nicer in some cases. But when I get lost or struggle with the interface, somehow it really sticks out on iOS. (I should mention that I get frustrated with Android plenty too)

It's the kind of attitude in your last sentence, suggesting that you cannot fathom why anyone would choose the objectively inferior Android OS, that people get annoyed at in these horrible discussions. It boils down to taste, and to suggest that some people's preferences are not true is unfair. (I'm probably doing you a disservice, I'm sure you're not a raving Apple fan. But you know what I mean, I hope)

(I also wrote a long description of an example of getting lost on iOS but it was really long winded so I trashed it. I can explain it if anyone is actually interested though.)

If Marco Arment was serious about Android, he would most likely give up control and outsource development to a talented Android developer. Maybe even one who is employed by Google... I'm sure Google would be more than willing to work closely with Marco, as they did in creating Twitter's app, as Instapaper is a brand. Twitter was supposed to open source the code to their Android app as a condition of the assistance but that commitment got conveniently disregarded.

I wonder why someone from Google's Android team does not officially and publicly extend an offer (as a rebuttal) to help develop Instapaper for Android.