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This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

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Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#71

Post by robocat »

radley wrote: post #66

I'm going on my 12th device this week and expect at least two more next month. My partner has 6 devices at his place. Part of the problem is Google is releasing OSes faster than devices can keep up, and in a few cases I'm buying simply because the prior's OS is stuck yet I have to satisfy new devices users too. For example, I have Galaxy Tab from IO which is stuck on 3.1, but all new tablets use 4.0 and there's unexp…

> dreaded 1 star reviews

This is very obvious when looking at app ratings - users seem to blame model even if problem is entirely unrelated.

Hell, the Play Store ratings shows the user's model/device name under each user's review... that leads users to quickly blame their model type.

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#72

Post by dannyr »

ktothemc wrote: post #65
dannyr wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The apps I built varies. Some have hundreds, some have 10K+. But you know what's a better example? Netflix. They test on 10 phones & 4 tablets. http://techblog.netflix.com/2012/03/testing-netflix-on-andro... Netflix App has at least 10 million installs - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netflix.me... .

That's for basic testing. The post also says they still keep a long tail set of devices for more comprehensive testing. "We figured out the optimal combination of devices to give us maximum coverage. We are able to reduce our daily smoke automation devices to around 10 phones and 4 tablets and keep the rest for the longer release wide test cycles."

Is it 400 devices? Or are you assuming that to justify your post?

"This was not meant to be a warning for devs to stay away of Android, but doing more extensive QA testing is a reality of the platform."

Your headline & picture suggest otherwise.

Honestly, is this a Techcrunch thing? Before you worked at Techcrunch, I can't remember you writing a post like this. Too much snark and mocking a platform (and hence, a community).

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#73

Post by ricardobeat »

Radix wrote: post #69
ktothemc wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is "process" journalism where we figure it out as we go. I do several stories a day and frankly, the economic model that supports tech blogging today does not sustain a content model where I can write one story per day and interview dozens of sources. What I can do however, is do many stories per day, and consistently talk on background to multiple devs every week about their concerns. QA testing for Android has…

Hey, thanks for joining the discussion! Now, hn, could we please not discourage authors from joining the discussion here? If you hit the down arrow and the post turns grey they really deserve an explanatory post. Even though it's "obvious".

Down votes are clearly out of control on HN, they are not working as a content filter anymore and should be disabled.

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#76

Post by eta_carinae »

ktothemc wrote: post #32
cryptoz wrote: post #2

> You know how all Android developers complain about fragmentation? Yeah, this is what fragmentation looks like. This is some of the most insulting garbage out there. I'm an Android developer. I don't complain about fragmentation. Ever. Don't you dare lump me into a group of people you hear complaining loudly. I'm not one of them! I know it can be hard to get apps to work across all phones. The variety of available h…

Hey, I'm the author of the article and I don't really have an agenda in the Android/iOS platform debate. Both are necessary platforms to build on at this point. Yat also wasn't really complaining about the state of affairs on Android at all. He's happy to QA test with 400 devices and he thinks it's why his company performs well relative to other game developers who don't do as comprehensive a job. I just thought it w…

> Hey, I'm the author of the article and I don't really have an agenda in the Android/iOS platform debate.

Either you are being dishonest about this claim or you are simply a bad reporter who wasn't able to convey her intention in her writing.

Your article is clearly biased against Android, whether you meant it this way or not.

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#77

Post by codeka »

ktothemc wrote: post #63
codeka wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firstly, it's not the headline I'm talking about. The whole tone of the article is "this is what developing for Android is like." Having to test on 400 devices is NOT what developing for Android is like, AT ALL. So you talk to many of the top developers. That's great, how about we hear from a selection of them? How many devices do most of them test on? Taking QA seriously is not the same thing as testing on hundreds…

Actually the developer of two of the top-grossing iOS apps of all of 2011 just sent me photos of their QA testing racks too. They have an overflowing safe that is no longer able to contain all of the Android devices they QA test with...

So I just had a look at the update, and I count 30 Android devices and 26 iOS devices. Obviously there's plenty of doubled-up devices in the iOS cupboard, but it looks like a couple of the Android devices are doubled-up as well.

My own app is tested on 4 devices (three phones and a tablet) and 2 of those devices were given to me by friends. I'm certainly not a top tier developer, but looking at a single developer who tests on 400 devices and saying "this is what developing for Android is like" is simply factually incorrect. Especially when another top tier developer is only testing on 30 devices. And ESPECIALLY when the vast majority of "normal" Android developers test on a handful of devices only.

Maybe it's a competitive advantage to test on 400 devices. But it's not REQUIRED, and it's certainly not NORMAL.

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#78

Post by sparknlaunch12 »

Surely this is a quality assurance exercise of diminishing returns.

Why not test on the must common devices or top device in each main category?

Is fragmentation a real issue? First time I have heard about it. Is this like browser compatibility for web developers?

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#79

Post by follower »

robocat wrote: post #19
cryptoz wrote: post #2

> You know how all Android developers complain about fragmentation? Yeah, this is what fragmentation looks like. This is some of the most insulting garbage out there. I'm an Android developer. I don't complain about fragmentation. Ever. Don't you dare lump me into a group of people you hear complaining loudly. I'm not one of them! I know it can be hard to get apps to work across all phones. The variety of available h…

Thanks for making pressureNET - there wasn't a reading from Christchurch, New Zealand... now there is :-)

Hey, if you're in Christchurch you should join us at our monthly tech dinner group, The Valley in Christchurch:

http://groups.google.com/group/TVIC

Second Thursday of every month, so unfortunately you've missed May's--but sign up to the mailing list now and you'll be reminded for June...

We had seventeen people turn up this month including a bunch of new people so that was encouraging. Apparently the quakes haven't done us in completely. :)

Re: This Is What Developing For Android Looks Like

#80

Post by Mavrik »

pavedwalden wrote: post #45

Some of the comments here have gotten me thinking about access to test devices. I've never worked on android, so I don't know if installation of lots of unfinished software would be logistically sane, but what about meetup groups where local devs could test out each other's beta apps on their phones and tablets?

That actally happens quite alos around here... Those "test" meetups were even sponsored by local service providers and Samsung.
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