I really like the Google+ app, it's lovely.
Android can be beautiful
91–100 of 163 posts
Re: Android can be beautiful
#92These seem really inconsistent to me. Feedly looks almost like a metro (sorry, "Windows 8-style") app. doubleTwist looks like an iOS app, as do Square Card Reader and Tumblr. Reddit Sync Pro seems to fit in with Google+, so I assume that's what modern Android apps are supposed to look like. None of these general aesthetics are bad, but the inconsistency seems to be an issue. (Actually, a few of them do look bad to me…
It's funny you mention that. I just got through looking at ubermusic which is almost an exact clone of (or, if you prefer, heavily inspired by) the Zune software for Windows Phone.
Heavily inspired would be sarcastic in this case.
http://gadgetix.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Uber-Music-fo...
Re: Android can be beautiful
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish Google would force manufacturers to stop using the 320x240 resolution. The browsing experience is very poor on such a resolution, unless you're using Opera Mini perhaps, and I imagine it's hard for developers to refit their apps for such a small resolution, too, as even menu text will take a lot of space on that resolution. I also wish they mandated everyone has at least 512 MB of RAM in their phones, and at l…
I kind of doubt that users of low-end phones know what Android is or know what they're missing. It's not like they're downgrading from an iPhone, they're probably upgrading from a feature phone. And even the worst Android phone is much nicer than that. Eventually they will upgrade to a nice Android phone, and will enjoy the enhanced user experience. But cost does matter to some people, and although browsing at 320x24…
This may be. However its not good for the android app ecosystem today.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought you were talking about the actual meaning of taps and swipes and whatnot... that's what I was referring to the as "tactile" part of it, where things like long presses and swipes mean the same thing between apps. In terms of visual style, there has been significant change over the last 18 months as designers come to grips with the new 4.0 style. Both iOS and Android tend to suffer from the problem of "What t…
Well, the meaning of taps and swipes is part of the consistency issue. Interaction is more than just "what does swipe do?". It's also "how do I go back?", "how do I take an action on this item?", "how do I change context?". I personally don't run into a ton of issues in iOS with determining what swipes vs long-presses vs long-taps do. Swipes in a list tend to invoke the "delete" context. Swipes up/down scroll. Tap to…
> I can't speak to how consistent or inconsistent these are on Android, because I haven't used an Android device enough to really know.
They are pretty consistent. Swipe to delete in a newer action, but other than that most things tend to have similar functionality. I have mainly used 2.3 and I think I never had issues with finding UI elements. Options button helps when nothing else does.
Back button does have issues at places (browsers mostly) but it eventually takes you where you want to go. I shifted to ICS 4.0 very recently and experience is even better.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#95It's good to see that Android is improving in this area. And I say that as an Apple "fanboi". That said, it is unfortunate that the ecosystem still suffers from heavy fragmentation, so only a small portion of users will be seeing the benefits mentioned in the article.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a way to see how the fragmentation (most important for me: screen size) is at this moment? I've got a low end android phone (Galaxy Mini) which works well but I can't install a lot of stuff (Path comes to mind) because of screen resolution. I think the mobile OS market is going to end looking somewhat similar to the PC OS market, but changing Windows for Android. The market share race is impossible for Apple…
I wish Google would force manufacturers to stop using the 320x240 resolution. The browsing experience is very poor on such a resolution, unless you're using Opera Mini perhaps, and I imagine it's hard for developers to refit their apps for such a small resolution, too, as even menu text will take a lot of space on that resolution. I also wish they mandated everyone has at least 512 MB of RAM in their phones, and at l…
Wouldn't high end mandates just lead to the low end being dominated by forks?
Wouldn't that be worse for (1) customers, (2) android's reputation and (3) Google?
Re: Android can be beautiful
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
The page is going off the right edge of my browser, and I can find no way to scroll see it. Call it what you want.
There's a horizontal scrollbar per photoset just below the photo's. I'm guessing this was designed by someone with a multitouch trackpad. I know I tend to forget not everyone else has 2 finger scroll at their fingertips, I've had to get into a habit of having a test run using a mouse when I put together pages.
I see them now. I missed them because they don't look like scroll bars. I don't even know what 2 finger scroll is. I usually scroll with my mouse wheel. To scroll horizontally, I click the middle mouse button. These scroll bars seem not to support that.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#98It's comical/ironic how difficult that site is too browse.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish Google would force manufacturers to stop using the 320x240 resolution. The browsing experience is very poor on such a resolution, unless you're using Opera Mini perhaps, and I imagine it's hard for developers to refit their apps for such a small resolution, too, as even menu text will take a lot of space on that resolution. I also wish they mandated everyone has at least 512 MB of RAM in their phones, and at l…
I kind of doubt that users of low-end phones know what Android is or know what they're missing. It's not like they're downgrading from an iPhone, they're probably upgrading from a feature phone. And even the worst Android phone is much nicer than that. Eventually they will upgrade to a nice Android phone, and will enjoy the enhanced user experience. But cost does matter to some people, and although browsing at 320x24…
I'm a hacker news user, and I have a cheap phone with a 320x240 single-touch screen and keyboard. I don't see what's so bad about browsing the web on it, I can certainly access HN fine enough.
Re: Android can be beautiful
#100Android is no longer an ugly-duckling platform trying to catch up with iOS, but a beautiful platform that truly rivals iOS in all important ways -- and now surpasses it in terms of market share. However, mobile app developers have only recently begun to transition from "we need an app for Android too, quick!" to "we need great apps for both Android and iOS," so it will take a little while for all those ugly, hastily-…
Is there a way to see how the fragmentation (most important for me: screen size) is at this moment? I've got a low end android phone (Galaxy Mini) which works well but I can't install a lot of stuff (Path comes to mind) because of screen resolution. I think the mobile OS market is going to end looking somewhat similar to the PC OS market, but changing Windows for Android. The market share race is impossible for Apple…
This was done some months ago http://opensignalmaps.com/reports/fragmentation.php