Google Android Is Already Getting Confusing en-us Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500 Sat, 12 Jul 2014 12:50:04 -0400 Dan Frommer mike Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:23:27 -0500 who uses the word retarded? are there 5th graders on this site??? Stu Duncan Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:08:26 -0500 No, it's a problem for anyone who WRITES an application for the different phones that have different versions of interaction enabled. Say I write a photo editor. One action is to zoom in to do touch up. Now, how do I program it when: 1. Some OS versions don't have multitouch pinch&zoom. 2. Some phones don't have multitouch pinch&zoom. 3. Some OS version HAVE multitouch pinch&zoom, but some phones using it DON'T. You get confusion on both the user/owner side, and the developer side. Which is the whole point of the article. SE Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:15:21 -0500 Quote: "The worry: That inconsistencies among phones will continue to grow. And that it won't just be confusing to consumers, but could be a roadblock to developers writing apps for Android. That is something Google can't afford." I think it's important to think through to Google's end goal. Which is specifically to : Provide more people access to the web via there mobile phone. This is done by making the OS cheaper for the phone manufacturers so they can concentrate there budget on other things. I don't believe Google are trying to "kill the iPhone" - Why would they? It goes against the goal. Google want people using their mobiles to search the web. Also, Google's aim is not to "beat" Apple's Appstore. Again - why bother? The revenue is nothing. To get a clearer understanding of why Google developed Android and Chrome OS for that matter have a look at this article from Joel Spolsky: David Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:15:44 -0500 The history of technology has so far proven that no open-source UI has become commercially successful. Consistency is the one factor that many people overlook in a UI success. I think the assumption that open-source is always better, is wrong for UI ... this was proven with Linux Desktop, the average joe doesnt know or care that he can have 5 different dialog boxes that do the same thing. UI created by dictators ... . Original Macintosh . Windows 3.x . OSX UI created by committees ... . Gnome . KDE . Symbian Also, Google do not seem to using Android to 'destroy' the Apple iPhone ... this is clearly evident in them putting maps on the iPhone, the one crucial feature that would have provided a huge selling advantage against the iPhone. iturds Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:20:16 -0500 This is where I surprise everybody and I will not be a "WANKER"... I have said before and said again that if they put the iphone I would get one.. but after the experience I have had with AT&T on corporate levels for 2 large communications companies that I would never give AT&T a dime of my own personal money. Did you know that AT&T acted as a collection agent for a lot of the old offshore 1-900 #'s, I had removed a virus off of one of my clients PC's got infected when their son downloaded a "porn dialer" .. this was in pre-broadband days. the dialer would then call out on the modem to a offshore 1-900 # at around 3:00 am every morning and stay connected to rack up charges. The bill for this older couple in retirement for that month came up to over $5,000 and AT&T acting as the collecting agent would not cut them a break when they complained about the bill and had their phone cut off. Only after the couple contacted the state's attorney general would AT&T even talk to them about a compromise. The couple ended up having to pay half of the bill in payments to AT&T to get their phone restored. Really shitty. OK finished ranting. ronr Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:29:18 -0500 What do you call someone who spends hours designing a reply including the same old lame cliches. That have been thrown around for years? Some people really like Apple products. Like some people really like Converse shoes. It's not that big a deal. Get over it. Kirk Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:11:18 -0500 @Bob From Boise: How ironic that you're trying to make the argument that this isn't confusing while you're own comment seems to highlight the fact that you yourself are confused. "Droid" is not simply a phone manufactured by Motorola... there is also the "Droid" Eris by HTC running the older 1.5 version of Android. "Droid" is a marketing term being use by VZW for their Android phones. RattyUK Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:37:23 -0500 gosh you go a long way to prove you are a wanker! Sheriff Buford T. Justice Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:23:00 -0500 If she was a real woman she would need 6 D batteries not 4 AA. Dan Frommer Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:16:29 -0500 What? jk Dan Wins! Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:06:31 -0500 Ha - Dan obviously saw the very active Droid vs iPhone post on Techcrunch from a few days ago (over 490 comments and still churning) and wanted some of that luv. Looks like he's getting it. Nothing like an Apple vs. Google post to get the comments spinning ;-) iturds Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:02:27 -0500 Gotta remember you are talking about itards now. 1. itard One who continues to purchase items such as the ipod, and will be purchasing future items such as the iphone because they are mindless sheep. Instead of actually doing research on said items they will wander to the nearest best buy and fork out 400 dollars for an outdated ipod because they don't realize there are other options out there. The itard is so ignorant, that they will ask you if you have an ipod rather than asking if you have an mp3 player. Continuing this trend eventually itard's will believe that music spawns from ipods and owning anything else will be a strange and frightening experience for them. Apple could bring back 8 tracks and these morons would still buy it. itard: "Dude, what kind of ipod is that?" Person with a brain: "It's not an ipod, its a zen, now get away from me you fucking heathen". itard: "Dude, i can't wait for the iphone. Finally i can play music on my phone!". Person 2 with a brain: "Yeah, phones have been doing that for about 3 years now. Now quit drooling and get back to making my fries". ipod itard retard fucktard moron slow by roflskates Mar 2, 2007 2. iTard A person obsessed with everything Apple. Usually bashes products online, claiming that Apple’s products are better and then lists a bogus name and email address. They occupy their time by reading and creating hype online about new products that Apple is supposedly going to make and revolutionize the world with. Some of the common products that an iTard will own are an iPhone, iMac, iPod, iBook, MacBook and a pair of stylish emo glasses. They can usually be found at the local Starbucks or Caribou Coffee sporting their Apple products while they bash non-Apple products anonymously online. iTard: “Apple is the most revolutionary company on the face of this planet. They make the highest quality products ever known to man.” Normal Person: “Like the Macintosh Portable, Apple Pippin, Apple Newton MessagePad, Apple Puck Mouse, and the Apple Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh?” iTard: (5 second pause) “Apple is the best!” iphone itard ipod imac ilife ichat apple apple boy by Todd Wintermute Jul 3, 2007 3. iTard One who is oblivious to their surroundings because they are listening to their iPod too loudly. "Hey! iTard! I'm talking to you." ipod itard retard loudly loud speak spoke hear hearing listen mp3 player oblivious by nkr_1234 Dec 3, 2006 4. iTard Someone who stands in line to spends hundreds of dollars on Apple products. Johhny stood in line for three days to buy that new iPhone. He's such an iTard. iphone ipod imac ibook retard by Matt Hallmark Aug 9, 2007 5. iTard A term used to describe the late Generation y and current Gen Z kids that live in an over-simplified on-demand world of instant material, emotional and general gratification. The oversimplification of tasks is especially relevent to what is normally something very complicated. iTards do not have the ability to think for themselves, exhibit no problem solving skills and are unable to do anything unless it involves pressing a single large glassy button. Google is far too complicated for the average iTard, they would rather just ask someone to find something for them. Two computer musicians, one of them is an iTard. The normal person uses whatever software necessary to compose a song, they may spend hours or days going over the minutia to get it just right. an iTard is unable to compose music unless they get a cracked copy of "SuperInstantMusicMaster" from their iTard friends. This, ideally, would be a software consisting of a single button that when pressed would automatically compose and save a top-10 triple platinum song for them. gen y generation y gen z generation z retard i-tard i tard by LJCoffee Apr 18, 2006 6. iTard idiots that have bought in to the marketing campaign that everything Mac is superior. Additionally they remind the rest of us of their gullibility at every opportunity, droning on about how their iMac, iPod, iPhone works better and faster than any other device ever made. Tim told me, again, how superior his iPhone is to every other phone ever made. iTard! mac geek retard tech dork by rufrknkiddnme Jan 11, 2008 7. iTard Someone who is a part of Apple's marketing scheme of false heterosexuality. Owning any Apple hardware automatically associates a person with this group of "gifted" individuals who can do nothing but talk about how great their useless, overpriced piece of shit is. iTards have no sense of reality and therefore often believe they aren't listening to Hanson on their iPod. Do not let any iTards touch electronics you own, as they will likely fuck it up within 5 minutes. iTards are likely to not change their ways, as they are spending their parents' money to be affiliated with a group of douchebags, not to buy an actual product. The best way to take care of an iTard is to spit in their face. iTard: Dude, I just spent two thousand dollars of my parents' money to buy an iPhone and Mac. Neither of them work, but now I feel so cool! Anyone with an IQ above 35: Man, you're such a tool. LOL (real) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:58:53 -0500 Developer doesn't have to worry about each phone being different. They do have to worry about OS version number (at least for the moment). It seems currently the 2.0 doesn't support the pinch zoom while the previous version do. I think we can assume this is only a temporary annoyance. They will add it to 2.0 soon and everyone will be on the same ground. watchdog Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:53:58 -0500 For anyone who owns an Android phone and who expects to get an Android update, it will be most confusing. Exactly what they get will not really match whatever they hear about Android. They'd be best off ignoring all Android news and just rely on their handset mfr (Motorola, HTC, etc), but yet at the same time, they shop for apps at the Android market, where they'll soon have no clue which apps work well with their particular phone (because they don't know what version of Android they have as it was subsumed under the update that came from their handset mfr). It's all kinda hilarious. LOL (real) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:50:38 -0500 Thanks for adding that "fake" to your name. Now people know you are not me! Not that your comments sound much different than mine! Dan's probably going ... "oh shit, another LOL hounding me?" LOL Barry Barnes Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:44:36 -0500 Very true. Imagine if the iPhone was exclusive to Verizon. AT&T would be looking like Sprint. Barry Barnes Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:43:01 -0500 Hi Lisa. Are you mad that the Macintosh took your shine? (Mac people should get it) Barry Barnes Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:41:23 -0500 How dense can ya be... The "platform" is the Android OS, yes. But the OS is supporting different models of phones, with different features. Some can do this, but some can't do that. Capiche? Sumocat Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:09:48 -0500 Actually, "Droid" is the brand name being used by Verizon for their Android phones. The Droid from Motorola is just the first to use the brand, though it's being launched alonside the Droid Eris from HTC. Your confusion over the name seems to indicate it is a bit confusing. RattyUK Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:41:35 -0500 He wasn't talking about Mac fans. He was talking about consistency. If they want to take the iPhone down - which was the whole point of the "i'Don't" commercial - then they have to excel in ease of use. Consistency is like 101 for ease of use. But geeks can't resist adding all sorts of bells and whistles while completely ignoring ease of use. Makes it real hard for real people to use. So you score points for saying Mac fans are dim apparently while completely missing the point of the discussion. Joe in Miami Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:36:06 -0500 I don't think the name will appeal to women. In fact, the only "droid" a woman would buy is one that looks like a phallus and uses 4 AA batteries. Bob From Boise Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:07:08 -0500 The "platform" is the Android OS. The folks at Google can easily remedy this by setting a minimum device standard to which all phones operating Android must meet. Kind of like how my PC needs a minimum level of RAM to operate XP. chuck Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:04:09 -0500 Fanboy Dan's compulsory iphone mentions: 2. Pete F. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:02:28 -0500 But see, that's the problem Dan is pointing out: The OS is supposed to be the same, but it's implemented differently across platforms. Bob From Boise Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:11 -0500 Really? They have to worry about the each phone? I think the developers will only be concerned about compatibility with the OS regardless of device. I mean, do software developers really worry about whether my Windows PC was built by DELL or HP? All they care about is integration and compatibility with my version Windows. Bob From Boise Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:55:27 -0500 "Driod" is a phone manufactured by Motorola which features Google's "Android" mobile OS. This is not confusing. Folks who are buying these things will be able to tell the difference. Dan Frommer Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:13:52 -0500 Could be more challenging for developers, though, who have to be mindful of an ever-growing field of phones, each with its own quirks and inconsistencies. @lisa Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:06:53 -0500 You don't need to be "retarded" to know that this is simply another "iphone killer" that won't ever be an iphone killer. This is not about Mac vs PC. It is about one system that has had pinch on all apps and is easy to use and another that claims to have it - but actually does not. The only thing the iphone has going against it is AT&T. I have both an iphone and a BB on Verizon, and the service on my BB is way better. The retards here are Verizon for passing up the iphone when Apple came to them first. Having the best phone on the best network would have put other carriers out of business where as the best phone on a decent network only steals market share. danfan Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:06:15 -0500 fortunately for the rest of us, confusing dan isn't too difficult ;) Mike Sheeley Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:02:42 -0500 So for both phones Google's built in apps don't support multi-touch yet, but other apps might. ...that's confusing? and how is this fragmented? brad Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:01:44 -0500 Sorry, but personally I think the pinch and zoom sucks. I don't like pinch and zoom. Its too easy for the phone to misread what you want if your other finger bumps the screen etc. I prefer buttons to zoom, that way it stays there while I scroll around by swiping In my opinion pinch and zoom is a gimmick. Erik Schwartz Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:59:37 -0500 This is only an issue for the very few of us who own multiple smartphones. lisa Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:46:17 -0500 This is confusing? How retarded are Mac fans that they find this confusing? masimons Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:31:25 -0500 When I heard they weren't supporting multi touch in the USA,but only abroad, I immediately no longer wanted it. Be consistent. (also the camera is too slow) Henry Blodget Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:28:24 -0500 I don't think this is a problem. People don't switch phones that often. You'll get used to the one you've got in a week or two, and then you'll have it for more than a year. LOL(fake) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:18:50 -0500 Everyone should throw away their phones and just buy iPhone right dan? RattyUK Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:08:51 -0500 "But if you're a Verizon Wireless sales rep, good luck explaining this to your customers" I think that they wouldn't go there. Pete F. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:02:22 -0500 I know this is mainly a hardware, and thus manufacturer issue, but this lends itself to the app standardization across platforms I was talking about before. Ryan Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:01:59 -0500 It becomes even more confusing when you roll in the carrier's own branding efforts. For example, when you buy a "Droid" phone, its a Verizon phone that might come from a variety of manufactures. It used to be when you bought a Blackberry, it was a Blackberry. A Razr came from Motorola. This Droid stuff is going to confuse the consumer.