android has no design

[Fart King]

the problem with android is that there's no theme. Most iPhone apps have a certain look and most Windows Phone apps have a certain look. With Android apps, they lack consistency.

i've half-way given up on Android apps, honestly. There are only a handful that I use regularly and the rest are just... well... there.

even Android's most useful app, Tasker, is close to getting deleted. the UI on that thing is a total trainwreck. i have no problem figuring it out, but the process is a chore and seriously sucks.

this is why after seeing apps for Wp7, I have more hopes for the platform than I do Android. sure, it's open source and has great utility, but that's where it ends for me. it's just a mess.

devs need to start paying more attention to user interface and user experience. your could have the world's most useful app, but if it lacks polish and feels like a chore to use, then blah.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Oddly enough, people were saying the same thing about BlackBerry a year ago.

The OS as a whole is supposed to get a lot of spit and polish with the release of Gingerbread, from what I understand. We'll all have to wait and see about that though.....well most of us will anyway.

As far as the apps go, Android doesn't have anyone stating that apps have to look, feel and act a certain way to be on the market, that is all left up to the developer. With some of the other OSs mentioned I believe the consistency stems more from a lack of options though than any master plan. The availability of multiple UIs only adds to the overall theme concept. The white, black and now grey status bars makes it even more difficult for a developer to go with a theme.

I have a feeling that an overall look and feel will eventually show itself, but it will probably be one that the users push for and not one that some guy decides to make it.

 

[Bnice]

How many times are you going to start this post KING FART?

 

[Tangent]

"Lack of consistency" to one person is "variety" to another. I for one prefer to not have my phone look just like everyone else's. There have been a few apps that had clunky interfaces, but those have been few and far between for me. The differences between apps is like the differences between dashboard layouts in cars for me. Just because not everything is in the same place doesn't mean I have a problem operating it or think it's stupid that they're different. iPhones and their design philosophy is targeted at people who demand uniformity/conformity. If you need everything to be the same, every time, then maybe the options Android offers are not for you.

 

[dan330]

i agree..

the apps.. should have a more consistent look and feel.
so that is will be more intuitive to use.

but.. I will not say android is a fail because of this!
I do hope it gets better.

Google should give guidance in the way things should look and feel. Do not make it a MUST, but a suggestion. If one developer chooses to do it differently, that is fine. but if another developer does follow the guide, and users like it.. then it will get better ratings.

 

[hyperlite456]

OP created an account and submitted a total of 2 posts. My bet is he either a) just purchased the iphone4 or b) is the son of a phone tech.

Enjoy your new phone OP. Brb, resizing my widgets.



edit: yes, I have 2 posts as well, however post more in another forum

 

[dan330]

OP created an account and submitted a total of 2 posts. My bet is he either a) just purchased the iphone4 or b) is the son of a phone tech.

Enjoy your new phone OP. Brb, resizing my widgets.

everybody was a newbie.. at one point!

 

[lunatic59]

the problem with android is that there's no theme. Most iPhone apps have a certain look and most Windows Phone apps have a certain look. With Android apps, they lack consistency.

Or ....

the beauty of android is that there's no theme. Most iPhone apps have a certain look and most Windows Phone apps have a certain look. With Android apps, they lack the imposed monotony .

 

[Martimus]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder FK! To you it lacks polish but to many others is has a certain unique charm...

 

[IOWA]

Why does everyone want everything to look the same? Borrring. There's that other phone for that.

 

[Fart King]

because a huge part of user experience involves consistency. I mean, im not even talking about apps, but the placement of the hardware keys is different in all android phones. Plus there is no point to the menu button, WP7 is doing just fine without it. its just more confusing to the end user.

 

[Thefoodman52]

because a huge part of user experience involves consistency. I mean, im not even talking about apps, but the placement of the hardware keys is different in all android phones. Plus there is no point to the menu button, WP7 is doing just fine without it. its just more confusing to the end user.

I will agree, having some consistency is nice, but having your phone be totally different in any way you want from the guy sitting next to you is nice to be able to do as well.

Also, from a lot of the trolls, and a few regular users here, I often hear how the menu button in android is bashed on and called 'useless', or even 'tacked on'. I don't quite see how that is, to be totally honest.
On top of cleaning up an interface or providing extra space for functions, its there for a reason. If you hold the menu button, you can force open the virtual keyboard for extraneous text input situations (say... a flash site with an indirect un-clickable text field).
I just can't stress the cleaning up job the menu button provides access to either. You can take 4-8 options or buttons, and comfortably hide them in a pop up menu that you can hide or bring up with just one button. Imagine having all the options you get when you hit menu on the home screen cluttering up the notification bar or taking space all over the screen. Why bother with that mess, when you can stash it away neatly in a little, easy to read pop up menu?

I can't go without my trusty menu button. Its like a pair of socks: You can still wear your shoes without them, but its just not nearly as comfortable.

 

[dan330]

i think there is 2 different subjects here:

consistency in user interface...throughout the different phone apps and screens.

customization... of the way you access different apps and features and how they are presented to you.

it looks to me like some of us.. are arguing different subjects.

consistency needs to be higher

customization is great and that is why android is so popular. Make your phone.. your phone!

 

[zerocool79346]

Lol anyone else smell a recently banned member here? He's doing it more quietly than I thought he would, but he already flaunted WP7 in another thread as though it was the second coming. Last whatever your name was, was it really worth signing up as another name?

 

[Martimus]

because a huge part of user experience involves consistency. I mean, im not even talking about apps, but the placement of the hardware keys is different in all android phones. Plus there is no point to the menu button, WP7 is doing just fine without it. its just more confusing to the end user.

Slight correction... a huge part of YOUR user experience may involve consistency. A huge part of MY user experience actually involves have the UI set up the way I prefer to have it set up. The guy down the street may not like the way I've got my phone set up and should have the ability to set up (or not set up) his phone the way he likes.

 

[Bnice]

because a huge part of user experience involves consistency. I mean, im not even talking about apps, but the placement of the hardware keys is different in all android phones. Plus there is no point to the menu button, WP7 is doing just fine without it. its just more confusing to the end user.

Stop the lazy excuses,you know whats the function of each button so who cares where its place.The volume button gets move around, the sd card slot, head jack and many more, so your going to tell me this make it so unbearable to use a phone? ha ha i love how some folks try to make Android so difficult to use, not saying its perfect but every time you turn around it's something. Lets see, Android is not polish,fragmented,no good games,the market is bad and you can go on and on but yet its still kicking. Get the phone you want and enjoy we all have our own mind and think different so what's for you may not be for someone else.

 

[Bnice]

Lol anyone else smell a recently banned member here? He's doing it more quietly than I thought he would, but he already flaunted WP7 in another thread as though it was the second coming. Last whatever your name was, was it really worth signing up as another name?

I smell him...

 

[Mr_N1ce]

I'm confused... it sounds like some people here WANT inconsistency between apps/buttons etc.

I'm quite happy with the functions of Android but the design is just inconsistent and in parts confusing. Just look at the new polished youtube app: why does it use nice polished buttions and all other apps have some grey ugly buttons?

consistency is not the opposite of a customizable home screen etc. Consistency is just needed to make the OS appear more mature.

 

[IOWA]

Man it smells like burned wp7 fan in here. is someone wearing cologne de light speed?

 

[Guamguy]

because a huge part of user experience involves consistency. I mean, im not even talking about apps, but the placement of the hardware keys is different in all android phones. Plus there is no point to the menu button, WP7 is doing just fine without it. its just more confusing to the end user.

I saw a place of habitation where the rooms are all set alike. Same bed, same windows. Rooms are set all the same size. Walls are the same color. Beautifully remarkably consistent. Even the tenants wear the same clothing with the same color.

Its called a prison.

 

[IOWA]

And he's gone again.

 

[krouget]

I'm confused... it sounds like some people here WANT inconsistency between apps/buttons etc.

People don't want inconsistency-- most are just pointing out the grossly exaggerated claims, by others. The core functionality of Android is simple/consistent enough, and there are various built-in tutorials to help the user get established. Advanced functions require more effort, but with more flexibility, that's expected.

Simple advice I give to new users: Try long presses and/or hitting the menu button on various screens, if you'd like to explore your device. The vast majority of the OS and its apps can be explored, this way.

Can it be improved upon? Most certainly, but to suggest that its a convoluted mess? Again, sounds like an exaggerated claim, given the amount of people voting with their dollars. Android has certainly come a long way in its transition from obscurity to a mainstream success.

 

[lunatic59]

I'm confused... it sounds like some people here WANT inconsistency between apps/buttons etc.

No you are not. It's just disingenuous nay-saying. The truth is that as far as the placement of the buttons is concerned, it's irrelevant for the most part because the majority of people have one phone and once they know where the buttons are on their phone, where they may be on a different phone means nothing to them. For the few who have multiple android handsets, I would argue that they tend to be power users, developers, support people or are just plain phone-crazy. They love the variety or they wouldn't want them.

Just look at the new polished youtube app: why does it use nice polished buttions and all other apps have some grey ugly buttons?

Because the developers wrote the apps that way? From a different perspective it appears that Android promotes function over form by allowing developers to get apps to market without being forced into laboring to satisfy arbitrary UI mandates.

consistency is not the opposite of a customizable home screen etc. Consistency is just needed to make the OS appear more mature.

I see. That's why all consumer products when released look different and strive to all become the same as they mature. Is George Orwell listening?

 

[takeshi]

Why does everyone want everything to look the same? Borrring. There's that other phone for that.

It seems to be like this on every forum, regardless of topic. There are always armchair analysts saying "X needs to be like Y". It's as if these people don't understand choice, niches, etc...

I mean, why would I pick one option over another if it's identical to the other option? If you like product Y then buy product Y instead of X. Stop trying to make square pegs fit round holes.

 

[PinkMirrorKirby]

I'd rather be different than same, over here in Hong Kong, 80% of people uses the iPhone because it is "hip, in and stylish", when I said there is no uniqueness, they brag about "cases", honestly, you can't even personalize the inside of the phone.
18% of Hong Kong people uses Android and they think it is nice to have some uniqueness compared to iPhone and Windows Phone 7, the 2% accounts to Blackberry and other phones.