Hi guys, Im new around here. Please be patient with my questions..(noob mode on) Anyway, the reason why I registered here in the first place is to ask this question : I read this articles (Android's Spread Could Become a Problem - BusinessWeek) and basically they highlighted some potential problems with android. I know android is a good OS but this article also make sense. Let me summarise the very basic problem : I heard (so as the article said) android phone manufacturers developed their own unique system which means that if we want to develop an app or games, we need to specify our target manufacturer. Is this actually true? If so, is there anyway to tweak the app or game so it can be cross-manufacturer ?
A few of the Android devices have custom UIs. HTC uses "Sense UI", and Motorola "MotoBlur" on certain devices. I don't think it's those in particular that present a problem to developers. I believe the incompatibility stems more from the fact that a lot of these phones have different OS versions as well as different screen resolutions. Obviously the OS version is going to be the major determining factor in whether an app is cross-compatible between different devices. Resolution issues (particularly with Droid) can be another concern. Sense UI and MotoBlur, though, don't really interfere with the core of the OS, they're just UI enhancements. Since many people are using third party home screen replacements anyways, it's the same thing. They shouldn't cause serious issues with apps in the same way that OS versions would. All that said though, yes, it is more complicated to develop for Android than for - say - WebOS or the iPhone that only have a few devices all sharing the same core. Whether or not it's actually keeping developers away is another question. The Market has doubled in size within the past few months alone, so it doesn't seem to be a huge deterrent. Most developers have already put out updates, fixes and enhancements that allow their software to work with the Droid, which is most likely the biggest source of compatibility issues right now thanks to the 2.0 OS.
HI vincentp, Thanks for the reply. I suppose is not particularly a big problem cause I believe there should be some function to detect the screen resolution (am i right?). And for OS version, I thought that the manufacturers allow their phones to be updated directly from google? So if I want to create an app or games to fit into all android phones, what should I do? Does it even possible ? What things I need to consider?
Hey, I personally am not a developer, so I can't give you real-world advice for creating Android apps. It is, however, definitely possible to create apps that work globally on all Android phones. As I mentioned though, they will probably have to have extra code sections devoted specifically to issues pertaining to a specific device. For example, you may write an entire app and find it works just fine on the HTC Hero and G1, though it may not work on the Droid. Depending on what kind of app it is / how it's written, this may mean that you have to add additional, Droid-specific code. It's certainly possible. Developers are doing it as we speak, and the good ones make sure their code works on all possible configurations. For more detailed information, I would hope that there are some Android developers around to tell you exactly what you need to know. My knowledge is very basic and broad, unfortunately.
Hi vincentp, thanks for the reply. Im actually from web programming background so i know that there are some small things needed to be done to make it cross browser. basically I just to know things that I need to consider ahd how much tweaking needed to be done to make a cross-manufacturer android app. So should I post this question somewhere else ?
