How would you describe the current state of the Android platform?

Question

Since the release of Android (over a year ago?), it's momentum seems to have slowed. I'm wondering of your perceptions of adoption and viability in the "long run". I believe Apple will "lighten up" a bit with real competition and with other platforms appearing to open their platform more to developers, do you feel that Android will be buried before it can mature?

Answer 1

I guarantee that momentum will speed up once people can get paid for the apps they produce.

Answer 2

I think that ugliness of the G1 is a big issue for a lot of users. Even if it's not 'ugly' for everyone, it's still a long way from competition - even BlackBerry IMHO :) And if users are not adopting quickly, the interest in the Market is not that great, developers don't feel so much urge to develop cool stuff...

Also, as Grant pointed out the fact that you can't sell anything doesn't help.

I'd wait a bit more, until:
- more phones officially supporting Android are released
- Android Market starts fully working

Answer 3

Personally, I think Google should have tried to delay the release of the G1 until more Android handsets were at least close to market.

I get the feeling that it is a solid platform and that the G1, itself, is solid. Unfortunately, the user base isn't as big as it could be b/c the G1 appears dated.

In general, though I believe that android is going to start picking up when we start seeing more phones released...

As for Apple, unless they start delivering on some of the things that they've promised us, that market is going to slow down. Hate to sound like a broken record, but copy+paste really should have been implemented by now and how far behind are push notifications? Don't get me wrong, I want solid, well tested features; however, I don't want to be yanked around while I wait. If it is ready or seriously close to ready, don't tell me about it.

Answer 4

While I love Android, I'm not so in love with my G1. The battery life is atrocious and the hardware quality leaves something to be desired. That being said, the Android market is quickly denigrating into 1337 speak and the desire of users to be the "first" to make a comment (much less anything useful about the actual app).

Google needs to bring some type of moderation to the Market AND let developers start charging for apps. There is also a huge desire to upgrade the current choice of hardware. I have to say that I'm a little surprised at HTCs first offering in the form of the G1. I have other HTC hardware (the att tilt for example), that is quality hardware with excellent battery life (running winmo 6 no less).

Hang in there. Android is in it's infancy and will only get better with time.

Answer 5

I just started developing for Android. There is a perceptible learning curve. Just knowledge of Java won't get you far. You'll have to grok the whole XML layout (which is similar to WPF in its approach) to even begin to develop.

Overall, the platform is impressive, but some of the implementation feels like it was developed on another planet. Case and point, a property of a Widget called layout_gravity refers to alignment. You have to spend some quality time with Android to really get the better of it.