Android and Me » Justin Shapcott

Android moving forward, Market left behind

Justin Shapcott — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:16:19 +0000

Anyone who follows Android knows that it is moving forward at an unbelievable pace. In just over a year, we have seen four versions of the Android OS (1.0, 1.1, 1.5, 1.6) and a fifth is only days away (2.0).

In that time, however, we have only seen minor changes to one of the core pieces of the Android experience, the Android Market. Here we look at some of our perceived problems of the Android Market and try to offer our suggestions for how to improve it. Of course, this is not a new discussion, but rather one we have discussed several times here at Android and Me, and is a popular complaint around the web.

So, what’s so wrong with the Android Market?

Take a look at this list, which we published all the way back in February 2009, where we outlined some of our biggest complaints with the Android Market at that time. Now compare those complaints the Android Market today. The list is pretty much the same, regardless of which version you are running (which is another discussion altogether).

So, how is it that in eight months and through several versions of Android we have yet to see any of these (except for clearing the cache) hit the Android Market application? Granted, it is possible that these suggestions never made it to Google, but many of them are just common sense. But these are not the only complaints that we’ve seen floating around the web, and most of those changes have not yet made it into the Market.

For the sake of currency, let’s create a new list of complaints:

1. Allow URLs in description to launch browser

As was previously mentioned, it is incredibly cumbersome to retype links included in descriptions to be launched in the browser. Granted there is a Website field that should be used for that, but sometimes there is another link that is included in the description that should be clickable.

2. A popularity list for daily, weekly, monthly

This is a topic which has been discussed time and time again at various places including the official Android groups at Google Groups. While we do have a popularity sort in the Market (now called Top Paid and Top Free in Android 1.6) this doesn’t cut it because this appears to be all-time popularity so those at the top generally stay at the top. We need to be able to tell what is new and hot.

3. Sorting (and filtering) reviews by star rating

The ability to sort and filter reviews of products is very common in online marketplaces. The Android Market, however provides no such functionality to let a user decide how they want to view comments so that they get the most out of them.

4. Long press options on user reviews

As was mentioned before, we’d like to be able to see all reviews by a certain reviewer. This functionality could lead us to better app discoverability if we find a reviewer that offers meaningful reviews. And discoverability is something that the Market severely lacks.

5. Support for tagging applications

One of the foundations of a thriving virtual marketplace is discoverability, and the Android Market fails here at every turn. The current categories do not allow developers to accurately describe their application in many cases. Developers should be able to add tags for their applications and users should be allowed to add their own tags to increase the discoverability of applications and games.

6. Favorite Developers

The Market should provide a way for the user to “watch” a developer for new applications rather than resorting to following external news feeds such as Twitter and blogs to be notified of new applications by a developer they like.

7. Easy way to recommend applications

Again, we find ourselves discussing discoverability of applications. Right now, we have only the popularity sort and comments by which to get recommendations about other apps. What would work better is a “people who like this also liked…” function that is extremely common in online marketplaces. One Android developer (I4 Feet Software) has implemented a recommendation feature in their application My Market, but this feature should be available in the actual Android Market.

8. Bookmarking Applications

There are plenty of times where we install applications that are intriguing but they are not quite “there” and we’d like to bookmark those applications so that we can uninstall them and watch for updates. Why we must install and keep an application in order to receive update notifications is a mystery.

9. Better Search

Why, oh, why is it so hard for the search giant Google to adequately provide a search function in the Android Market? As it stands, the search feature of the market does not gracefully accept typos or other misspellings of application names, it does not allow boolean queries, and it does not allow you to limit your results to a certain type or category. So basically all of the features we know and love in Google search are absent in Android Market search.

10. Filters

A common complaint amongst users comes in the form of filterable market data. For many of us, there are certain types of applications and/or developers that we simply have no desire to ever see. This has even driven the development of the previously mentioned application My Market which implements this feature. The problem with My Market though, is that it relies on unsupported web calls that Google could change at any time, and it depends on the developer name and/or application name for its filters. All a developer has to do to avert being ignored is change the developer display name. If Google implemented this, the filters could be based on developer account as opposed to developer name.

11. Analytics For Developers

Developers need to be better able to gauge the successes and failures of their applications. Currently developers are only provided with the total downloads and the number of active installs of their applications. This information, while mildly useful, does not give enough to know how our applications are doing. Things like Android version, and region would help to troubleshoot issues. Being able to access comments from the Developer Console (along with extended information such as app version and Android version at time of comment) would also help. The “Reason for uninstalling survey” that users must fill out when uninstalling applications is never presented to the developer, so one can only guess why one’s users are uninstalling the application.

12 Inability to load multiple versions of the same app in same space

With multiple versions of Android being active, and such different functionality provided by each version, developers have a difficult task of keeping support for prior versions yet still updating to include new features. The current options for developers include upload a new version to a new space on the Market, use reflection to hack new features into older versions (and fail gracefully when those new features are not present), forget about new features, or forget old users. Developers should have the facility to upload a new version of an app into the same space but requires a certain version of Android. The Market would then determine the appropriate version to distribute to the user.

13. An official web-accessible version

While we have enjoyed having Cyrket and AndroLib, Google should provide an official web accessible version of the market for locating and viewing applications while not on the device. Ideally, this would provide real-time access to the same information as the on-device client. This would make it so that users wouldn’t have to rely third-party sites using unsupported web service calls and caching of information previously collected (and potentially not updated).

14. Other issues presented by top Android developer Larva Labs on their blog:

a. Limitation of Application Description to 325 characters

This is simply not enough space to accurately describe an application or game in many cases.

b. Applications not listed (without apparent reason) for some users.

For no apparent reason some users simply don’t see certain apps. To make it worse, sometimes applications seem to come and go, again for no apparent reason.

c. Download failures.

We’ve all seen this happen, where we go to download an application or game and it simply doesn’t work.

d. Refunds

Refunds are good, and bad. They are good for those cases where you simply don’t get what you thought you were getting but, for certain types of apps (markedly games) 24 hours is simply too long. As Larva Labs quotes: “Great game, loved it. Beat it in an hour – refund.” is a relatively common comment.

For the sake of being fair, some things we like:

1. Screenshots for Applications and Games.

With Android 1.6, Google introduced screenshots to the Market. This is great for both users and developers because it allows the Developer to better communicate his/her application to the user, and the user can make a better decision about that application or game before downloading it. Unfortunately, the number of Android devices running 1.6 as disappointing, with many new phones still being released with 1.5.

2. Promo Graphics and Text.

Also with Android 1.6, Google introduced another opportunity for developers to reach their audience with promo graphics and text to be displayed (at Google’s will) in featured apps areas of the Market. Again, this requires the user to be on Android 1.6, and many are not.

3. Update Notifications.

It’s great to be notified when there are updates to applications you have installed. In the early days of the Market we had to physically look for updates to applications. It wasn’t hard, but it was an extra step we had to take to remain current. The notification system needs some work as there are numerous reports of false notifications and missing notifications, but overall this feature is good and we can still fall back to manual checking.

4. Openness.

The openness of the Android Market is one of its greatest features both for users and developers. With this openness, Users get a wide variety of applications, and developers can release updates and fixes without having to jump through hoops and approval processes.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

We think that Google must take a more active interest in the Android Market if it is to succeed.

The fact that so little of the user complaints have been addressed in the past year is very disheartening and is a shame considering the great potential of Android and the Market to bring new and exciting applications and games to users. This is especially important as Android gets more and more exposure, such as with the release of the Motorola Droid on Verizon this week. PC World has even gone so far as to say that the Android Market is holding back the success of the Droid even before it has been released. And with further pressure being added by the announcement that Palm will be opening up its market for Web OS, we think that the time is now for Google to make waves and improve on this key piece of the Android ecosystem.

For even more Market gripes check out these discussions of the official Google groups for Android here, here, and here.

How to install Android SDK and play with Android 2.0 in the emulator

Justin Shapcott — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:54 +0000

Google has released the Android 2.0 SDK as of October 27th, 2009. We know how eager everyone has been to get their hands on Android 2.0, so we have decided to write up instructions so that anyone may download and install the SDK, then create and run an emulator instance.

Note, the emulator is not intended to duplicate any particular device, so treat this more as a look at some of the core new features of Android 2.0 than an emulation of any current or future device. Also, things that require hardware features are not available in the emulator. No multi-touch in here guys (unless you manage to get two mice to work?).

Enough of the talk, let’s get down to business.

1) Download appropriate file for your system from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

2) Extract to desired location

3) Run “SDK Setup.exe” (or the equivalent for your system)

Launch sdksetup.ext

a. If you receive an error message stating “Failed to fetch url…” then you will have to force the Setup program to use http in lieu of https.

Got this error? Follow the steps.

i. Close the “Refresh Sources” window

ii. Cancel the “Choose Packages to Install” window

iii. Select “Settings” from the left side of the “Android SDK and AVD Manager” window

iv. Check the box labeled “Force https://… sources to be fetched using http://…”

v. Click “Save and Apply”

vi. Close and restart the SDK Setup program

4) Choose the packages that you wish install

Select only the packages you need.

a. If you are only interested in trying out the Android 2.0 Emulator

i. Reject everything except “SDK Platform Android 2.0. API 5, revision 1” by selecting each item then selecting the Reject option

b. If you plan to develop Android applications and Games, you may wish to Accept All

c. Click “Install Selected”

5) Allow the selected packages to download and install then close the “Installing Archives” window

6) Create a new Android Virtual Device (AVD)

These are the settings to emulate the Moto Droid.

a. Select “Virtual Devices” from the left side of the “Android SDK and AVD Manager” window

i. Click “New”

ii. Enter a Name

iii. Choose a Target

iv. Enter a size for the emulated SD Card

v. Choose a Skin

1. To emulate current hardware such as the G1, MyTouch 3G, Hero, etc…

a. Leave the default value

2. To emulate the Motorola Droid

a. Choose WVGA 854

3. To emulate other devices

a. Choose anything else

vi. Click “Create AVD”

7) Start your newly created Virtual Device

A successfully created AVD.

a. Choose the Virtual Device from the list

b. Click “Start…”

c. Click “Launch”

Just click launch.

8) Allow copious time for Emulator to start up

First startup will take a few minutes.

9) Enjoy!

Android 2.0

Android 2.0: Developers left in the dark

Justin Shapcott — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:48:53 +0000

Update (10/27): The Android 2.0 SDK has been released.

We are constantly reminded that Android 2.0 is due out with the release of the Motorola Droid on the Verizon network in the United States. Although we are still awaiting the official announcement of a release date, many signs point to November 6th, 2009.

As an Android user I have to say, woohoo! Of course… I say that with absolutely no intentions of getting the Droid when it comes out, but I am hopeful that it won’t be too long before my (lowly) CLIQ, Sapphire or, dare I say, G1 gets the update. As a developer, however, I find myself angry at Google for leaving me, and all other non-privileged developers, in the dark as to what changes are being made in Android 2.0 that will change how we develop.

As of the time of writing, there has been no indication from Google what the changes might be, or when they will release the details to developers. The Android Open Source Project has received no major code-drops and has no Eclair or Android 2.0 branches defined. According to one prominent contributor to the official Google Groups for Android, even OHA member organizations are having trouble obtaining the fabled Android 2.0 source.

Despite being publicly questioned several times on the Google Groups, there has been no response from Google; however, from other knowledgeable contributors, a common response is that “there is no Android 2.0“, but we all know that is simply untrue.

So what gives, Google? How can we developers be expected to 1) make sure that our applications don’t break with this new version of the operating system, and 2) create new applications that will take advantage of the new features in a timely manner?

Viewing it from a user standpoint, why should I run out to buy this new phone if I am going to have to deal with potentially broken applications and in almost all cases don’t take advantage of the full potential of the operating system? If we are to believe the rumors and the Verizon marketing campaign, we should expect major improvements beyond those afforded by a faster processor.

When asked about the status of Android 2.0, Motorola responded that Google is responsible for releasing the Android software. This, along with claims that even OHA members can’t get the source, makes me wonder: “Why is Google holding the Android community hostage?”

Acer Liquid is a 1 GHz Android phone

Justin Shapcott — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:07:43 +0000

Update (15:30): More photo galleries are coming online. Pocket-lint has the best pics I have seen so far.

Could it be? The first Snapdragon powered Android handset? It looks like Acer has officially announced the Liquid A1 which will reportedly sport a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor and run Android 1.6. Also, it appears that this phone will be targeting multimedia fans with its 800 x 480 WVGA capacitive touchscreen and “easy access to entertainment and web bookmarks” together with “longer battery autonomy for intense users”. Check out the links below for more information and pictures.

The Acer Liquid also offers several unique software enhancements including:

Improved power management to help achieve longer battery autonomy for intense users;
A new user interface with easy access to entertainment and web bookmarks;
An optimized camera with geo-tagging, ISO, self-timer options and accelerated auto-focus performance;
Exclusive Spinlets™ application providing free streaming of worldwide music and video, that can be shared with friends and family through web-posting or e-mail;
Smart integration of Facebook™, Twitter™, Youtube™, Picasa™ and Flickr™ in the address book, with realtime notification of status or content updates.

The Acer Liquid features a 5 megapixel camera.

[via Electricpig, Acer PR]

Android: So hot it’s radiating

Justin Shapcott — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:22:45 +0000

As we all know, cellular phones emit radiation. But have you ever wondered where certain phones fall in the radiation spectrum? Recently, the Environmental Working Group (a non-profit organization which aims to “use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment”) published to their website a listing that allows you to lookup the radiation rating for your phone.

The site includes over 1000 models of regular and smart phones currently on the market and another list of phones not currently on the market. This appears to be limited to phones available in the U.S. and on major carriers, so it is probably missing some things.

So, I am sure you are all wondering just where our beloved Android phones end up. You’re in luck, I’ve done the hard work and found out the only Android phones on the list are those currently available in the U.S. So how do the T-Mobile G1 and MyTouch 3G stack up?

T-Mobile G1: 1.11 W/kg (About average)
T-Mobile myTouch 3G: 1.55 W/kg (The highest recorded on the list)

To get some perspective, the lowest radiation rating on the market today arrives in the Samsung Impression at a whopping 0.15 to 0.35 W / kg. But what about other popular smart phones?

Blackberry Storm: 0.57 W/kg
iPhone 3GS: 0.52 to 1.19 W/kg
iPhone 3G: 0.24 to 1.39 W/kg
Palm Pre: 0.92 W/kg

It would be interesting to see how the other Android phones stack up to see if it has anything to do with Android or if it is strictly HTC. Other HTC phones appear to fare much better than their Android-bearing counterparts.

The dangers of rooting your Android phone

Justin Shapcott — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:00:01 +0000

I am taking a chance here by discussing a topic such as this, and in particular taking the stance that I am taking. So, with that in mind, let’s just get down to business.

As is usually the case with these sorts of things, we’ll start off with a disclaimer or two. Most importantly you must realize that these are my opinions and observations, and some of them might be wrong. Please feel free to let me know if you disagree with anything I say. Keep in mind also that I am not saying that rooting your device does not have its benefits, but rather that one must be careful. Now that that is out of the way…

So, you just got your fancy new G1 or MyTouch 3G (or whatever other device you happened to get) and you’ve been reading about all of the cool things that you can do with it… but there is a catch. You have to “root” your device in order to do these cool things. So, of course, you hop online, find a tutorial (or even better, the so-called “1-Click Root” method) and proceed to root your device. To your surprise, it has been made so easy by now that it worked perfectly on the first try. Congratulations.

Now, in a perfect world, every user who has gone through this process knows exactly what they are doing and, even more importantly, how to keep their device and the information within and connected to it safe afterward.

But the reality is we don’t live in a perfect world and I see new Android users every day who choose to root first and ask questions later. That is, they decide that they want or need to root their device before truly knowing what that entails.

However, I can’t really put all of the blame on the users at this point because I know that there are a lot of (really great) tutorials out there for rooting, and I know that not all of them put enough emphasis on the seriousness of it all. Some flat out fail to make it clear that you are compromising the security of your device when you root it. It is as if they make assumptions about the technical level of the reader, and we all know what happens when you assume.

Accordingly, it always concerns me when rooting guides are placed right alongside beginner tutorials. To the reader, this implies that rooting is a beginner process, and that all beginners should do it. To that I would have to disagree. In fact, there are some users that simply should not do it.

To fully explain why I think not all users should root I have to jump out of the “root” discussion for a while, but I hope it will help to make my point.

How many times have you been perusing the Android Market and seen an application or game that you wanted to download? Countless, right?

How many times have you gone to download that application or game, been presented with a list of requested permissions, and seen things like Full Internet, GPS Location, Read Contacts, etc… Do you ever think “Hmm, why would a game like Asteroids or “Insert Game Name Here” require access to these things?” Do you ever install anyway? Don’t be afraid to say yes… I have done it too.

The fact is the majority of users simply don’t pay enough attention to the permissions requested by Android applications.

The fact that the Market tells us what types of things a given application wants to do is totally awesome, but it isn’t enough. Unless the user takes this information and makes an informed decision, there is little point to this security measure. As soon as you grant these rights to an application, there is little you can do to stop them taking all of your Contacts information (for example) sending it up to their server and doing with it what they please. I am sure that your mother wouldn’t appreciate whatever repercussions this might have (spam, telemarketing calls, junk mail, etc…).

And take for example another type of app. The kind that may have the best of intentions, but the worst of implementations. Believe it or not, developers do make mistakes. Sometimes a developer chooses to use a protocol that they think is secure but isn’t. Or maybe they choose to use a single sign on for all users, and then leave in the debugging code that prints that sign-on information to the console. Suppose also that this well-meaning application also offers an option to remotely wipe your phone. What happens when someone figures out how to spoof information (they probably already have) and send it to the server and invoke a wipe of your data without you knowing it?

Basically, what I am saying is that even non-root applications can be harmful to the overly trusting user. With that being said, we’ll head back to the discussion of root access for applications.

So, with root-enabled Android applications we see all of the same potential for misuse that we see in regular Android applications and then add on a whole new level of potential. Why? Because root access circumvents the security restrictions that are put in place by the Android OS and there is not really any effective way to tell just what the application intends to do with that power.

Sure, most (if not all) modified firmware releases include the Super User application by Koushik Dutta, or a variant of it, but is that enough? Similarly to the user account control message in Windows or other similar programs in other operation systems, this app only tells when an application requests Super User access. It does not (can not?) tell us what the application intends to do with that access.

How many times have we (yes, I have done it too) granted “Always Allow” access to an application without fully knowing exactly what the app was going to do? How can we tell exactly? Most of us can’t, so we rely on what other users tell us, or we trust the developer. But, of course, that is not always reliable.

In many cases, but not all, these applications are open source so we can look at the source code to assess the risk. Then again, with an open source application, there is a greater possibility of coming across a modified version. Even if you only allow access once, your phone could be ruined.

But what exactly might a malicious root application do? Basically anything. In a little brainstorming session with a friend we came up with a wide variety of evil things that a root-enabled application could do.

replace the Gmail application with a modified version
replace your keyboard with a version that logs keystrokes
delete files such as applications or application data
download and attempt to install a different modified ROM
download and install another application that wakes up nightly to call toll-numbers
gain access to your Market account and make purchases on your behalf
and the list goes on…

Luckily, we haven’t yet seen anything like these. Hopefully, we never will.

If you are now thinking, “Man, that stuff is scary…” then I am already starting to feel better. It is the user, who recognizes the potential misuse and keeps it in mind when using these applications, that will be better able to protect their device and information.

Do your research. Learn about an application and the developer before trusting them. As a precaution, don’t use “Always Allow” in the Super User application, though that will not protect you against a one-time attack.

Ideally, we wouldn’t have a need to “root” our devices for some of the things that we are rooting for.

Case in point, I’d guess that a large portion of users root because they want to apply a theme. If Android were to natively support themeing, that might reduce the number of people rooting. Some people are rooting because there are optimizations added to make the phone run faster. Perhaps some of those optimizations could be contributed to the Android Open Source Project and included in official builds. In the case of the G1, where storage is extremely limited, we are rooting so we can store apps on the SD Card, or so that we can continue to receive updates to the OS.

In the effort of full disclosure, I have two Android devices, a T-Mobile G1 and a Google Ion ( HTC Magic), and both of them are rooted. I rooted my G1 when I first got it so that I could install applications to my SD Card. I will not claim to have known exactly what I was doing at that time and I am pretty sure that I don’t now. For months I used my Ion without rooting, and only did recently to try out the “1-Click Root” method. Otherwise, I’d be pretty happy plodding along without root on my phone.

I am sure that there are a few readers who might be wondering what brought on this post? To be honest, it really comes down to an observation that a lot of new Android users have the impression that in order for your Android device to be “functional” it must have root. And while I wouldn’t normally see that as a problem, we are beginning to see more users who don’t fully understand the whole root concept and as Android continues to gain momentum, the likelihood of an attack grows.

Athol Adventure review for Android

Justin Shapcott — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:53:08 +0000

Imagine… It’s 1994. You just got the “hottest” new Game Boy game: Pyramids of Ra. You’re so excited to play it but ah, drats, it’s time for bed. So, you grab your Handy Pak and crawl into bed, hoping that your mom doesn’t come in and catch you still awake. OK, well maybe not everyone was as lame as I was back then. But needless to say, it was easy to get excited about games in those days… Even if they were black and white, or as close to it as the original Game Boy could produce.

Pyramids of Ra was a puzzle game in which the object was simple: Bounce a ball around a map of blocks, making sure to hit every one and return to the starting point. The hard part was that each block would crumble away as it was landed on (some took more than one time) and the trick was to leave a path that you could use to get back.

So, the obvious question I know you must be asking yourself… “so, what the heck does this have to do with Android?”

Here it goes… Recently released to the Android Market was a similar game called Athol Adventure, by developer 59Pixels. It’s not exactly the same as Pyramids of Ra, of course, but the object of the game is essentially the same. But, what is similar in gameplay is worlds apart in almost every other way. Athol Adventure is, as one would expect, an incredibly modernized version of this classic puzzler.

The Story

You, a princely character, have just been married… but your happiness is short lived, for an evil witch has come to take away your beautiful wife. OK, so it’s a cartoon drawing, so beautiful might not be the best word to use, but you get the gist. In order to save your bride you must travel accross the island through treachorous mazes of block platforms. Avoid exploding blocks and fireballs and don’t choose the wrong path to find your way to the Hall of Heros and win the day.

The Gameplay

With over 75 levels including plenty of bonus levels (and according to the developer, a level generator in the works) this game is sure to keep you occupied. None of the levels are exceptionally difficult, so don’t feel like you will rack you brain to get through. But, that isn’t to say that some of them aren’t challenging. Each level only takes a few minutes, making this game is a great way to pass the time here and there. Of course, your progress though story mode is saved along the way.

The graphics are simple but crisp, clean, and vibrant, and are nicely done throughout. Generally speaking, the game runs smoothly and consistently, except in times of high cpu (such when background services fire up).

Athol Adventure is a free game. It is supported by ads, and they certainly don’t let you forget it. It’s not that they are particularly intrusive, but rather they are very persistent and are always in view. As with almost all ad-supported applications and games in the Android Market, I have gotten quite good at not really noticing them.

All in all, it is certainly worth a play if you are into puzzle games, and even if you are not. Heck, it even prompted me to hunt down my old original Game Boy, which I did end up finding (by the way… it still works). Now, to find my Handy Pak…

Athol Adventures for Android
Version: 2.3
Developed By: 59Pixels
Price: FREE
Filesize: 1.71MB

You can find more from Justin on his new blog. Check out his tutorial for creating an Android clock widget.

Android and Me » Justin Shapcott

Android moving forward, Market left behind

For the sake of currency, let’s create a new list of complaints:

For the sake of being fair, some things we like:

So Where Do We Go From Here?

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The Story

The Gameplay

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