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Debunking the Sheep: Part 3

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by Andrew Greenfield on
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Today’s myth has brought up quite a stir in the community recently. The Android vs iPhone war is bringing a lot of people back to the Mac vs PC wars of the 90′s. So what’s the myth today? The ol’ “it’s one device vs a million” cover.

“Of course android has a greater market share. If I gave away a bunch of phones for free it’d sell better than the iPhone too even if they were crap. You’re comparing a phone to an OS, that’s not fair. How many android phones are beating the iPhone. Zero. Developers would rather develop for one phone than a hundred that are so severely fragmented that half the apps don’t work. Also, Google makes NOTHING on their phones. Apple makes a killing on the iPhone…” (goes on to make nerd jokes and the whole “all Android users still live with their mothers” thing) » Read the rest

Debunking the Sheep: Part 2

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by Andrew Greenfield on
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Today’s myth strikes home with a lot of Android users. One of the complaints about Apple is that they will often “invent” something, call it their own (often using words like “magical”), and convince everyone that they do it the best. And why shouldn’t they? They took the smartphone platform, made it their own, and every new smartphone is based on it (sorry Android fans). However, the point where people start irritating me is when they start taking something from a keynote and quote it like absolute truth. Today’s myth? Multitasking. » Read the rest

Debunking the Sheep: Part 1

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by Andrew Greenfield on
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As you can imagine, the writers here on TalkAndroid spend a lot of time on the internet combing through articles, news releases, and fanboy wars that would make Stalin run in fear. One thing I’ve always found that I want to do is reply to a lot of misinformed Apple supporters who spit a message of hate despite knowing very little. These people are often called “iSheep” or “Sheep” (with their Android counterparts being the “fandroids”). These people know very little about the other ecosystem yet preach to the world why the other one is terrible. Both camps have them, both are equally annoying. Well, starting now I’m going to be posting a few replies that I’ve wanted to say while browsing the web (and getting into a debate with these people is pointless, so I often won’t post). Today’s mythical claim? » Read the rest

Could App Pirates…Be Helping?

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by Andrew Greenfield on
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It’s simple enough, right? You don’t want to pay the price tag for the app you see so you can get it by just typing the name and .apk in Google. So why is pirating apps coming so often now? With the new apps that try to embarrass you if you try and pirate them, viruses starting to appear in 3rd party markets, and the tag of “cheap” being posted on you by developers, many people are taking a second look at pirating apps. Is it worth it? Some forums are set up to help pirate apps, others will ban you if you bring it up. How can there even be a debate on whether it’s right or not? » Read the rest

Google Maps Navigation vs. A Dedicated GPS Device (and Why I Think Google Maps Nav is Better)

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by Brian Rubin on
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A few weeks ago, I was driving my girlfriend and a friend of mine to Hollywood to meet some friends for dinner. While I knew the way there, I loaded up Google Maps Navigation on my HTC EVO 4G and put it in my little car mount so I would get an idea as to how long it would take to get there. As I was driving, my friend in the back seat commented, “Wow, I like how good your GPS looks, and how it pans and turns as you drive. I have a great dedicated unit and it doesn’t even do that.” My girlfriend, who also has a dedicated GPS unit, said how cool that was. This got me to thinking about the differences between the Google Maps Navigation app on my phone and dedicated GPS units, and how I ultimately decided that I think Google’s app is better.
» Read the rest

Is fragmentation really a problem for Android? Is Google closing the door?

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by Robert Nazarian on
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The headlines are all over today that Google is cracking down on fragmentation with Android. You will see quotes like, “The party is over.” According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Google is forcing Android licensees to abide by “no-fragmentation clauses” that give Google the final say on how manufacturers tweak the Android code. Examples of this would be skins like HTC’s Sense, Motorola’s Blur, and Samsung’s Touchwiz. Andy Rubin said that these clauses were always a part of the Android license, but people are finding that maybe Google is enforcing it a little more.

All of this talk started when Google announced that they will not release the source code for Honeycomb (Android 3.0) which was built for tablets. Andy Rubin, head of Google’s Android group, clearly stated that they do not want hardware vendors to adapt it to run on other form factors where it might not function properly. He admitted that Google cut corners in order to get Honeycomb to market as fast as possible. The XOOM was released at the end of February and it still has a useless SD card slot. I doubt this is an issue with the hardware, but more likely the Honeycomb software. Most of the other Honeycomb tablets that are coming to market will be in June. This proves that there are obvious issues with Honeycomb and until things are rectified don’t expect to see the source code. Does this mean Google is closing the door because they are concerned with the reliability of software?

» Read the rest

Market/App Store Fragmentation: How Many Do We Need?

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by Brian Rubin on
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Google has theirs (of course), Verizon has one, HTC might get one, Opera just launched one earlier this month and today, Amazon launched theirs. Depending on your carrier and your phone, you could have three or more market applications for your phone. With the launch of Amazon’s Appstore today, this got me to thinking…do we really need all of these different marketplaces?
» Read the rest

Tips, tricks and tutorials: Getting started with your new Android phone

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by Dustin Karnes on
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So, you opened up that present on Christmas, and found a brand new, shiny Android phone inside. Sure, you kissed them on the cheek and told them it’s everything you’ve ever wanted, but now what? Fortunately, we’re here to help you out in getting started with your awesome new smartphone.

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Why Rovio Angry Birds is Failing at the Mobile Ad Game

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by Jesse Bauer on
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angry birds ad dollars

When it was announced that Rovio was venturing into a new advertising area by allowing video ads to display during Angry Birds gameplay, I thought that was a little over the top, as did MANY other Android Angry Birds fans. As it was, ads appeared at the bottom of the screen already, and can cause the game to display serious lag at times, making it somewhat frustrating to continue playing.

This is from an Angry Birds fan who posted their similar trials with the ads;

Angry birds seasons works well on my cliq with android 2.2 needs a paid version without ads because the ads do make it lag and certain ads lag it so bad it is unplayable. Cant dissable data because the game wont even run. Please make a paid version for android.

I know, I know…”the game was free, what are you crying about?” Well, yes, the game was free. But I can’t wait for the paid version to come out for Android. I’ll pay $2.99 to have no ad interruptions while I’m smoking some green pigs, no problem at all. Fact is, the ads are just plain annoying! Rovio hit gold with it though, and because of that, it’s only going to get worse, as this forums users have all agreed on as well.

Such as, when I’m playing Angry Birds on my Android device, the last ads I care to see are Windows Phone 7 ads! Seriously Rovio, either Microsoft has paid you an obscene amount to violate the sanctity of my Android mobile home, or your marketing department has failed miserably by trying to hit the wrong target audience with your video ad campaigns.

Newsflash Rovio – Android users…don’t want to watch Windows Phone 7 ads…especially while they’re trying to play your game.

If playing Angry Birds has you frustrated, let us know in the comments below. Maybe, just maybe Rovio will rush out the paid version for Android and make another $10 million.

4G device wars: Did Sprint undersell the Samsung Epic in favor of the HTC Evo

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by Michael Murphy on
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I want to make one thing very, very clear…I’m not being at all sarcastic in my subject line.  I have been a very happy Sprint customer for nearly a decade, and I have the utmost respect for them as a carrier.  I feel that their successes have greatly outweighed their failures, and I believe that they have a good idea of how to attract new customers and take care of their existing carriers.  That said, why the rant?  Well, I think they dropped the ball recently, in one BIG area, and that was in their utter failure to market the Epic 4G.  Read on, for my take.

» Read the rest

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