Help me find the best Android resources on the net!
August 17, 2010 7:53 AM Subscribe
What are the best resources on the net for Android, in terms of apps, and the latest news?
Ok... So I'm ditching my iPhone 3G in favour of a new Samsung Galaxy S Captivate in the near future (whenever Rogers gets around to launching the damn thing) and since I haven't been following Android at ALL, having been firmly planted in the iPhone world for the last 2 years, I'd love to sink my teeth into the world of Android now. Hence, why I'm here.
I've found some good resources in this thread, but that was more focused on what apps to add in particular, as opposed to Android resources in general. I just really want to learn about the Android OS in all its glory, how it works, the intricacies of it, as well as finding apps and the like.
Ok... So I'm ditching my iPhone 3G in favour of a new Samsung Galaxy S Captivate in the near future (whenever Rogers gets around to launching the damn thing) and since I haven't been following Android at ALL, having been firmly planted in the iPhone world for the last 2 years, I'd love to sink my teeth into the world of Android now. Hence, why I'm here.
I've found some good resources in this thread, but that was more focused on what apps to add in particular, as opposed to Android resources in general. I just really want to learn about the Android OS in all its glory, how it works, the intricacies of it, as well as finding apps and the like.
A lot of the Android websites out there suck, quite frankly. I've found the best resources to be forums, especially xda-developers. Android Forums and Android Central are also popular. It takes more effort, but if you sign up and hang out in the section for your specific phone for a week or two, you'll be surprised how much you learn just browsing the current topics. There are soooo many new Android users that the same questions get repeated ad nasuem, so between browsing and searching you'll learn a LOT.
For a more standard site/blog, I keep tabs on the Android Guys RSS feed - seems to be a little bit above of most others.
posted by sprocket87 at 8:30 AM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
For a more standard site/blog, I keep tabs on the Android Guys RSS feed - seems to be a little bit above of most others.
posted by sprocket87 at 8:30 AM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
I just really want to learn about the Android OS in all its glory, how it works, the intricacies of it, as well as finding apps and the like.
Write an app for it. The dev guide and the tutorial on the SDK has a lot of information. If you don't want to write an app, just reading the dev guide will show you how the OS works.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:54 AM on August 17, 2010
Write an app for it. The dev guide and the tutorial on the SDK has a lot of information. If you don't want to write an app, just reading the dev guide will show you how the OS works.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:54 AM on August 17, 2010
Response by poster: Actually, my next task at work is to write an app for it (it'll be a port of the Blackberry app I'm currently writing).
Thanks, so far these are some awesome tips.
posted by antifuse at 9:59 AM on August 17, 2010
Thanks, so far these are some awesome tips.
posted by antifuse at 9:59 AM on August 17, 2010
So - um, yeah - I did this back in April - and frankly have been unhappy ever since.
Battery life=horrible
Usability & "Just Works"=horrible (touch-screen is fundamentally buggy)
Random crashes=Lots
As a developer myself, I am pretty forgiving, but the selection and quality of apps stinks.
Now, I still have hope for it, and for some things it works better than an iPhone (keyboard is nice, Bluetooth streaming stereo actually works with my car), but nothing has convinced me yet it is better.
posted by jkaczor at 5:30 PM on August 18, 2010
Battery life=horrible
Usability & "Just Works"=horrible (touch-screen is fundamentally buggy)
Random crashes=Lots
As a developer myself, I am pretty forgiving, but the selection and quality of apps stinks.
Now, I still have hope for it, and for some things it works better than an iPhone (keyboard is nice, Bluetooth streaming stereo actually works with my car), but nothing has convinced me yet it is better.
posted by jkaczor at 5:30 PM on August 18, 2010
Response by poster: jkaczor: did you switch to the Galaxy S? That's the first I've heard of any touch screen issues (though I *have* heard about issues with battery life).
posted by antifuse at 1:27 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by antifuse at 1:27 PM on August 19, 2010
Wasn't sure you were still watching this thread, and I don't want to jump on the Android-vs-iPhone endless argument, but I will say that I bought and returned a used HTC G1, and went back to my work-supplied free BlackBerry. I had a lot of difficulty finding apps that I wanted/needed before actually having the Android phone, since the Android app library website tells you to use the device to see everything.
Even with a new battery and using (or not using) every possible battery-saving app and feature, I couldn't get more than a day of casual use out of the thing. Both with the stock OS and rooted, performance was terrible and crashes were common. Sometimes I couldn't get audio in calls. Sometimes bluetooth connections terminated. A lot of apps were poorly designed, looked terrible, and UI items were the wrong size/shape/placement to work on the screen without scrolling around a lot.
I couldn't find apps that I wanted, some apps that I did find weren't able to work properly with the hardware. The NYTimes app, for example, would not ever display horizontally. I stumbled onto several (free and paid!) apps where the developer had written "yo, don't download this app because it's broken and will crash your phone!" The developer!!!
I found it a lot slower and more frustrating to use the G1 than my BB, so I went back to the BB.
posted by MonsieurBon at 1:40 PM on August 19, 2010
Even with a new battery and using (or not using) every possible battery-saving app and feature, I couldn't get more than a day of casual use out of the thing. Both with the stock OS and rooted, performance was terrible and crashes were common. Sometimes I couldn't get audio in calls. Sometimes bluetooth connections terminated. A lot of apps were poorly designed, looked terrible, and UI items were the wrong size/shape/placement to work on the screen without scrolling around a lot.
I couldn't find apps that I wanted, some apps that I did find weren't able to work properly with the hardware. The NYTimes app, for example, would not ever display horizontally. I stumbled onto several (free and paid!) apps where the developer had written "yo, don't download this app because it's broken and will crash your phone!" The developer!!!
I found it a lot slower and more frustrating to use the G1 than my BB, so I went back to the BB.
posted by MonsieurBon at 1:40 PM on August 19, 2010
Response by poster: I appreciate where you're coming from MonsieurBon, but every Android phone is not the same. I've heard nothing but good things about the Galaxy S series so far (and really, I'm not expecting more than a day's battery life out of ANY phone with these specs, I'm fine with charging every night). And I'm not sure when you got your G1, but it's almost a 2 year old phone now. Yeah, Android didn't really compete with the iPhone 2 years ago, but things have definitely improved since then.
posted by antifuse at 8:08 AM on August 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by antifuse at 8:08 AM on August 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
What smartphone lasts more than 16 hours with any real use? My EVO with its big-ass power sucking screen and 4G modem lasts about as long as my old 3GS. Its a shame the iphone brigade had to come in and crap up this question. No where did he asks for criticism of his choice of phone. This is the phone equivalant of "Switch to linux, n00b!"
posted by damn dirty ape at 4:40 PM on August 20, 2010
posted by damn dirty ape at 4:40 PM on August 20, 2010
Response by poster: What smartphone lasts more than 16 hours with any real use? My EVO with its big-ass power sucking screen and 4G modem lasts about as long as my old 3GS. Its a shame the iphone brigade had to come in and crap up this question. No where did he asks for criticism of his choice of phone. This is the phone equivalant of "Switch to linux, n00b!"
I'm not too concerned about it, it wasn't a huge derail. Although I would have preferred if he was comparing the iPhone to the actual phone I intend to buy. :)
posted by antifuse at 8:27 AM on September 1, 2010
I'm not too concerned about it, it wasn't a huge derail. Although I would have preferred if he was comparing the iPhone to the actual phone I intend to buy. :)
posted by antifuse at 8:27 AM on September 1, 2010
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posted by bristolcat at 8:05 AM on August 17, 2010