Tag: mobile

Holo or Bust

Holo is the name of the new interface for Android, introduced in version 3 (Honeycomb) and refined in version 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Apparently Google wants this made widely available across every Android device running ICS because since debuting in 2008, the interface for Android devices had been a mixed bag.

Every manufacturer pushes its own look, its own style, over the stock Android interface. Motorola has its Motoblur skin, HTC had Sense UI, SonyEricsson has Timescape, Samsung with its TouchWiz and so on.

Naturally every Android partner wants to have its own signature look to differentiate itself from its competitors aside from hardware specifications, designs, and features. What this brings about however is inconsistency across brands, although for the majority of consumers it might not matter too much. After all, how many people go through multiple Android devices in such a short time right?

Developers however, has had to make sure their apps work across multiple devices with multiple interfaces. Most of the time, this isn’t an issue but apparently some apps can experience glitches due to conflicts with the added skin.

Up to this point, only the Google sanctioned Nexus devices offer the pure unadulterated Android experience and interface. Those seeking to have this have been made to seek out Nexus devices which may not necessarily be available in their respective markets.

Now, Google looks to be taking a stand and trying to force partners to make the stock interface available on every device and those who are not willing to comply will have access to Android Market revoked. Quite a stance from Mountain View.

That’s not to say manufacturers all must abandon their own themes. All their standard variants can still be the default but Holo must be made available and usable by consumers should they choose to use it. In other words, stock interface will no longer be the domain of Nexus devices, which is great news.

Holo or Bust

RIM to license BlackBerry to HTC, Samsung, others?

Seriously?

RIM to license BlackBerry to HTC, Samsung, others?

Google released its latest numbers on Android distribution earlier this week and the numbers aren’t necessarily surprising.

Over 96% of Android devices are on Gingerbread or older. With 54% of Android devices running Gingerbread v 2.3.3 or newer, it may sound like a good news for Google but as it turns out, more than 40% are still on Froyo, or 2.2, or older, something from at least two years ago.

Android developers will therefore need to target v. 2.1 as the base OS for apps if they want to reach the largest potential user base, or 2.2 if they’re willing to cut 8.5% of devices still running Eclair.

The release of 4.0 back in October (which is really version 3 as far as handsets are concerned) means nothing to the greater Android installed base as it has not been made available for any Android phone aside from Galaxy Nexus. If you happen to have an Android phone from 2010, you may as well forget about 4.0 for a while as barely any of them will get it.

Corollary to what was discussed in my post on DailySocial the other day, there is simply no incentive yet for developers to target the latest version for the next quarter as handset manufacturers won’t have them distributed to their phones until then. That makes it five to six months since 4.0 was released.

API level is essentially the level of technological advancements that come with each version of Android. Version 2.1 has API level 7 while version 4.0.3 is on 15. That should give you some idea as to the limitations that developers will need to work with if they decide to target the older version.

On the other hand, since most devices won’t get 4.0 for some time, and that the majority are on 2.3.x, developers would be working with only two or three API levels behind. After all, levels 11-13 are reserved for tablets running Honeycomb (3.x).

Speaking of Android tablets, they make up only 3.3% of the active installed base in the last two weeks.

$190 USB cable from Vertu

Some gems in the post from Rob Beschizza at BoingBoing:

Vertu has long specialized in calculator-display brickphones that look like dragon poo rolled in gemstones

Though the company’s future is uncertain–Nokia is reportedly trying to offload it–Vertu still understands the communication needs of oil wives and drug dealers better than anyone

Here’s the cable. It’s standard issue USB, not even gold plated or adorned with crystal.

$190 USB cable from Vertu

Clopen

Danny Sullivan’s piece on how Android isn’t really open as far as consumers are concerned.

Damning paragraph:

A big reason behind this mess is that Google doesn’t actually sell the Android operating system to consumers. If it did, it would probably care more about ensuring customers (because that’s what they would be) were covered from start to finish.

My expanded thoughts on this on DailySocial.

Clopen

If Twitter is the backchannel of life, Path is the backchannel of Twitter

I’ve been so hooked on Path, it has managed to replace Twitter as my go to app every morning.

I love the private sharing feature it imposes on its members and I have no qualms rejecting sharing requests from people I know simply to limit my spread of updates. It’s not like I’ve left Twitter. My primary presence is still on Twitter but for a lot of personal updates, Path really is the place. Twitter is the public plaza where you seek out general news and other info.

Google+ would have been it though if the mobile app wasn’t so shit in the first place. Despite the focus on design Google has taken in recent months, its mobile app developers haven’t seem to be able to grasp how important a well-designed interface is when it comes to applications. The team has some serious issues to address.

Perhaps I’m part of an elite snob whose view on mobile apps have been so skewed by Apple’s near-meticulous designs, that I place a stronger emphasis on interface design in delivering functions, although Apple’s own apps are beginning to look ridiculous themselves lately.

Honestly there’s little to differentiate between Path and Facebook on mobile but Path isn’t full of people whose updates I don’t give a shit about. I mean yeah, I added those people on Facebook because I used to know them or I just met them but the kinds of things they share on Facebook are either duplicates of what they said on Twitter or that I’m so far removed from them these days that whatever they posted just fails to catch my interest anymore.

I set up this blog for Jakarta’s early Twitter adopters and as it turns out, Path is taking over the role what Twitter used to be back in the days of 2007-2008. 

Twitter is now like the mall and Path is that street corner cafe where you and your closest friends hang out. This is a funny analogy because back in 2008, Facebook was the mall and Twitter was the corner cafe. So what is Facebook now? I have no idea, I couldn’t care less and I only use it for messaging.

The other day I said that if Twitter is the backchannel of life, Path is the backchannel of Twitter.

This was Vodafone India’s attempt at getting non-corporate people to use BlackBerrys last year. No kidding. The guy in the middle reminds me of Balsillie

Google Currents adds to interface inconsistencies across Google’s mobile apps

Lo Min Ming, former UX designer intern at Google:

The reason why there are such differences in these Google apps is that the designers in each of these teams know that Android design is ugly. They all want to change the standard popup design. They want to change the icons. They want to tweak the style. Both the Currents and Google+ team clearly wanted a more flat look compared to the more 3D look of other apps.

I used to rant a lot about Google web services – Search vs Maps vs Gmail vs News, etc. But with the recent efforts to unify the look of these web services to use design language of Google+, they now look much better. More importantly, these web services have a more consistent feel to it.

Let’s hope that they do something across all their Android apps too.

Google Currents adds to interface inconsistencies across Google’s mobile apps

Secret software logs and reports keystrokes on millions of mobile phones

Supposedly this is for quality control

I wonder if this applies internationally or just for US phones

Cringe as the video shows the software logging each number as Eckhart fingers the dialer.

“Every button you press in the dialer before you call,” he says on the video, “it already gets sent off to the IQ application.”

From there, the data — including the content of  text messages — is sent to Carrier IQ’s servers, in secret.

By the way, it cannot be turned off without rooting the phone and replacing the operating system. And even if you stop paying for wireless service from your carrier and decide to just use Wi-Fi, your device still reports to Carrier IQ.

Secret software logs and reports keystrokes on millions of mobile phones

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvnDunLJSPE

Nokia’s in depth documentary on Lumia 800

chartier:

Yes, it’s the same kind of polished marketing fluff that Apple and a few other companies produce, but that’s the point. It’s polished, and they talk as passionately as engineers, executives, designers, and other nervous non-actors can about loving their work.

via GigaOM

While this is about the Lumia 800, a lot about the hardware could probably be said about the N9 which I really love, after all, the two phones share an identical design with slight tweaks in a few places.

I do hesitate a little about openly recommending the N9 given the limited availability of the applications as well as the unique approach to its use but I can say that I’m enjoying the different ways to use a mobile device. I love it when somebody comes along and offers a fresh take on common activities and the N9 is as fresh as it gets.

I’m genuinely excited about Nokia’s future having seen and now own the N9. This is a fresh start for the company struggling to maintain its position in the rapidly changing world of mobile phones.

Though I’m apprehensive about the deal with Microsoft, having used Windows Phone 7 for about a month earlier this year, I can say that it’s really not a bad piece of software from the consumer point of view. I like how it delivers a truly fresh approach to the user interface, focusing on text and panels rather than icons and heavy graphics. Microsoft’s approach to Metro takes away many of the fluff and shows just the important elements.

Having gone back to the familiar iOS interface, I miss the spartan look of Windows Phone but what can I say, iOS feels a lot like home. It’s what I’ve been used to since 2008 and it’s clearly much more polished and mature.

Today, I use both the N9 as well as an iPhone 3GS. Having owned an iPhone 4 for three months, I never had the intention to upgrade to the 4S. Despite the highly publicized and clearly impressive Siri, it doesn’t fully work outside of the United States and I’d rather wait until the next iteration. Without Siri, the camera is the remaining major upgrade from the 4 and I’m currently quite happy using the cameras on the 3GS as well as the N9.