Is Google’s Android Mobile OS in Danger?
A recent InfoWorld article suggests that Google’s Android Mobile OS is in serious danger due to a business pact between IBM and Oracle.
The pact has to do with the two companies planning two focus on OpenJDK, a new open source version of Java. So why is that a problem for Google? Well besides the fact that Oracle — who recently purchased Sun Microsystems, creators of Java — has a lawsuit against Android’s use of Java components, the problem is that Android uses components of the Harmony project. Harmony is an open source version of Java, created under the Apache Software Foundation name and contributed to heavily to by IBM employees.
So according to InfoWorld, even if Google wins the Oracle lawsuit, a move to OpenJDK could seriously affect Android, an OS that has taken top place in terms of the number of new mobile handsets purchased this year in the USA. Focus on OpenJDK means little or no focus on Harmony.
To be honest, I haven’t followed what that’s exactly about; however, anything that worries developers can cause long-term harm. Most of my time this year has been with Apple iOS work, but since the writing seems to be on the wall about Android dominating the mobile handset market (and possibly with tablets) in the very near future, I’ve started boning up on my Android skills.
Let’s just say I’ve never been a fan of Java. I like streamlined code and Java code always felt like unnecessary bloat just to do simple operations. So it’s rather difficult to decide whether to put in time learning Java (circumstances in my career simply meant that I never really had much time or desire to learn beyond the basics). If Android is in danger, why should I spend the precious little time I have in a week learning the Android OS and Java, let alone developing apps in Android? That’s a question — or something like it — that other developers are no doubt asking. (Though now that I’ve been working with Apple’s Objective-C for a while, I’m not feeling so negatively towards Java’s object-oriented principles.)
Could it be that there’s some intent by Oracle and IBM to damage Google? Possible, but why? Neither has any visible investment in the Mobile space. To confuse matters even more — at least for my understanding — InfoWorld quotes an NY Times Bits’ blog post that says Google has more developers contributing to OpenJDK than Oracle does. But if Android is to not lose its growing position in Mobile market share, Google may have to take over Harmony development or start all over again. That’s partially because, as the NY Times blog Bits says, the Oracle lawsuit restricts communication between them and Google.
My feeling is that if the latter scenario happens — that is, if Google has to take over the Harmony project — it would leave an opening for Apple’s iOS to become king of the castle. (I really feel BlackBerry will lose their worldwide top ranking and that HP/Palm WebOS has a lot of marketing to do before they’re anywhere close. Then again, maybe a revitalized Mobile OS offering from Microsoft, in the form of Windows Phone 7, has a shot.
What are your thoughts, either as a consumer or a mobile apps developer, about these developments?
Links: InfoWorld, NY Times Bits Blog.
Design Mobile Apps for the Blind?
Without evening reading past Techcrunch’s recent headline about “two new Android apps to help the blind navigate around town,” a question pops into my head: exactly how does a blind person use a touchscreen-based smartphone if it doesn’t have a keyboard, and even if it does, what about the limitations. Excuse the pun, but I don’t see how such apps can be of any value — or at least that was my gut reaction. Some of you are probably thinking the same thing, but reflect on it for a moment and you might feel differently.
Techcrunch points out one blind iPhone user, Austin Seraphin, who wrote on his own blog, Behind the Curtain, back in June 2010 about how the phone changed his life in just the first 24 hours of using it. That is amazing. He goes on to explain how he uses the iPhone, and the key of course is the VoiceOver feature. Android phones, I’m assuming, have a similar feature.
So if you’re a mobile apps developers, whether you pick Apple iOS, Google Android, or some other Mobile OS with VoiceOver-like features, wouldn’t it be gratifying to build life-changing apps? Don’t ignore this market. While it might not be large now, the more well-designed mobile apps there are for the sight-impaired market, the larger that market will grow. (There might even be government grants to develop such apps.) While there’s no way a touchscreen smartphone can produce Braille content, combining audio and touch interactions might actually be a more valuable experience for the sight-impaired, and such apps could have a profoundly positive effect on someone’s life.
Of course, you’ll have to throw some of your mobile apps design principles out the proverbial window and approach design from a literally different perspective. That is, without sight. Trying closing your eyes and think about how you would want a mobile app to interact with you if you couldn’t see. If you had to tap, double-tap or swipe the screen based on audio cues, could you navigate through an app without looking? How can you improve the screen flow? Is it possible for a blind person to use your app on their own, or would they need a sighted person to changing settings for them? Can you incorporate touch-based interactions with voice without making it overly complicated?
For those of you looking for a challenge, the sight-impaired mobile market could be a great starting point and rewarding besides.
Have you designed or used mobile apps intended for the sight-impaired? What was your experience?
Links: Techcrunch, Behind the Curtain.
Offshore Mobile Developers Don’t Have to be a Threat
It’s no surprise that the giant East Indian corporation Tata, or actually one of its many divisions, is one of the two firms in negotiations with Apple to carry a CDMA version of the iPhone. The GSM version is already available in India through Bharti AirTel Ltd and Vodafone Essar Ltd., but 20% of the mobile handset market there uses CDMA phones. Does this greater availability of the iPhone mean more threat for N. American iPhone apps developers? Probably not.
Now I’ll admit that when I first saw the headline at WSJ, I was thinking, “Great, more iPhone development competition for me; should I get out of this now?” However, iPhone price points in Indian and Pakistan will naturally limit handset purchases and, indirectly, development competition. The cheapest iPhone in India is reportedly about US$680 and nearly half the country’s earners make about half that in an entire year, so I can’t see much opportunity there for Apple, and even most Indian developers probably wouldn’t want to shell out that much when they can test much of their iOS code on a simulator.
Now if you’ve done any iPhone apps development, you’ll know that you can get away with a lot of code being tested on a simulator, but if you have to develop for distribution, you’re pretty much going to need to test on a device. As for a dev environment, unless an Indian iPhone dev is working for a company, they end up likely using a Hackintosh, created from an Intel-based PC/laptop running Mac OS X, which Apple views as being against their TOS. I’ve done extensive research out of curiosity, and even for a long-time programmer such as myself, who’s comfortable taking apart a desktop PC and tinkering, building a Hackintosh does not seem to have a guaranteed ROI. There are too many problems, and using the right computer is important to begin with. At least for N. American devs, it’s probably not worth the time to build a Hackintosh. For a lone Indian dev wanting to work nights and weekends, it’s a necessity, but even just a Windows-based PC can cost a considerable portion of their monthly salary.
For cost and other reasons, many Indian mobile dev houses are likely partnering with a N. American consulting firm — which reduces competition from individual developers. My own experience is that too many offshore companies are underbidding on projects and end up doing poor jobs because they’re not partnered, leaving a sour taste in clients’ collective mouths. Other problems are time zone differences. If you’re in continental N. America, you’re between 9.5-12.5 hours behind India, and it is not easy working with a remote team. It also seems that with all the job-hopping going on there, resources are often lacking and newbies need too much handholding.
Being of Indian origin myself but growing up in Canada and the U.S., I feel I can get away with saying that, and it’s a harsh reality for clients. On the other hand, if you understand Indian culture enough and have reliable contacts in India, if you have more than enough work that you might otherwise turn away, you could consider working with a remote team there. From my own experience, I’d suggest redundancy of personnel, but at relatively low salary costs, it’s still affordable to have two different developers do the same work and for you to choose the better code. The only drawback is that you’d likely have to purchase Macs here and have them shipped over. Oh, and in many parts of India, you’d probably want to have a UPS (Universal Power Supply) box, to avoid downtime when the electric grid goes kaput. (From my own home state, that can happen every single afternoon, especially during monsoon season.)
Links: WSJ.
Android Might Become Top Mobile OS, But What About Design Environment?
The writing’s on the wall: Android is probably going to dominate in the mobile OS space, from the consumer perspective, for quite some time. In fact, NielsenWire just published a report (link below) stating that Android has leaped into top place in the smartphone OS category, at least in the U.S., amongst recent smartphone purchasers — passing the iPhone. A number of other online publications have been saying for a few weeks that Android will dominate over all, and the report is echoed in the NY Times and in GigaOm. While I have nothing against Google — I do use many, many of their web tools daily — as a mobile developer, I have my own concerns about this. Namely, can the Android dev & design environment attract quality mobile apps development?
Let me clarify, if I can, so as not to offend. I’ve been thick in the development of iPhone/ iPad apps for the past few months (hence why I have not written on CallStyle lately), and only just started picking up Android skills. I love the Mac’s Xcode environment and the Interface Builder, both of which make it relatively easy to to at least mockup iPhone and iPad screens
I don’t feel that that’s the case with Android. While I have no Android phone to verify the quality of Android apps, I have been working with the Eclipse IDE and necessary Android plugins to do some very simple “hello, world” type of mobile apps in the simulator. Now, I am an experienced programmer of more than 25 years (though I’m not saying how much “more”), and I can assess an dev environment fairly quickly. I’ve always liked the Eclipse IDE, though most of the languages I used to program in didn’t have plugins at the time, so I’ve never used Eclipse all that much. However, it’s the Android screen design that I’m not impressed with. Mocking up screens in Android is nowhere nearly as enjoyable as for Apple iOS. What’s more, Android phones have far too many screen sizes overall. It’s like designing sites for the Web all over again.
Call me biased but when offshore companies (i.e., outside Canada and the U.S.) are bidding as low as possible on mobile app projects and even prototyping for free, it’s hard enough to survive and create iPhone apps that will function on just 3-4 types of devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPhone 4, iPad). Sure, Apple might soon release a 7″ iPad, or other devices that’ll have iOS and need apps, but for now, it’s relatively easy to design for iOS, and the Mac’s Interface Builder makes it easy too. I’m not seeing the equivalent for Android. It just doesn’t feel as enjoyable, and the simulator feels like an afterthought.
Apple’s App Store is still the biggest for now, but if I recall, there are experts who believe that won’t last. I don’t know. While I will be developing for Android and probably WebOS, my money (or at least my time) is still on iOS for now. What about you? As either a consumer of mobile apps or a developer, which platform are you betting on and why.
Links: Nielsen Wire, NY Times, GigaOm.