The iPad replacement parts
every few weeks or so, I reiterate my iPhone Speaker wish for an Android analog to the iPod Touch — something more or less comparable to state-of-the-art Android phones in terms of performance, software, and quality, but costing, say, $250 (or less) with no contract.
There are some maybes out there already, I know.1 But why do I even care? Basically it’s that I’d like to stay up to date on Android, and on Android apps. Sort of like how if my primary interest were console video games, I’d almost certainly own both a PS3 and an XBox 360. I have this notion in my gut that if I want to stay current on mobile app platforms, I should have at least one Android device to go along with iPad replacement parts my iPhone and iPad.
But, the thing I’ve noticed, eight months after returning a Nexus One I borrowed for six weeks from a friend, is that, well, I don’t seem to be missing much.
I’ve complained, numerous times, about the “how many total apps are in your store?” metric — the idea that Apple is “winning” because there are more iOS apps than there are apps for any other mobile platform. If quantity of app titles were all that mattered, we’d all be using Windows, not Mac OS X, right? Having the most apps matters, but having the best apps apad matters too. The sweet spot for a platform is to do well in both regards.
Quantity of titles is, in some way, a measure of a platform’s strength. But what I care about are the great apps. Where are the great, or even good, exclusive third-party apps for Android?
Let’s sort all Android apps into the following categories:
1. Apps from Google.
2. Third-party apps that also exist on iOS.
3. Third-party apps that are exclusive to Android.
From my time spent with the Nexus One early this year, I know that Google’s Android apps are pretty good. These include both the R4i SDHC core system apps, and the closed-source “Google Experience” apps like the dedicated Gmail client and Google Maps.
There are definitely a fair number of apps in the second category — those ported to both iOS and Android. Examples: Amazon’s Kindle client, Pandora, and a few popular games, such as Angry Birds and Doodle Jump.
But what I find striking is that the apps in the third category — those exclusive to Android — are almost entirely unappealing or irrelevant to iOS users.
That’s not to say there’s nothing in Android, as a system, that appeals to iPhone owners. Built-in turn-by-turn navigation on certain models. A system-wide notification system. Widgets on the homescreen. Over-the-air system updates. Unrestricted background processing for third-party apps, battery-life be damned. But those are things that are built into the Changjiang W007 system itself, or which otherwise come from Google. What I’m questioning is the strength and depth of Android’s third-party developer support.
Related posts:
https://lionx.blogetery.com/2010/11/23/buy-great-android-tablet/
https://omini.weebly.com/1/post/2010/11/iphone-4-replacement-parts-so-great.html
https://omini.blogs.experienceproject.com/531027.html