We’ve seen the hardware (ooh, shiny) - now for the apps…

If you’re remotely interested in tech you can’t have missed the big Android / Nexus launches. Touch of genius from the Big G to time it so precisely that it overwhelmed something else that was meant to happen, what was it? Windows Phone something or other.

There was the Nexus 4, which wasn’t much of a surprise but looks pretty sweet in the official videos.

There was the Nexus 7 update, which will be bound to upset us early adopters who really, really want that extra memory…

Then there was the big beast, the Nexus 10, with a class leading screen resolution. Take that iPad owners!

However all the fun stuff does bring a problem that needs to be fixed urgently for the future of Android and that is apps.

Android is doing phenomenally well in the phone stakes and, understandably, as developers that’s where we focus. However we need to plan for the future - designers need to provide super high res assets and developers need to get to grips with tablet UI concepts and I need to get my finger out and learn more about Fragments. We need to think about how to scale apps from low end phones, the mini tablets to the high end - all three cover such a range of resolutions and UI patterns that I wonder if we need to use new UI metaphors at the extremes. For example, the Nexus 10 has a resolution of 2560 * 1600. That’s more than your typical computer. Do we want to stick with the single app, single window framework, or with all this power and future development, should tablets now move to a more windowed design?

All I know is, I’m going to need intravenous coffee to keep up with everything.

Very exciting times coming up, some vexing times for developers as we try to cover all the bases, and Santa…guess what’s on my list?

 


Fitness expert, app developer, servant to a Jack Russell. A bit obsessed with stock Android. Weird combination or what. Well, those are the things I'm interested in. Full time geek. I love mobile technology - its truly "magic" how it has revolutionised the world. I remember how PC's changed things, mobiles are doing the same - just even faster and in deeper ways.

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