Category Archives: Android Programming

If 2009 was the year that manufacturers and developers fully embraced Google’s Android mobile operating system, then 2010 is already shaping up as the year consumers follow suit. According to new data published by research firm ChangeWave, 4 percent of smartphone owners surveyed in mid-December say they’re currently using Android, up three points over September totals; more significantly, 21 percent of respondents planning to purchase a smartphone in the next 90 days say they’d prefer the device run on the Android OS–a 15 point jump in just three months. ChangeWave notes that as of September 2009, Android was tied for dead last in consumer preference among the major operating systems–now, it’s in second place among future buyers, behind only the iPhone OS X at 28 percent, down 4 percentage points in the last three months. Android’s rise also comes at the expense of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Palm’s webOS–6 percent of consumers say they plan to purchase a WinMo device, down from 9 percent in September, while webOS slipped from 6 percent to 3 percent quarter-over-quarter. Only Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS held relatively steady between September and December, increasing from 17 percent to 18 percent among prospective smartphone buyers.

ChangeWave forecasts that Motorola’s Droid stands to benefit most from consumer demand for Android devices–in fact, 13 percent of shoppers say they plan to purchase a Motorola smartphone in the next three months, a 12-point jump over September 2009 and the handset maker’s first increase in a ChangeWave consumer smartphone survey in three years. In addition, 9 percent of prospective smartphone buyers are now eyeing HTC devices, up from 5 percent in the previous survey, corresponding with the November release of the Droid Eris. Word of mouth is also working in Android’s favor, with 72 percent of current Android users telling ChangeWave they’re very satisfied with their smartphone, behind iPhone users at 77 percent but well ahead of BlackBerry (41 percent), Palm OS/webOS (33 percent) and Windows Mobile (25 percent).

Not all Android purchases are looming in the immediate future–it appears that a large number of consumers received Android devices over the holidays as well. Mobile application analytics provider Flurry reports Android Market app downloads increased 22 percent between November and December, with downloads to Droid units up 93 percent on Christmas Day over previous Fridays last month. In all, the Droid now accounts for 49 percent of all Android Market downloads, followed by the myTouch 3G at 18 percent, the HTC Hero at 17 percent and the G1 at 16 percent. Flurry adds that Apple’s App Store download volume is still more than 13 times greater than Android Market–regardless, Android has made enormous strides over the past year, and that trend will continue in 2010. -Jason

Looking back at 2009, the biggest story shaping the mobile development landscape was the emergence of Google’s Android open-source operating system as a truly viable rival to Apple’s iPhone. Android seemed to gain momentum with each passing month this year–during the company’s third quarter earnings call in mid-October, Google CEO Eric Schmidt contended all the “necessary conditions” are now in place to galvanize the platform’s global growth, with close to 20 smartphones now available worldwide and many more in the pipeline. Looking ahead at 2010, it appears Android will continue to dominate discussion, but not all of it positive: Fragmentation fears continue to escalate, and Google itself is behind the latest wave of concern, albeit indirectly. A recent post on the Android Developers Blog underscores the complexities to come: According to the Device Dashboard, a new online tool providing data about the relative number of active devices running a given version of Android, 54.2 percent of smartphones currently run Android 1.6, 27.7 percent run Android 1.5 and 14.8 percent run 2.0.1. (Android 2.0 runs on 2.9 percent of devices, and 1.1 runs on just 0.3 percent.)

That’s not all. “Starting with Android 1.6, devices can have different screen densities and sizes,” writes Google software engineer Raphaël Moll. “There are several devices out there that fall in this category, so make sure to adapt your application to support different screen sizes and take advantage of devices with small, low density (e.g QVGA) and normal, high density (e.g. WVGA) screens. Note that Android Market will not list your application on small screen devices unless its manifest explicitly indicates support for ‘small’ screen sizes. Make sure you properly configure the emulator and test your application on different screen sizes before uploading to Market.” Moll also reminds developers that all Android 2.0 devices will upgrade to 2.0.1 before the end of the year, recommending updates for applications using features specific to 2.0.

While the stated objective of Moll’s post is “to provide [developers] with the tools and information to make it easy for you to target specific versions of the platform or all the versions that are deployed in volume,” the Device Dashboard nevertheless paints a sobering portrait of an Android ecosystem that’s splintering off in an increasing number of directions. Insiders even suggest that one of the motivating factors behind Google’s rumored development of its own branded Android smartphone is to guarantee a consistent user experience across its applications. For now, developer interest in Android remains strong: According to data released by applications tracker AndroLib, Android Market added 3107 new applications in November, and 2732 new apps so far this month. But with so many new Android devices in all shapes and sizes expected in 2010, the question isn’t whether the platform will grow too big for developers to ignore–it’s whether it will grow too big for them to manage. -Jason

P.S. Please note FierceDeveloper will be on publishing hiatus until Tuesday, Jan. 5. Have a memorable and safe holiday season, and see you back here in 2010.

While Google’s updated Android 2.0 operating system officially reached the consumer market in early November in conjunction with Verizon Wireless’ commercial launch of the Motorola-produced Droid smartphone, Sprint announced the revamped OS will not expand to its Hero and Moment devices until as late as mid-2010. “Happy to announce Android 2.0 is coming to Sprint’s Hero & Moment,” reads a Dec. 11 post on the operator’s official Twitter feed. “Date TBD, but roughly 1H 2010.”

According to IDG News Service, the delay underscores the potential fragmentation challenges facing the open Android platform as it spreads across more operators and manufacturers. With various smartphones running Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0, there exists the possibility that not all Android applications will function properly across all addressable handsets, a situation that could discourage developers from creating software for the platform. “That type of confusion doesn’t give developers a warm and fuzzy feeling,” said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg.

For more on Sprint’s Android 2.0 holding pattern:
- read this IDG News Service article

Related articles:
Android 2.0 SDK touts messaging, browser enhancements
Android app project starts grow 94 percent in one month

Google announced it is presently trialing a new Android-based device, referred to as a “Google phone” by an employee testing the product and officially called the Nexus One according to The Wall Street Journal, which adds the web services giant designed virtually all the software powering the device, from applications to the user interface of each screen. “We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe,” writes Google product management vice president Mario Queiroz on the Official Google Mobile Blog. “This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.”

While Queiroz adds Google cannot share specific product details, employees are tweeting about the Nexus One and showing it off to friends. TechCrunch notes that one program manager posted on Twitter “…we all got the new Google phone. It’s beautiful” while other Twitter users report seeing the handset up-close, adding the unlocked HTC-produced smartphone runs on Android 2.1 and does not feature a physical keyboard. “A sexy beast,” Twitter user GreatWhiteSnark writes. “Like an iPhone on beautifying steroids.”

In the past Google has consistently denied speculation it would introduce a branded Android handset, but the buzz has grown louder in recent weeks–in mid-November, TechCrunch reported the web services giant plans to release its own Android smartphone in early 2010, followed weeks later by a Gizmodo report stating prototype devices were on the way to Google’s Mountain View, Calif. Campus, all running a new version of the Android OS.

For more on the Google phone:
- read this Official Google Mobile Blog entry

Google announced the winners of its second Android Developer Challenge, identifying 30 overall winners in 10 categories selected by an official panel of judges as well as tens of thousands of Android users worldwide. SweetDreams, a tool enabling users to avoid late-night calls without remembering to change their phone settings, was first among three Overall Winners, claiming the $250,000 grand prize; What the Doodle?, a multiplayer game requiring players to decipher user drawings, placed second for winnings of $150,000, and mobile data security solution WaveSecure came in third, taking home $125,000.

In addition to the three Overall Winners, which topped the Lifestyle, Games: Casual/Puzzle and Productivity/Tools categories, respectively, Google announced seven additional first-place winners: Plink Art (Education/Reference), A World of Photo (Entertainment), Speed Forge 3D (Games: Arcade/Action), Buzz Deck (Media), Ce:real (Social Networking), Trip Journal (Travel) and Rhythm Guitar (Miscellaneous). First-place winners in all categories receive $100,000–second place earns $50,000, and third place wins $25,000.

For more on the Android Developer Challenge results:
- check out this Google winners’ gallery