Welcome to Android Design!

Today Google opened up their new website for developers called Android Design. While there are exceptions to the rule, for the most part Android apps have always been thought of as the ugly duckling of the mobile world. With the opening of Android Design, Google now hopes to change that. Google is serious about competing head to head with Apple iOS developers, who have always served up a more polished product. The sole goal for Android Design is to help teach Android developers how to use all of the new UI elements in Android 4.0 (and higher) to create world class apps. For those that use Android apps this is a good thing. Of course Google is not making it mandatory for developers to attend Android Design. Instead they are hoping that developers will realize that it is to their advantage to put out a more professional polished app.

The better looking the app, the greater the chances of someone buying it.

The easier it is to use the app, the greater the chances of someone buying it.

These are the two areas that Android Design will focus on. I look forward to seeing easier to use and more polished looking apps. Kudos to Google for facing this issue head on and helping the Android developers to (soon) create the best apps on the planet.

But why can't they issue more polished apps for the older models? After all there are millions and millions? Shouldn't we make them update the look for the older devices?

They laid the groundwork for this with Honeycomb. It's just that ICS takes it to the next level and gives the developers more tools. I'm kind of excited about it. Last night I was looking at an iOS app and it was truly well polished. To have that kind of an app for use on Android is exactly what they need, a real shot in the arm. We're a very visual society and Google is doing exactly the right thing here. In-fact I bet their next move will be to reward developers who use Android Design, and rightly so. One thing they need to do is to work on the newly introduced up button. It points left not up I can see a lot of developers (and users) getting confused by this. I guess there's always room to grow

Laid the groundwork with Honeycomb? So are you saying it can't be done with earlier devices that include older OS versions? That shouldn't matter, should it?

Just doesn't seem fair that those of us with an older device OS, but just bought brand new, won't be able to have these exciting updates.

The tools are in ICS (they have to start somewhere) and more will be coming. Plus it is going to take a while for developers to learn and start using these new tools. By that time more products will be using ICS. Hey, it could be worse. iOS is going to start using a sandbox for all of their apps and some iOS apps that work now - won't when the new security policy goes into effect (March). I can already hear people starting to whine "I paid money for this app because of this feature and now you removed it...".

To be fair Steve, Honeycomb is a tab only OS.

Sent from my DROIDX using Everything Android

I don't know what that means. My comments and questions in this thread really relate to a different one.

I found the OP's opinions of this app design "upgrade" interesting considering what was written in that other one. This is limited to a particular OS version, which is running on particular hardware, but manufacturer OS upgrades should not be limited to particular hardware. At least not the hardware he has. Just found it amusing.....

Android only uses Honeycomb on the tablets. It isn't used on the phones. And I saw plenty of what the OP wrote in the other thread. I know what you were pointing out. And it was a fair point. It just seemed to me that a connection between Honeycomb and ICS was made, and I didn't think it was an apt comparison.

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Learn something new every day. That is why forums such as eA are so important, especially for newbies like me.....

I see what you did there

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yep, I agree, one of the best things about the Android platform is that allow the customization and great degree of awesomeness jeje!!