Looks like Google doesn’t have the Midas touch after all. According to reports, a sizable number of developers who’ve been working with the SDK for Google’s Linux-based Android platform say it is full of bugs and often doesn’t work at all.
It is not atypical for there to be bugs in new software. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a large number of Android developers are encountering serious coding errors in the SDK. It cites the experiences of one developer, Adam MacBeth, who has been unable to get an application working in Android after working on it for weeks.
Said MacBeth: “Functionality is not there, is poorly documented or just doesn’t work. It’s clearly not ready for prime time.”
Ouch.
This is an early stumble for Google. Google needs the developers to be happy with the SDK if it expects the platform to gain any legs in the market. If they can’t get applications to work because the coding is all messed up, Android might be a very short-lived experiment or fail to have the impact Google hopes for. The developers who WSJ spoke with also said Google has not be very responsive to their complaints.
The news isn’t all bad, though. The WSJ wraps its article with thoughts from professional software engineer Rick Genter. Mr. Genter said, “While Google’s mobile software is buggy, it isn’t necessarily any worse than any other software at such an early stage.” Let’s hope that’s the real story here.
Since Google doesn’t plan to make the platform available until the second half of next year, it and the developer community have ample time to get the bugs worked out.
What about you? Any other developers out there experiencing trouble with the Android SDK?
With everyone shouting about the potential for iPhone games and whether the new N-Gage platform is going to be any good, the prospect of Google’s forthcoming Android operating system being a viable gaming platform is a notion that’s been somewhat lost in the noise.
But W2Pi Entertainment has begun development in earnest of a very unique sounding location-based FPS game for Android, called Wi-Fi Army.
The basic set-up sees you search for players when you’re out and about, and if your phone detects anyone with an Android handset that is running Wi-Fi Army within a 300-foot radius, you can invite them to the game.
If the player accepts your invite, their profile is sent to you including a photo of what they look like. The idea is that you then have to track them down. But the really clever part is that when you spot the person you are playing with, you have to take their picture with your Phone’s camera which is then automatically uploaded to the Wi-Fi Army server that compares the picture against the picture of the player that’s in the database. If a match is found it counts as one hit.
The beta version will only support up to 500 players per city, although it will be free. Apparently weapon upgrades (Lord knows how those work) and other power-ups will be available for a nominal fee.
It’s extremely ambitious sounding stuff and making use of wi-fi, GPS and camera functions in one game is something that has mostly been the stuff of the drawing board up until now. If this game actually ships, then there will certainly be little else like it out there.
We have our reservations regarding the reality of getting such a complicated system to run smoothly, not to mention the slightly creepy nature of tracking down complete strangers in real life to take their photo.
That said, there’s no denying the idea is fiercely original and if it works the way the developer intends it to, it bodes well for the power of the Android platform and its future credentials for gaming.
As expected, Google has released an “early look” version of its SDK (software development kit) for mobile phones. The Eclipse-based Android SDK lets users write Java applications that run on Dalvik, a virtual machine designed to run on top of Linux in embedded applications. Few guessed the importance Java was to play last Monday, when Google announced Android.
The completely open source stack aims to enable developers to write mobile phone applications that make use of Google services, thus expanding Google’s Maps, Mail, Search, LocalSearch, YouTube, and other services beyond the confines of the public Internet.In retrospective, some clue as to the importance of Java was hinted at by the presence of several Java specialists — including Aplix and Esmertec — among the founders of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), the industry group formed to maintain and promote Android. Another clue might have come a year ago, when Sun GPL’d Java, simultaneously launching a “Mobile and Embedded Community” focused largely on a phoneME project. The “early look” SDK can be found here.
The main Android page, meanwhile, has lots of videos demonstrating Android phone capabilities, including the ones shown below Continue reading »
A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today’s mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences. Continue reading »
Looks like Google doesn’t have the Midas touch after all. According to reports, a sizable number of developers who’ve been working with the SDK for Google’s Linux-based Android platform say it is full of bugs and often doesn’t work at all.
