I've had my Droid for 5 weeks now, everyday I'm in the market place searching for something worthwhile. Honestly, out of the thousands and thousands of apps available I can only manage to stomach a handful that make me happy. I also noticed that alot of apps are just a duplicate of what the phone already has the capacity to with a twist or just a different look. Freezing, force close, unsupported bla bla. Don't take this wrong, I love my Droid but IMO the apps available leave something to be desired. What's the deal?
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Why do most apps suck?
- Thread starter hemidroid
- Start date
How many apps have you paid for? Have you checked the user ratings on the ones you have downloaded? Have you checked on DF to see what other people here think are good apps and ones to stay away from? Droid apps/games development is still in infancy compared to iPhone apps. Look back in a year from now and see if you still feel the same way, I bet you won't.
I disagree. Ive found tons of fun and productive apps. Have you tried air control, armored strike, astro, beat the chimp, bonsai blast, cribbage pro, funny jokes, fun towers, hearts free, mazeoid, real blackjack, rom manager, ringdroid, shazam, sky fire, or snesoid. The list goes on and on. For as young as the android market is i think the apps are pretty impressive and now that more people have android phones were gonna continue to draw the high end developers.
Thats what you get when there are no "rules" per say to releasing apps.
I have a droid and iphone.
People wanna gripe about the approval process Apple has for the appstore....but I would say 50% of the apps are good, useful, etc.
On the droid, I would say maybe 10% are good apps
Of course, the market isnt as "mature" as the appstore either....in terms of how long its been around.
I have a droid and iphone.
People wanna gripe about the approval process Apple has for the appstore....but I would say 50% of the apps are good, useful, etc.
On the droid, I would say maybe 10% are good apps
Of course, the market isnt as "mature" as the appstore either....in terms of how long its been around.
I'm not giving up on Android apps and you're right I've had tons of great apps with my Itouch (never had a Iphone) I've paid for Doc's to go and that is a good productive app, GPS Status, Google stuff is good and the flashlight is handy. Tried LauncherPro that everyone is raving about and I don't understand what the hype is, again it's just a slight different look with the same functions. For every great app there is a thousand crap apps but I do understand android is not as mature. I have faith. BTW this forum is very informative and a good bunch of helpful people on here.
The biggest reason why a lot of apps have issues is due to the fact that there are so many different Android phones. iPhones and Blackberries have it somewhat easier because the hardware and operating system are made by the same manufacturer, so the sdk for developing for those phones are simpler to some regard. At least with iPhones you can expect one screen resolution and somewhat similar cpu power. With Android phones there is no set hardware requirement, not to mention not all phones are running the same version of the OS, so due to those differences development can be tedious and full of unexpected bugs. Luckily since we are Droid owners we have it a bit easier because most developers optimize their code for us.
Sure there are a lot of apps that offer duplicate functionality but a lot of people flock towards them due to the extra tweaking. I know a lot of people use Handcent out there (personally I don't) my impression of it was that it let you change the notification led color for different message types.
I agree with you about there being a lot junk apps out there. The market place isn't the greatest for finding decent apps. Hopefully it will get better with 2.2 when we have some sort of option for searching for apps on our PCs.
The easiest way to find new apps is to just look for recommendations. There are a bunch of threads in this forum just for recommendations. I would also recommend that you read gizmodo.com, engadget.com and/or lifehacker.com because they tend to write articles about new and exciting apps that have come out or will be out soon.
Oh, and as for recommendations, I recommend Drop7. Drop7 might possibly be my favorite puzzle game now. I think I might spend more time playing it than I use my browser on my Droid. I've even written up a review of it at Destructoid.com
Sure there are a lot of apps that offer duplicate functionality but a lot of people flock towards them due to the extra tweaking. I know a lot of people use Handcent out there (personally I don't) my impression of it was that it let you change the notification led color for different message types.
I agree with you about there being a lot junk apps out there. The market place isn't the greatest for finding decent apps. Hopefully it will get better with 2.2 when we have some sort of option for searching for apps on our PCs.
The easiest way to find new apps is to just look for recommendations. There are a bunch of threads in this forum just for recommendations. I would also recommend that you read gizmodo.com, engadget.com and/or lifehacker.com because they tend to write articles about new and exciting apps that have come out or will be out soon.
Oh, and as for recommendations, I recommend Drop7. Drop7 might possibly be my favorite puzzle game now. I think I might spend more time playing it than I use my browser on my Droid. I've even written up a review of it at Destructoid.com
Yeah I would have to take the stance of disagreeing with you hemidroid. I have both an iPod Touch and a Motorola Droid sitting here right next to me. While I prefer games on the iPod Touch, apps themselves (as in applications and not games) I much more prefer on the Droid.
I believe a lot of people hear raves about the droid and what great apps there are and they buy one expecting the best. But when they realize that the game selection is not as "mature" as what it was on the iPhone/iPod Touch they become upset. But the thing about the Android and the apps that are out for it is that they are more aimed towards people who are more technically savvy (take SetCPU, ROM Manager, Droid Swap, etc. for example). More for the administrator if you will. Where as the apps that are out for the iPhone/iPod seem more like apps that are not.
But that's just my take on the situation.
I believe a lot of people hear raves about the droid and what great apps there are and they buy one expecting the best. But when they realize that the game selection is not as "mature" as what it was on the iPhone/iPod Touch they become upset. But the thing about the Android and the apps that are out for it is that they are more aimed towards people who are more technically savvy (take SetCPU, ROM Manager, Droid Swap, etc. for example). More for the administrator if you will. Where as the apps that are out for the iPhone/iPod seem more like apps that are not.
But that's just my take on the situation.
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Because if every app (regardless of whether the platform is Android, iPhone, PC, etc) was the best there wouldn't be any best. You'd just raise the base line.
If you just randomly select apps, odds are that the app will suck. Read the forums, read the reviews, etc.
You wouldn't be able to simultaneously load and use thousands of apps anyway. Personally, I don't get the app hoarding mentality. Do you feel that you're lacking specific apps, specific features or just upset about the quantity of apps that you have?
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cranialnerve
New Member
weak and boring applications
I gave up my iphone, very reluctantly, due tragically poor AT&T service. I got a droid incredible with verizon, because of their good service in the Portland Oregon area. With all the advertising about the apps for droid, I figured I would give it a shot.
The internet screams on this system compared to the iPhone. I can't tell if its Verizon, or the droid, or both, but it is significantly faster.
However, I have to say going from the iPhone to the Droid is like going back to DOS 1.0. The applications are a joke. Who cares if you can run multiple apps, if none of them are worth running. There are thousands of apps, many of which are redrawn versions of the same dinosaur 1995 software. The only applications I have found any use for are the medical software databases I use for my practice. I must say that those run very well, and look better on the droid than the iPhone. It is a massive disappointment that such technology can only be useful as a phone, and simple database. I really isn't any fun at all.
I am now considering reactivating my iphone as a second phone, simply to have access to all the awesome applications, and reducing my Verizon Driod to phone service only, because it is so dull.
I gave up my iphone, very reluctantly, due tragically poor AT&T service. I got a droid incredible with verizon, because of their good service in the Portland Oregon area. With all the advertising about the apps for droid, I figured I would give it a shot.
The internet screams on this system compared to the iPhone. I can't tell if its Verizon, or the droid, or both, but it is significantly faster.
However, I have to say going from the iPhone to the Droid is like going back to DOS 1.0. The applications are a joke. Who cares if you can run multiple apps, if none of them are worth running. There are thousands of apps, many of which are redrawn versions of the same dinosaur 1995 software. The only applications I have found any use for are the medical software databases I use for my practice. I must say that those run very well, and look better on the droid than the iPhone. It is a massive disappointment that such technology can only be useful as a phone, and simple database. I really isn't any fun at all.
I am now considering reactivating my iphone as a second phone, simply to have access to all the awesome applications, and reducing my Verizon Driod to phone service only, because it is so dull.
cranialnerve
New Member
one more
One more comment. I loved playing great games on the iPhone such as Plant vs Zombie. I think it's a riot that the closest you can get to this great game on the Droid is to see pictures of icons from the game. I guess the writers of this great droid version figured, you can load these icons, and pretend you had something cool. UGH
One more comment. I loved playing great games on the iPhone such as Plant vs Zombie. I think it's a riot that the closest you can get to this great game on the Droid is to see pictures of icons from the game. I guess the writers of this great droid version figured, you can load these icons, and pretend you had something cool. UGH
It's outrageous to say "Why do all the Droid Applications suck!" Are there some bad ones out there? Sure, but there are a lot of good ones too. Chrome 2 Phone and Phone 2 Cloud are both great apps. Screebl. And countless apps that are beneficial to the rooted user.
I'm just naming a few. Run a search (gasp!) on favorite apps and you'll see a ton of good ones.
I'm just naming a few. Run a search (gasp!) on favorite apps and you'll see a ton of good ones.
debdroid1a
Member
I think there are some decent ones out there. There ar some bad ones too.
Also we need to let anyone who makes an apple app that we want an Android app. If they realize that there's a market for Android apps, they will make them, and I don't see why they wouldn't make them quality apps.
Also we need to let anyone who makes an apple app that we want an Android app. If they realize that there's a market for Android apps, they will make them, and I don't see why they wouldn't make them quality apps.
I have an iPhone and I also purchased an Archos handheld Android device. Every app I downloaded for the Archos Android was worse than the next. 90% of these apps shouldn't even be put to market. Majority of them did not work at all and the others were soo weak in design that I'd be embarrased to release them to the public. Apple does an excellent job of weeding out apps that are not up to their standards. They go thru the apps to make sure they work and have full functionality. Although some badones make it thru the cracks. What the Android world needs is a group of app designers that goes thru the apps and give them a seal of approval. Meaning, if an Android user goes to xyz.com they would know that the app has been thuroughly gone thru and been approved. I don't know, O lovr the the Android phones but the app chaos has made mw stick to iPhone. Someone prove me wrong please:heart:
Because of low cost of apps on the market programmers don't want take a lot of time on testing.
Also the huge amount of devices, firmware mods and OS versions don't let to test app on the all plartforms.
I'think it will be very good idea to make possible to install apps only on devices they compartible with. But I don't know how.
Also the huge amount of devices, firmware mods and OS versions don't let to test app on the all plartforms.
I'think it will be very good idea to make possible to install apps only on devices they compartible with. But I don't know how.