AndroidGuys

’sup,

So when would you say the slick new UI will be available in the sdk?

Andrew

We’re pretty sure you are referring to the version we’ve seen in the Google I/O video demonstration.  It is slick to be sure and heads and tails above the one that came with the initial SDK’s.  As far as a window of time for the release, we’re gonna say it’s a few months off still.  According to an email that was sent out to the top 50 entries in the first Android Developers Challenge, it will be available to them roughly three weeks before the deadline of the second round.  For those following along, that’s been pushed back to July 28th.  Doing some simple deductive reasoning, we figure the semi-finalists should see theirs any day.  For the rest of you guys and gals, it’s probably going to be at least August or later before it’s given out to the masses.

I don’t understand why there are very few games for Android. Most of the winners of the OHA competition were map-based programs. It kind of annoys me that there were so few games developed for Android. I was expecting more graphics and more eye candy on the Android phone than was presented. Hopefully there will be lots more stuff added in the final result. I was also wondering if the Android will be able to play video and tv at 720p, you know, with the Nvidia chip 2500 or something of the sort?

Thanks
-Jeremy

You’re not wrong for thinking there are not many games for Android.  Looking through the list of the semi-finalists we see a lot of location based stuff too.  We’re thinking it had something to do with the criteria used to judge the entries.  There were 4 categories that each program was ranked on with one of them being indispensability.  Now, we’re not sure about you, but most games don’t fall under that too often.  We also think there weren’t a bunch of games simply because a lot of people were looking to take advantage of the GPS, tower-triangulation, and other features.

To address the part about eye candy, don’t forget that what we’ve seen so far is only the foundation of the devices.  Once carriers and handset makers get their hands on it and start to brand them with their programs and user interfaces, then it will get that glossy, finished look that you might be expecting.

In regards to 720P resolution, your guess is as good as ours.  You’d think that by having Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Intel, Qualcomm, and more in the Open Handset Alliance, we’d get bleeding edge stuff.  If we were betting men, we would put money on “YES” in this case.

Hi there,

Is it your expectation that applications developed on Android will be “free” to the end-user and hence ad supported?
Or, do you expect that the developers will set the pricing themselves and sell on a subscription basis?

Larry

This is a common question and hot topic among the Android watch dogs.  There was a lot of speculation that Google intends to give the farm away in exchange for ad placement and location based marketing.  As time has progressed, it seems less and less likely that you’re going to have to see AdSense everywhere.  We’re hearing different distribution plans from developers. Everything from completely free to subscription based with a little bit of “we’re not quite sure yet” in between.