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Charles Hudson's Six Android Development Challenges (and how to tackle them)

Hey all,
We went to the Yetizen "Android-i-fied" event and learned a ton about building games on Android, but if you happened to miss it, then we did a quick write up of what we learned. We put it below because we hoped that it would help you guys
Now, on to the event!
Charles Hudson kicked off the talk with some choice words:
ANDROID IS HARD!
Charles Hudson was not shy about his experiences building on the Android platform with his game studio, Bionic Panda Games. There was little sugar-coating of the six major challenges that Android developers face, especially when compared to iOS. He did have great suggestions for tackling each one, which we wanted to pass on to you. His six tips are below:
1. Fragmentation
Problem: Unlike the iPhone, there are many types of Android devices, which leads to OS fragmentation, varying screen size and resolutions, and types of hardware. This means that the user experience can vastly differ from user to user. Also, developers can drown themselves in work trying to make their game compatible with everything.
Solution: Charles suggests that you test your game on multiple devices to make sure the user experience can consistent across a sea of devices. He said that he bought old, “well loved” Android phones from resellers to cheaply test his game on each type of hardware. As for OS, if you need to draw a line in the sand and not supporting older OS versions to provide a consistent experience, then do so. According to Ngmoco, which spoke later in the evening, 94% of Android gamers are on 2.1 or above, so you won’t miss many customers by cutting out the troublesome 1.6 and 1.7 versions.
2. Development & Testing
Problem: Because it is so easy to launch new applications and versions on Android - you are essentially just one button away from pushing new versions - developers can sometimes get trigger happy. This can overwhelm users and stop them from updating your game.
Solution: Android users typically don’t update their apps as often as iOS users, so Charles recommended a minimum period of one week between app updates, excepting urgent bug fixes of course. And as we mentioned before, you should test your game on each major type of phone and supported OS version before an update goes live. This can prevent unforseen hiccups and help you avoid those urgent bug fixes.
3. Metrics
Problem: Developers are typically flying totally blind when it comes to the way that users are interacting with their app, especially on Android.
Solution: Look into integrating with an analytics platform that fits your budget. Google Analytics is free, but can be a trickier integration as it isn’t built for mobile. If you are looking for an easier and more mobile-friendly solution, there are mobile game analytics platforms that may be worth the cost such as Flurry and Localytics.
4. Platform Wars
Problem: 23% of all smartphone customers are on iOS devices, and conventional wisdom states that iOS users are more likely to pay for apps and complete in-app purchases than their Android counterparts.
Solution: To paraphrase Charles Hudson, “it is better to build a great game on one platform instead of a mediocre game on two platforms.” Each platform has different capabilities, so focus your resources in building an awesome game on one platform before you worry about iOS. Bionic Panda is an Android only game studio, so Charles clearly practices what he preaches.
5. Distribution & Discovery
Problem: Discoverability on Android depends less on category ranking compared to iOS, and getting Featured on the Android Market is just as difficult as it is on the Apple App Store. Also, Android does not have a united social graph like Facebook or Apple’s Game Center, so it is hard to lean on viral mechanics to acquire users.
Solution: There tends to be higher search activity on Android (as Charles pointed out, “it is Google product”), so make sure your app description is accurate and hits all of the important keywords that users would use to search for a game like yours. Also, he could not stress enough the importance of having a well-designed app icon that draws users in. This icon and your app title are often all the user sees before making his decision to download, so use that space wisely! Also, fortunately for Android developers, Android still allows incentivized installs, so jump on the ad networks such as Tapjoy and Admob to help capture your seed group of users. Assuming you’ve made a compelling app, once you get the seed group of users you should be off and running.
6. Monetization
Problem: It is conventional wisdom that iOS games typically generate more revenue when compared to Android games. Part of the story behind this is that in-app purchases on iOS is much easier than the severely fragmented Android payments.
Solution: Count on an eventual consolidation of payment methods on Android, and Google Payments is a good default because they will always be around. The key with monetization is to provide compelling reasons for users to buy in, and then they will find ways to do so, regardless of the difficulty.

Silvia for Android?

Is this just another Siri clone or is it closer to "AI" (define as you will). Is anyone here involved in this?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cogcode/silvia-for-android
I searched "silvia" and "silvia for android" before posting this thread. If this question or topic has been posted before, or if this is in the wrong place, I apologize.

MichaelHaley said:
Is this just another Siri clone or is it closer to "AI" (define as you will). Is anyone here involved in this?
...
I searched "silvia" and "silvia for android" before posting this thread. If this question or topic has been posted before, or if this is in the wrong place, I apologize.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Michael,
Prior to our launch of our SILVIA for Android Kickstarter project this past Friday (May 25th), we have been fairly quiet about SILVIA for Android.
So, you may not find much 3rd party information on SILVIA for Android, at least for a while.
However, we will be happy to answer your questions as best we can.
First off, we think that Siri is a fine product.
Of course, we feel we have something different and unique to offer with our technology, otherwise we would not be doing what we're doing.
We think that our context sensitive conversational approach to the user experience is very compelling for many reasons, and we also think it is an important difference that our technology runs natively on mobile devices.
For developers, we are offering an SDK with a rich API, a graphical content development system, and a runtime engine that will allow developers to create new conversational applications for Android that run right on the device. For smaller developers, this is very important because there is no requirement for additional (and expensive) server infrastructure to host the AI.
We think that another important feature is the compactness and efficiency of our runtime. The average SILVIA for Android end-user application clocks in at about 7 or 8 megabytes on the device, and is efficient enough to run in the background without disrupting the performance of most other applications.
We will continue to release more details for developers over the next few weeks as our Kickstarter campaign progresses.
I hope this information helps.

Right on, looks pretty interesting, hope to see it available soon!

CogCode said:
Hi Michael,
Prior to our launch of our SILVIA for Android Kickstarter project this past Friday (May 25th), we have been fairly quiet about SILVIA for Android.
So, you may not find much 3rd party information on SILVIA for Android, at least for a while.
However, we will be happy to answer your questions as best we can.
First off, we think that Siri is a fine product.
Of course, we feel we have something different and unique to offer with our technology, otherwise we would not be doing what we're doing.
We think that our context sensitive conversational approach to the user experience is very compelling for many reasons, and we also think it is an important difference that our technology runs natively on mobile devices.
For developers, we are offering an SDK with a rich API, a graphical content development system, and a runtime engine that will allow developers to create new conversational applications for Android that run right on the device. For smaller developers, this is very important because there is no requirement for additional (and expensive) server infrastructure to host the AI.
We think that another important feature is the compactness and efficiency of our runtime. The average SILVIA for Android end-user application clocks in at about 7 or 8 megabytes on the device, and is efficient enough to run in the background without disrupting the performance of most other applications.
We will continue to release more details for developers over the next few weeks as our Kickstarter campaign progresses.
I hope this information helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are definitely covering SILVIA and this project
http://www.androrev.com/2012/05/31/...-why-she-may-just-be-androids-answer-to-siri/

Developer Update!
Just a quick update, we have some more information for Android developers on our Kickstarter project page.
Unfortunately, due to the low post count, we can't post links yet. But a quick look at the first post in this thread should get you there.
In particular, we think there is some great opportunity for game developers, as our SILVIA Core has already been deployed as a conversational intelligence system in 3D training systems for the US Army. But even casual game and apps developers can quickly integrate SILVIA for Android into their projects.
The SILVIA for Android library can be used directly in just about any native Java or Mono for Android project, but as a bonus for you Unity 3D developers, we will be including a Unity 3D compatible version of our SILVIA for Android runtime library as part of the SDK package.
All the best,
The SILVIA for Android Team

what happened?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[APP] Looking for Android alpha testers for a money tracking application I created.

My main goal for this project was to keep the application simple, yet effective. I don't like cluttered applications, however, I like ones which get things done! My new application "Simple Register" for lack of a better name, is just that (in my opinion.)
It functions similar to a checkbook register, where you can easily track your money. You can set an initial starting balance if different than $0, and from there credit money or debit money from the account. There is no linking to bank accounts or anything of that sort. I wanted to keep this simple.
I am looking for some Alpha testers who track their expenses and who are willing to give good feedback in order to improve the application. It is definitely not complete in terms of features, which is part of the reason I am here. I know there are things which can be added, that don't make the application too complex, yet can improve the overall experience.
The UI is currently not the best as I have tried to devote more time to functionality and have not had a chance to get around to making it look "pretty" yet. I will say, however, it is not by any means ugly. It is simple looking, which should make it extremely easy for someone of any skill level to use!
With that being said, I want to reach out (with this post) to get a few Alpha testers. I have an Alpha community setup through Google+ at the moment which will give you access to the Alpha version of the application through the Google Play Store.
If you are interested, please join the following Google+ community, which will provide the link to sign up for the Alpha testing (through google) and allow you to download the application. Membership will be limited (so that I do not get overwhelmed with users and feedback) so if you do not get in right away, please be patient.
Simple Register Alpha - Google+ Communities
In the future, I plan for there to be a paid version of the application (this may change.) Currently I am limiting the number of accounts someone is able to create, and there are a few more features I am planning which would be in the paid version. Those who have helped test the application, will be provided the paid version free of charge.
Thanks in advance!

How to become a good android developer?

Developing a good android application is not an easy task (neither impossible ) especially if you have small or no team. It requires many skills and talents, such as coding, designing sense, music sense, marketing skills and list goes on. You have to keep an eye on everywhere since lack of any aspect can result in poor response form users (which is the last thing an android developer want).
Recently I have developed an android game (Fruiteria) in my spare time and launched it recently on Google play store (see link at the end of this post). It took me about 74 days to build it from scratch. It was a challenging task but I learned a lot from my experience. I would like to share my experience with you today!
Let's discuss what are the things one should never avoid while developing application :
1. Concept and implementation of application
As I said above, there are many aspects to application development. But no matter what you do, You will not be successful by selling poor quality application. So, first thing everyone should think about is a good concept. Your concept can depend on your goals such as business advertising, social work, marketing or simply making money! Also, having a good concept on paper is one thing but it's implementation need patience and constant efforts. If you have a nice concept and willingness to put efforts into it, then consider you are already at the half way!
2. Grow your concept with time
Second point I would like to mention is try not to be stubborn!! If you think that you have the best concept in the world, but the world thinks the other way, then you are in big trouble. After all you are building the application for people. Take suggestions from users and your friends to change and grow application concept. Believe me, it works like magic!
3. Research
Before building your application, try to do some research on what is the market for your application, who are the competitors in market and why they are successful (or unsuccessful), who are your target audience and what do they exactly want. Working on such things will give you a better idea on what needs to be done exactly.
4. Marketing
This one is tricky! If you are an individual, or a small company with almost no capital, then it is hard to put much money in marketing. Especially when there are already giant companies present as your competitors. But that is not the end! Think about creative ways to make your application popular. For example Give it to your friends to use, and tell them to spread it. If you are in college, then sponsor a small event in exchange of application publicity which will not require much money. Make discount coupons and distribute them. In essence, do every little bit of thing that you can. You might not see the effect on first sight, but over time it will accumulate on large scale.
5. Keep in touch
Last thing I want to share is don't leave your application after launching! Keep updating it regularly by adding exciting new features and fixing bugs if any. Respond to user comments and reviews. It gives personal touch and they will start thinking that you care about them. It will definitely increase the user retention and hence the growth of your application..!
I personally have been implementing these principles in my application since the idea came to my mind. Finally I succeeded in development of a good android game (or at least I think so!). But as I said earlier, my success depends on how you respond to it! I am sharing the link for game in case if you are interested in checking out my game. Please let me know how you find it by reviewing it on Google play store!
All the best for your android endeavours. My best wishes are with you!!
Fruiteria link : (I am unable to post outside link on this thread) Please go to google play store and type 'Fruiteria'

[APP][4.4+] n Reader, for technology and programming news

As a developer we go through a journey, from newbie to pro. In my Android Journey I went through various phases. Learned android my self and then became a professional developer. Released apps like Messaging 7 and Unity launcher, never thought of making fortune by any one of these(and never made it )
So here I am again, worked hard to release nReader, an App to help you keep up-to date with latest trends, news on various topics like Android development, Kotlin, Java, Nodejs, Javascript.
I need your suggestion, feedback, feature requests and of course support on this as I am investing heavily in this product.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.nreader

looks good, I think you need more features like sharing posts and saving. you have lots of news source.
I appreciate hard work. all the best.