Gripes about UI/UX of Android phones/tablets and so called "openness" that is nonsense to consumers.

If you also have an Android phone, you are welcome to email me your gripes as well. If you don't but you want to buy one, read this blog before you do it. :-)

-- A big fan of Google, not Android

  1.  

    Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

    When I use an iPhone and an Android phone at the same time, I often find that apps from the same company look a lot different on these two platforms - the ones on Android usually look much worse.

    Here is a couple of examples.

    This is what Meebo IM (see update [5]) looks on Android, the contact list screen and the conversation screen: 

    and this is what Meebo IM looks on iPhone:

    I think the difference is pretty obvious. The one on Android pretty much looks like a programming class project. The contact items are too narrow and thus hard to click. They also look bad. The conversation interface is like a geeky IRC client. Those smiley icons are disproportionately small. On the other hand, the interface on iPhone looks much much more polished.

    Here is another example - the Facebook launch interface on iPhone vs. Android (see updates [1] and [4]):

    The same thing here. In the Android interface, icons are not properly aligned. The extra space makes the view look very awkward.

    Let’s take a look at the search interface in Facebook apps:

    First, the search target tabs look much better on iPhone. Those tabs on the Android app, again, look like a programming class project. Second, what’s the point to show the “Facebook” bar at the top again? It does nothing other than occupying the already very scarce room in this page. Third, the “Facebook” bar, the search input box and the tabs are all in different heights. They look very messy when put together. Lastly, the Android app doesn’t have search for pages. Is it because it’s too difficult to put three tabs than just two?

    Again, these is no focus on details. 

    The last example is the user interface of Speedtest:

    This time the difference is not that dramatic, but obviously the one on iPhone looks nicer. The Android UI putting the tab buttons on the top is quite distracting. If I remember correctly, the one on iPhone used to look similar to the one on Android a very long time ago. This company chose to improve the iPhone interface first. Just in case you didn’t notice, the Android phone’s wireless connection is usually slower than the iPhone’s. I run these two speed tests with both phones connected to the same wireless router, and the Android phone is always slower.

    Since the apps of interest are from the same company, they should have the same user interface standard, even if the iPhone versions and the Android versions are developed by different people. But why do they look so different? Is it because iPhone developers are better at user interface design? Is it because the iPhone development environment is better than the Android’s? Is it because iPhone users care more about user interface? Or is it because Android itself implants the ignorance of beauty, usability and focus on details into the community at the first place?

    [1] Updates (4/7/2011 21:38): As some people pointed out that the Facebook app I used was not the latest. It is true. I upgraded to the latest but I didn’t find any changes except that there are two more buttons in the latest release, “Places” and “Chat”. However, I will not update my screenshot. The point is that the Facebook app on Android used to look like that. The iPhone version never looked like that. How could they release an app that doesn’t even have balanced button layout? By the way, the version I installed happened to have a serious bug that drains my battery very fast. It was fixed later.

    [2] Updates (4/7/2011 22:00): Added the comparison of the search interface of Facebook apps on iPhone vs. Android.

    [3] Updates (4/8/2011 1:23): Somebody mentioned that the recently released LinkedIn Android app is worse than the LinkedIn app on iPhone. I took a look and found it is indeed true, so I wrote a new blog post about it: the new LinkedIn app proves it again.

    [4] Update (4/11/2011 8:19): Some readers (especially thank David) pointed out that the empty space in the Facebook app on Android will become a picture stream once you have friends sharing pictures. I tried, it worked, but the picture loading is very slow. Plus, it seems to pick pictures randomly. More importantly, I don’t think it is necessary to load pictures in the landing page. If I only look at the pictures, I may miss more interesting feeds that do not have pictures. So I will have go to the feed page anyway. Plus, when there is no picture, they should somehow remove that empty space. What if somebody has friends that don’t share pictures? This is typical on Android, they give you some more features to make you happy, because they know the competitor is better, but those features are often not necessary. People call it “feature creep”.

    [5] Update (5/16/2011): Many people complained that the choice of Meebo IM is not fair, because its Android version has not been updated since 2009. First of all, to be honest, I didn’t know that. Meebo IM on Android had more than 27K reviews and still had 4 stars. I never care about when an app is released when I pick apps. Second of all, does it mean that Meebo has given up on Android?

    Looking for answers of this question? Here you go:

    Thanks to all the guest writers and the comments from readers! I greatly appreciate it.

    1. play-till-death reblogged this from android-gripes
    2. anabolic--steroids reblogged this from android-gripes
    3. ashcreehouse reblogged this from android-gripes
    4. boys-bedroom-ideas reblogged this from android-gripes
    5. feng-shui-dormitorio reblogged this from android-gripes
    6. commissioncheatx reblogged this from android-gripes
    7. wirycelebrity reblogged this from android-gripes
    8. comparatif-antivirus reblogged this from android-gripes
    9. coiffure-tendance reblogged this from android-gripes
    10. best-dishwashers reblogged this from android-gripes
    11. freestyle-rap reblogged this from android-gripes
    12. anti-aging--skin-care reblogged this from android-gripes
    13. best-birthday-cake-recipe reblogged this from android-gripes
    14. alysha-blog-1 reblogged this from android-gripes
    15. spanish-language-schools reblogged this from android-gripes
    16. round-balloons reblogged this from android-gripes
    17. sydney-welding reblogged this from android-gripes
    18. cheap-unlock-codes reblogged this from android-gripes
    19. black-mold-removal-tampa reblogged this from android-gripes
    20. online--trading reblogged this from android-gripes
    21. medical-equipment-rentals reblogged this from android-gripes
    22. what-causes-varicose-vein reblogged this from android-gripes
    23. sex--music reblogged this from android-gripes
    24. car-body-kits reblogged this from android-gripes
    25. renal-diet-secrets reblogged this from android-gripes
    26. benefits-of-coconut-water reblogged this from android-gripes
    27. rare--coin reblogged this from android-gripes
    28. seduction-1 reblogged this from android-gripes
    29. cure--panic-attacks reblogged this from android-gripes
    30. how-to-make-homebrew reblogged this from android-gripes
    31. french-english-parallel-bible reblogged this from android-gripes
    32. pimple-under-skin reblogged this from android-gripes
    33. web--design-singapore reblogged this from android-gripes
    34. we-can-denied reblogged this from android-gripes
    35. snow-blowers reblogged this from android-gripes
    36. plano-maid-service reblogged this from android-gripes
    37. google--reklam reblogged this from android-gripes
    38. cpap--masks reblogged this from android-gripes
    39. dallas-photographer reblogged this from android-gripes
    40. how-to-hypnotise-someone reblogged this from android-gripes
    41. ipad--3 reblogged this from android-gripes
    42. file-search-download reblogged this from android-gripes
    43. migliori-film reblogged this from android-gripes
    44. how-to-get-rid-of-a-sore-throat reblogged this from android-gripes
    45. car-eyelashes reblogged this from android-gripes
    46. cooperstown-dreams-park reblogged this from android-gripes