Android Developer Challenge Gallery
The results are interesting. The $275K winners showcase some unique scenarios as well as modified takes on some existing applications [...] This has brought about a whole new dynamic to development.
Google announced the recipients of the cash prizes for the Android Developer Challenge. In case you missed it, they instituted this competition for developers to create applications for mobile devices based on the Google developed Android mobile platform. The results are interesting. The $275K winners showcase some unique scenarios as well as modified takes on some existing applications. Locale is one of the apps that piqued my interest, a detailed locale settings manager, very practical and has been something I’ve wished for in the past. Nice to see some MIT students try to make it a reality.
After looking at most of the applications in the gallery, the one thing that stood out to me was the lack of consistency in the User Interface of these apps. That was and is still to a certain extent one of the problems in the Linux Desktop. I’m not taking any sides here, but I can see why Apple didn’t release a SDK until the product was well into it’s first cycle. They set the UI standards and had plenty of time to refine those standards before letting 3rd party developers have at it. That brings me to the next issue, it’s all well and good that these developers wrote the code and have apps now, but where are the devices to test these code-bases on? Lack of actual hardware testing is potentially a huge problem. Reality bites, yes, software simulations are just that, simulations. No amount of emulation is going to be the substitute for the real thing.
It’s pretty cool of Google to dole out significant sums of money to developers to create apps. This has brought about a whole new dynamic to development. Suddenly now there’s two new cool platforms to develop on (no offense Symbian, but you know why you’re not one of the cool kids) and there’s quite a significant backing to that community if you also include all the Venture money that’s out there. I think one of the reasons this mobile platform thing is so hip nowadays is because it’s moved away from the stodgy “enterprise” mode into something you can use for SMS, pictures, video, social networking and all these other things that the younger generation are crazy about. The masses will move product, hence more money in it for everyone. Personally I’m pretty psyched about all the capabilities my handset has and will have. Moreover I now have the chance to create my own “thing” if I’m unhappy with any part of it, a far cry from my Startac days, oh not so long ago.