Android App Fragmentation Rant
Microsoft recently released their Halo Waypoint app for Android* and iOS devices. You'll notice the asterisk there on Android. The app was released yes, but only works on a handful of devices. The description of the app, in the Android Market, read (before recently being updated, I can only assume after numerous complaints) "compatible with Android 2.2+", which I took to mean, devices that are running Android 2.2 or greater. This is not entirely true, you need at least Android 2.2, which is running the overwhelming majority of Android devices (over 75%). After complaining on twitter and reading into it, apparently they aren't supporting HTC devices, and any qHD devices including the fairly new Droid Bionic. Disappointment.
This is reminiscent of the initial Android app push for both Hulu and Netflix, which were only available on select devices, which was made crystal clear when it launched. The number of supported devices grew over time and now most devices running Android 2.2+ can watch Netflix, however the number of devices that support Hulu+ is still fairly limited. I imagine that Microsoft will eventually make it compatible on as many devices "as they can", but this is extremely frustrating as a consumer. Fail.
Should I be upset at Microsoft (and other large developers) for not having compatibility with a large majority of Android phones? Should I blame device manufacturers for not all using the same internal hardware? Should I blame Google for allowing Android to be ported/mangled/twisted and put on any thing with an electric signal? Should I simply blame the iPhone for being "so awesome", that it is the only platform that major companies decide to take seriously? Frustrated.
I love Android, but I absolutely loathe the fact that in many cases it is treated like a second-class citizen. Too many times I've seen a cheap port that looks exactly like the iOS version, which creates a super buggy/laggy app that doesn't do anyone any favors. Far too many apps have remained iOS exclusive, despite their popularity. I understand that many companies don't have unlimited resources (Instagram) and that is the reason that they can only focus on a single OS or device type at a time. It is just really frustrating, things like this make me want to switch to the iPhone-life, where a least I know I can run pretty much any app that has been released. I love the open-nature of Android and the fact that it CAN be put on anything, this is awesome, and there are some really unique apps for the platform however that open-ness leads to some inconsistencies and therefore constraints.
Bringing this back around, in my simple-mindedness I assumed this "Halo Waypoint" app was simply going to be another entry point into my Halo stat-tracking and a way to push Halo news down my throat. Apparently it has the aforementioned, as well as some fancy graphics 3-d rendering in-game GPS-like map tracker thing, called ATLAS, which is why, I'm assuming, HTC devices are completely incompatible.
On a side note: Bungie has a mobile web experience (hat tip to @lukew's Mobile First push), which has no ridiculous device hardware requirements for viewing Halo:Reach stats, so I guess I don't need this silly app taking up space on my phone.
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