We’ve been hearing for some time about how developers are going to start focusing more on Android. But now, in the last 24 hours, we’ve gotten some concrete signs that the platform is indeed getting more attention from big time developers. Here’s what has happened:
- At the Facebook mobile press event yesterday, Facebook said it was bringing its Android app up to par with its iPhone app, which was the first to get Facebook Places feature and has generally been more advanced. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recounted a funny tale about how Google bought out the development shop that Facebook had contracted to make an Android app. Now Facebook is taking over development of its Android app in house.
- Social gaming leader Zynga said it was bringing its first game to Android. It’s an older title called Live Poker, but it should be the first of many games, including possibly FarmVille, which already made the leap to iOS from Facebook. That’s not the only encouraging sign that popular gaming is coming to Android; Rovio’s Angry Birds had a stunning debut on Android, and Zeptolab’s new hit, Cut the Rope, is headed there too.
- Twitter released a new Android app yesterday that refreshes the look of the app and brings it on par with its iOS counterpart. My colleague, James, has a good review of it here, but it’s basically faster and more polished, with a pull-to-refresh function and an option bar that reveals with a swipe. The timing of the release, just hours after Facebook’s announcement, suggests maybe Twitter wanted to keep pace with Facebook’s Android efforts.
- Last night, StumbleUpon updated its Android app with a new app discovery feature that personalizes app recommendations for users. StumbleUpon chose to update Android ahead of its iOS app, in part due a bigger opportunity for app discovery tools on Android and also because it’s faster to develop and get an app into Android Market compared to iOS.
What does it all mean? Well, Android still isn’t the first choice of many developers. But it seems like devs are making more of an effort to close the gap between Android and iOS apps where they exist. There are still business concerns to be hashed out for paid apps, though these are getting addressed by new in-app payment options from PayPal, Boku and others. Again, this is just a small sampling, but it could be a telling one, highlighting the growing importance developers are placing on Android because Android devices are selling like gangbusters. It takes these snapshots in time to show the growth is meaningful and is translating into more sway and power.
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I believe no developer can ignore the three OS’s: iOS, Android and W7. It’s still early and anything can happen. MS could easily buy their way into the market, the phone companies can easily start to differentiate their ‘me too’ products by closing down Android. Google can easily decide to protect their customers by closing down Android’s UI. I believe there will be 3 or 4 major players, with Android and WP7 phones spanning a larger price range. Which, makes me believe Apple is focused on the upper and middle band. Similar to their computer product placement.
I agree with you on the first two. The third is mobile web where possible and necessary. All the big guys who can afford development, will of course have apps for most platforms.
If anything BB is no. three. But, you really have to want to develop for BB!
For Java developers, like myself, and working on a tight budget, I would love to start developing on Android devices if there are affordable devices similar to iPod. I just don’t see myself paying for $199.99 for an Android phone with a 2-year contract, all for the purpose of application development. Yes, there is Android simulator for Eclipse IDE; however, one needs an actual device to test one’s finished apps.
Way to go! Avoiding the largest new market to arrive since 1995 for $200! Or, $2,000. Or, $20,000…
Crazy.
Great article Ryan. I think this ‘move’ you are seeing can be related to mobile developer economics. Developers go where the money is and Apple’s App Store was the first and is the largest marketplace (some say its too crowded) to put their app on display. The explosion of Android devices in the past 18 months has created a new opportunity for app developers to capitalize on.
In terms of ‘picking winners’, it is still way too early for that game. There is lots of room for everyone and I think it will remain that way for quite some time.
@Son Dang
The Nexus One is still available. I don’t know why Google is charging so much for it now. They really need to drop the price down to about $300. But you can easily find excellent new Android phones (like the Vibrant) now for about $300 on Craigslist. And if you just want to test your code, G1′s are now selling for $100 or less on Craigslist. Root it and apply Cyananogen’s ROM and you have a 2.2 running on it.
[...] for big-name developers. I recently talked about how Zynga, Twitter, Facebook and StumbleUpon were focusing more efforts on Android, giving the platform the kind of support that iOS has long had. There’s still a way to go for [...]
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