How is it obvious? Is it because there are so many different types of Android phones?

Also iOS development is generally more profitable. So that tends to be the focus.

Great post!
I wonder where the roaming charges would be without the EU sticking their nose in.

if you think the carriers won't find a way to impose a charge then you are deluded.

OK the EU will be removing roaming charges, but the carriers will find another way to charge you. probably say that your inclusive minutes and data are only valid in the UK and that you'll need to purchase an expensive bolt-on to use your phone abroad.

How am I deluded?
Vodafone e.g. charge £3 a day abroad to use your allowances. You would have paid more for a Megabyte years ago. I doubt tariffs have gone up by the same percentage that roaming charges have gone down!

What has profitable got to do with the BBC?

With the BBC, it's really about development costs. They've apparently spent roughly the same amount developing the iOS and Android apps. Having said that, I don't think that's necessarily good enough - the iPlayer app on Android should be much better than it is and offer the features that the iOS version has.

The problem was that early on they were wedded to Adobe's AIR infrastructure, and if I understand it correctly, Apple's iOS development model doesn't really offer that much abstraction from the hardware - unlike Android.

Means that iOS devs didn't understand that Android itself can handle the flexing of the display etc to different phones - while on Apple's ecosystem, you have to rewrite for the different screen sizes that now exist.

Hence iPhone and iPad apps are different...

Android is getting nearly everything Open Source though.

All the fave stuff is getting there.
I just switched my browser media settings to now use VLC.
BBC support is getting good too, especially with that non Adobe DRM. Adobe will come to regret being warded away by Microsoft.

Much of the best Open Source Android software is European.
With iPHone at 2% in Spain no one is prepared to bother risk writing open source stuff only to find Apple bans them anyway.
And as yet I have not even figured why the Cycle Streets map pack is not on IOS. The app is there but not the offline map packs. Weird, just weird.

I think you flex for 3GS, 4 and then 5. It just happens Apple effectively has a 2nd market place for iPad.

So only the 2 versions are needed for the current 5 Apple screen resolutions.

Phones all look very similar anyway, they all have a similar screen, camera on the back with a flash and a USB socket and volume controls. All that would make sense is to put them in the same place on phones and keep the casing a standard size.

Formula 1 teams still manage to design different looking cars despite having to comply with fixed criteria.

Phone makers have already agreed on a standard USB socket now so it makes sense to standardise everything else.

I think the comparison with F1 cars really makes my point that it would be a bad move as if you strip away the colour and sponsors from F1 cars then even myself who watches F1 all the time would struggle to tell the cars apart. And certainly not very different looking.

Surely we should be pushing manufacturers to make more interesting looking phones rather than trying to get them to look more and more generic just so it's easier to get a case.

There are plenty around but people avoid them for slim boring looking devices.

Apple insists on their phones keeping a wide berth from other phones but displayed side by side they are all alike.

A rectangle, slim and a big front filling screen is what we all get.
Shove a fat battery in them all and I'd be happier though people are simply accepting the biggest screen possible.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious.
Only problem is, you go on to completely blow this tired old argument out the water when you say:
Given the amazing number of one-man development teams producing apps and ROMs for Android on no budget and in their spare time, the idea that an organisation with a proper development team and a reasonable budget can't develop decent apps for Android because it costs too much is pretty pitiful.


Damned right there's a sense of entitlement.

Android has more than twice the marketshare of iOS in the UK, that means around twice as many licence fee payers use Android handsets as iPhones, yet the BBC prioritises development of the iOS app.
Same goes for a number of other companies whose paying customers get the short end of the stick for choosing a handset that isn't an iPhone or a tablet that isn't an iPad.





The Google Play Store's revenue is increasing all the time.
And who's to say that the iOS App Store would be more profitable is Android wasn't treated as a second-class OS by developers? If developers want to make money from Android, they need to start by offering quality apps.

Do they?

It has features the Android app does not, has done for ages.

The iOS version allows you to download and watch programmes exactly the same way that iPlayer for a PC or Mac does, the Android version only allows you to stream.
They added that to the iOS app September last year and promised that it would be coming to Android 'soon', still nothing though.

They claim to spend the same amount developing for both platforms though.

Why don't you learn java download eclipse and the android sdk and have a go yourself then, there is nothing stopping you or anyone developing whatever app they like.

Yes exactly no budget. I don't think you're grasping how business works here. These are developers doing apps/rom mods etc as it's effectively their hobby and passion. They don't get paid the're doing it for fun.

But In a commercial environment for many different reasons at the moment it's cheaper and more profitable to develop for iOS right now. Believe it or not developers working at a company generally expect to be paid for their time and work.

Other way round on accessories.

Just try to get a standard bluetooth GPS to work on IOS.
Try to plug an standard HDMI cable into an IOS device.
Try to use an SNR signal app to compare/test your GPS signals on IOS.
Try and get a standard USB cable to work for plug and play.

The good thing about Android open standards is that the proprietary goal posts are forced to move a bit slower.

Even if that's the case, it means they're spending a disproportionate amount of money on the iOS app.
Even if the user base were the same size, if it is that much easier and cheaper to develop for, why is it costing them as much as the Android app?

To be fair the BBC have BBC worldwide so they have big US IOS app sales in mind.

The Aussies still buy a fair few iPhones too. And even in non English speaking territories IOS can get above 10%.
Plus, didn't Apple once help them write the app?

The iPlayer app in question is UK-only, it doesn't matter what people in other countries use.

There's a different one for other countries that has different features.

That doesn't justify the BBC neglecting Android users even then, as Android has an even larger hold over the US market.

Sky do this as well, their iOS apps are of far higher quality than their Android counterparts which are often buggy and scarcely updated. It's a complete shambles on their part as Android is now fully established as a major platform.

I think you just have to be a bit more patient, it is definitely more effort to get software of this style to work well over the many variations of Android devices.

But google, realising this have just released this it's still in the early stages but if it's good it should take less effort for larger teams of developers to produce higher quality software for the Android platform.

I got one downstairs and one in the bedroom., the other one is lying around, not used, I wonder how many more are not used?

I think my idea of selling them separate is a good idea.

The connection on my Nexus will not fit any other product I have got. My video camera,while it can be charged with a USB, it is different as it is a Mini USB, not a micro. Anyway, charging my Camcorder up that way takes far too long.

Most of my friends and mates got the same adapter for their phone as I have got, so it is good int hat way if my phone gets a bit low while I am visiting. The only mate I know that is different to mine is one who have a Nokia 3310

As for Android users being ignored, I think we got enough to keep us happy. I got a Nexus 4 and I can find a load of covers and other bits. Yeah ok if you got a less well known phone then covers can be a but limited.