Zero Mu Tech Articles

Android Features: The Good and the Wanted

Categories: Android, Frustrations, Opinion |

Problem: The Android operating system for mobile phones has a great deal of potential.  However, a lot of this potential has not yet been tapped.  This post identifies my wantings with regard to Android. I will keep updating this post as I find new items to address.

Background

I have the T-Mobile G1, which runs the Android operating system.  My current firmware version is 1.1.  My current build number is:

kila-user 1.1 PLAT-RC33 126986 ota-rel-keys,release-keys

The firmware and version of software. Note that this screenshot is from the emulator on my Mac, not my actual G1.

Tasking Priority

The Good

1. Incoming calls “pause” whatever else I am doing, and I don’t have to unlock the phone.
2. Apps can’t “pull” you out of what you are currently doing… so if they have an update I can get to them when I want to.

The Wanted

Like the iPhone, the G1 (running Android) is not only a phone, but a small computer with internet access and the ability to run applications.  Here are a few wantings I have with regard to this multi-functionality:

1. Phone operations should have the highest priority (for my user experience).  I want the option to tell my G1 to maintain a dedicated allotment of resources (memory, proccessor capacity, etc) that are strictly for the phone functionality.
   • These features include incoming calls and outgoing calls at a minimum. I sometimes notice that it takes a few seconds for the incoming number/contact/or picture to show up on the screen.  Also, it takes a few seconds for my custom ring to kick in.  My first indication that there is an incoming call is that the phone begins to vibrate.  I want all functionality related to an incoming call to be as responsive as this vibration.
   • The contacts list is another core-mobile phone feature that can be slow at times.  Lower priority than the above.
2. Perhaps this could be expanded to allow the user to specify if any resources should be dedicated, and to what app or functionality this dedication should apply.
3. The Home screen should have a higher priority… even when my memory is near capacity.  I consider this to be a core phone function, since it is the main way of accessing all apps and functions.

User Interface

The Good

I like most things about the user interface.  Here are a few key likings:

1. Scroll speed is proportional to the speed at which I “flick” my finger.
   
2. The “long press” (press on something and hold your finger there as a sort of “right click”) works well and is timed well (not t0o short, not too long).
3. Notifications concept
4. The dialer buttons are well sized and spaced
   

   A screenshot of the main Android Dialer

The Wanted

1. To switch between apps, you can “long press” the home button.  This “long press” is too long!  by the time I hold that button, I can generally have gone to the Home screen and clicked on a shortcut.  I want a quicker way to navigate between apps!  Must only use buttons available when the keyboard is closed.
   

   Android's application switch screen, after you long press the Home button.

2. Trackball is jerky fast at some times, and slow as anything at others.  On web pages, it is hard to trackball to a link without overshooting or going in a slightly different direction (getting to the exact link you want).  On the other hand, in text fields it is extremely slow if you want to get the cursor at the correct spot.  I have to resort to touching the general area of the text field, and then slowly get there with trackball.  In short, improve the usability of the trackball!
3. Also with trackball, when you press the trackball it can act as a “click”, but sometimes when I click I inadvertently slightly move the ball – I guess -  and end up “clicking” on something below the link I intended to “click”.  Not sure how to solve that problem because it could be just my ability to use the trackball, and the distance from the “ball” to the clicking surface.
4. I want an option to use the “back” hardware button in a different way.  Currently, you can use this button to move back through windows (I think they are “views” in the software definition) of a single app.  Going back from the main screen of an App takes you to the home screen.  As is, this is a logical way to use this button.  But, I would like to have it be like the back button in a browser – and act like every single view on the phone is a page of my browser.  Actually, this is the case if you switch (using a long press on the Home button) from the Messaging app to, say, wpToGo; but not the case if you switch from the Messaging app to, say, a sub-menu of Settings or a sub-menu of Market.  I see the conflict here… but maybe there could be a “long press” of the back button that switches to the last app or view, and a short press of the back button does the default.
5. Sometimes I try to “flick” down the notifications bar, but I miss.
6. On screen keyboard.  There are a few experiments out there, such as a12keys, that have an on-screen keyboard, but its integration with the rest of Android is limited.
7. Visual Voice mail.

The App, Music

The Good

1. Music continues to play when changing focus to another app

The Wanted

1. There is no sorting between music and podcasts
2. I want to view music videos, too (the ones I have bought from iTunes)

Other Aspects

The Good

1. Multiple recipients for text messages.
2. Display of text messages as a conversation (like in Gmail)

The Wanted

1. When using Spanning Sync, my Apple Address Book addresses won’t be found.  That is, I have addresses in Address Book, and when they get synced to my G1, those addresses can be read but when you click on the address from the Contact information screen, you get the message’ “Your search for ‘blah blah’ did not match any locations.”  I think the problem is in the way Google and Apple store address information – Apple uses different fields for City, State, etc, while Google seems to just use one big field called Address.
2. Sometimes it seems like the Menu button doesn’t work the first time.  I don’t know why.

Other Comments?

Please let me know what you think about Android by leaving a comment.  Is there anything you really like? Is there anything you wish would be changed?

Better yet, post your wants to the Android development site.  I should do that, too.