I have just been looking at some of the feedback for some of my Android apps developed using Buzztouch and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. Every app had many negative feedback mainly to do with functionality and performance. I wouldn't lie and say I enjoy developing for Android, because I don't, in fact I hate it! Mainly because of the number of different handsets on Android I cannot see how any developer gets around this. In comparison to developing on iOS, I really enjoy the learning and the end result and the feedback for the same apps are very different. I am really now thinking about not developing for Android anymore as I'm not sure what value apps bring to the Android market unlike Apple. Right now I need a very good reason to continue with Android, so if anyone has anything positive to say about Android, I need to hear it, as I have lost heart.

I think the answer is - it depends. If you want to expand the reach of your particular app, especially if you're making some revenue from it, then you probably want to develop for Android. If you don't want to tear your hair out figuring out how to deal with the tons of devices that might run your app, then stick with iOS. If you want to likely have to maintain two separate projects in buzztouch to deal with the two different platforms, go ahead and do Android. People will say you shouldn't ignore it because there are more Android users than iOS users. That might be true, but that doesn't mean it's worth the effort. Developing for Android, in my opinion, is much harder than iOS. As good a job as buzztouch does in providing source code for Android, I think the overall UI in Android is not as nice as iOS, and there's lots of tweaking that needs to be done. Some love Android, some hate Android, and some embrace both to reach the greatest audience for their app. People in the Android market seem to love to bash apps that they get for free when there's the slightest problem...so be prepared for that. And they also don't seem to want to pay for anything...at least that's my experience. Just my two cents! Mark

Mark is right on all counts, especially the first. In my little market niche I have had more sales and revenue from Android than iOS, all my apps are on both platforms. A couple years ago it was about a 2:1 ratio. The gap has closed and is more like a 3:2 ratio, but still more Android. Tim

Here's a counter stat to Tim's ratio. My OVFPS app has 141 iOS devices registered for Push, and 32 Android devices registered. Assuming I've lost a few to the space in device name bug on the Android side, that's still a good 4:1 ratio of iOS : Android. I find that kinda interesting, given all the other stats we read. Could be due to the demographics of my area...not quite sure. Mark

I think it is definitely driven by where your audience is. Most of my customers have told me that the majority of their employees use Android (from NC, AL, FL, MI, MN). Almost all my employees as well as myself use iPhone (TX). Not sure about the wrong side of the pond. Good point Mark.

Everything has their advantages. Closed but reliable Apple, or Open but 'stability challenged' Android. I don't think there is a 'good answer'. But the reality is in my life, Android is not going away, so the faster I learn to tame it, the better off I'll be. Such is my lot. Cheers! -- Smug

Not sure what to say really, about your comments. Would you guys recommend building Android apps in HTML5 and JQuery Mobile in order to meet the different handsets? I guess this means losing the native side of it? I just never imagined Android being so difficult and unfulfilling. There could be something in the demographics, like Wolf mentioned; maybe the West is more harder to please?

Also, give Buzztouch some time on this. Some of us plugin developers have been working hard to get Android caught up to iOS

Not sure how much the plugins will make a difference. The plugins will work differently on different handsets therefore we will never be able to satisfy the Android market. But then, what do I know.

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I think you have to look deeply at what the comments are that you are getting. I use my comments as a way to improve the app and don't take it to heart, it's more of critiquing. This is great because you have the answers to how you are going to fix the app for free. I have been developing for Android only because I don't have a Mac. But the time I took to learn the in's and out's are rewarding. I have done a couple iOS apps and find it to be easier. As far as the different handset's, that is no longer a negative factor anymore for developers using companies such as https://www.manymo.com/ As the guys mentioned earlier, if you need to get your app out there with more attention, then do both. Android can be a pain, sometimes, but it's rewarding also.

Manymo.com looks interesting! But when I submitted my last app, it said it was compatible with something like 2200+ devices! For sure a lot of those will have the same screen size, but that's a lot of ground to cover. I read an article about a company that tests with 400 actual devices for their apps. Compare that to the three you need for iOS. It's still crazy and fragmented! Mark

There is a lot of devices out there, but for the most part (maybe entirely?) they conform to just a few different screen dimensions. That's the beauty of Manymo.

Its nice that buzztouch is moving to 3.0 as the minimum target. I suspect that as the OS number increases, the builds will be more consistent across devices. Some inconsistencies with device screens can be avoided by using 'relative layouts' as opposed to trying to define rectangles sizes. As a side note, this is something that Google figured out much sooner than Apple.

Buzztouch won't be moving to 3.0 just yet. David decided the number of devices on 2.2 was too high to force everyone to support 3.0. Of course, it could be a while before we see a high 3.0 adoption rate in the Android world. That's one advantage Apple has in the way they do things - they are really good at getting you to throw away your old devices by making them obsolete.

I think you would regret it if you went down the phonegap html5 route. I don't have any experience with it, but from everything I read it is a very inelegant and frustrating experience.

I have been much happier with Android over iOS. It has not been as hard for me as others have noted. I like that the way I want the end user experience to have is acceptable on Android. iOS forces you to do what they want the user to experience. The more that I use iOS, the more I like Android. Every Developer will have their favorite. I would do both. -Shane

If there is one thing I have for outbid this post and that is, it's on everyone's mind, just the mention of the number of different devices is staggering. I guess I want a solution to create Android apps that will work on all devices not just a few. No such problem with iOS, thank God!

From my own experience, my 'worst' android problems have always been layout. Getting it to 'work' isn't a problem (granted I don't do 'complex' code in java...) Getting it to look good across 5 million devices is a major pain ;) 'manymo' looks interesting, but at the moment I think it will only amplify my massive lack of knowledge, lol! Still, painful lessons are the ones that last longest. Cheers! -- Smug

Excellent point, Smug! I've always had success getting it to work, but it is indeed the display problem that has been a pain. Mark

I despise developing for Android. However I got so many complaints from Android users that some of my more popular apps were just iOS that I eventually bit the bullet and made separate android versions. All of my apps are related to emergency medicine and, at least for me, there is no comparison between the two regarding downloads. I consistently make at least 10x more on iOS than android. Maybe because, as you mentioned, Android just seems to be buggy no matter what you do. I also think most Android apps are just plain ugly or look like they were designed by a 5th grader whereas iOS apps look great (can you tell which phone I have?) I enjoy tweaking around with the iOS code to get it looking as nice as possible. With android, no matter how hard I try, it just looks like an ugly generic android app. There is no way to make it look good for any one device so I've stopped trying. It's getting to the point that I've held back making some cool changes to the iOS versions because then I feel compelled to do the same for the android version which gives me a headache just thinking about it. So in the end, I think the Android version is a necessary evil, and I'd probably do it again. Just wish android users appreciated it a little more. Josh

Mutzy Your final comment has sumed it up for me 'it's a necessary evil'. Does anyone offer Android Jedi Training? I would like to just think it and crush all Android devices, problem solved. I do not fancy joining the dark side. Lol!

In fact I do have another question, does anyone have major issues with HTC devices in terms of layout and app crashing? As mentioned before, the experience is different across various handsets.

I have an HTC device, WildFire S, because it was the only reasonable device that my carrier offered at the time. I am extremely sorry I have it because half of the apps and plugins don't work. I have access to another phone, Samsung Galaxy Fit, and there, everything just works. As for the ugly layouts on the Android, have a look at this article: http://cyrilmottier.com/2013/01/23/android-app-launching-made-gorgeous/ He seems to be a guy to learn from.

Very nice link, Dusko! Cheers! -- Smug

as a non developer BT user i can say i envy people who make apps on BT for IOS, some of the plugins just look awesome compare to the much simpler and fewer plugins for Android. i'v been struggling lately over simple stuff such as image galleries and search option on Android, things that i would expect to be so simple to solve, but apparently are not! and of course the endless devices types, your app could never work properly and look right on all devices and that fact is quiet frustrating as well. i signed up to buzztouch almost 2 years ago, and i remember back then the options were so limited that i decided i couldn't build the app i wanted to, so i just decided to let that go at the time, 6 months ago the idea of making an app came back to me, i looked for a platform and couldn't find anything decent really, so i came back to BT and saw a massive improvement on Android, and here i am today with 5 apps on the market and working on 3 others at the moment. it's far from being perfect and i do find the Android plugins greatly lacking, but the potential is there and i just hope you guys continue to develop plugins for us! David

Guys, I appreciate all the comments, its good to get a different prospective; not sure whether my question truly answered, but I do have a better view. Maybe we can have a more improved hints and tips for building a better Android app, that will eliminate some of the issues faced in regards to developing an app that can work across the many Android devices.