Android Hardware Comparison (Google Spreadsheet) | Hacker News Reader

Android Hardware Comparison (Google Spreadsheet)

spreadsheets.google.com

37 pointsstevejalim12 comments

A huge list, and it's already way out of date (from July 2009 last year).

This is proof that developing for Android has to be device agnostic. Query the device for what's available and assume nothing. It's not quite the fragmentation nightmare people make it out to be, but it is something you have to be aware of.

I don't think it's out of date - it was started in July 2009 but seems to be decently updated.

Agreed, though, hardware fragmentation is a chore, but the assume-nothing-and-create-layouts-for-all-three-resolutions seems to be the wisest way to stay sane.

I wonder if anyone's gonna start offering an app testing service across a massive range of hardware for those apps that are targeting a truly broad userbase...

I stand corrected. I didn't see the Droid X on there and misread the chart as if the devices were grouped by manufacturer. On closer examination I see it has been updated more recently.

How much of the hardware compatibility can be accurately tested in the emulator. I haven't run into hardware issues on my applications, but I don't have the wide device exposure I'd like to have. So I don't really have experience in having something slip by the emulator.

I think it depends largely on your type of app. Business/utility applications are less likely to be affected than games. Anything that uses a service is going to run into issues, and anything directly controlling hardware (camera, sensors). The quirks are definitely there, but I think they impact a much smaller group than people like to claim.

A service for testing would be good - $x/hr to load on X devices and click certain buttons. It'd have to be cheap, though, or most developers would probably simply opt for market-based testing. You'd probably have to offshore it to get a decent cost.

I wonder if you could get a decent response farming this out on the Turk or similar.

This really illustrates the diversity of hardware Android manufacturers are using - both the versatility of Android and also the burden of developing for a diverse (and constantly growing/changing) system specification.

Nice - although swapping the X and Y would probably make it a bit more useful.

I didn't make it - just found it while researching compass availability on Android handsets

I think it would be even more useful if it were inverted, so it was organized by feature value instead of by phone model. It's like web development: you don't do browser sniffing, you sniff for features and specialize your code for that. If you're developing for android you do the same thing, you code for specific features. Some you simply require, some you require a certain range of value/capability, some are optional, and some you don't care about.

Already, shopping for Android devices is starting to suck. I say this as a fan of Android, but non-reader of Engadget and the likes. With the latest devices, I was able to ask some friends who keep better tabs on new devices. But as a consumer without such friends, how are you going to choose?

The big billboard signs on the highway advertising Droid and its ability to do apps? http://blog.qik.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/DroidDoesApps... (I totally get where you're coming from; this spreadsheet is super helpful.)

Holy... it's true the ARM dominates the mobile phone market indeed. Most processors are ARM.

Is there any such chart that also shows the version of Android for each device?

I guess that varies, as different carriers have made different updates available to different handsets, but a range would be handy. There's a link on the spreadsheet for suggestions

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