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2009-10-19
, 17:07
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Posts: 1,684 |
Thanked: 1,562 times |
Joined on Jun 2008
@ Austin, TX
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#12
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The two big advantages I see for Android are
The downsides
I think a big win overall would be for the Cannonical port of Android to a full Linux system to be finished and then to get that to work on the Maemo 5.
Another possibly win looking the other way would be for the Java bindings for QT to be ported to Android and the JVM gets ported to Maemo 5.
Either way would allow for a lot for cross-pollination of apps.
- Multiple handset makers are carrying it
- Fewer app compatibility issues between handsets due to VM
The downsides
- I can't use it like a normal linux system
- Harder to port existing apps
- I have to write for a foreign enviroment (I write my Maemo apps on Ubuntu and have stuff to handle hildonization automatically so I never use scratchbox)
I think a big win overall would be for the Cannonical port of Android to a full Linux system to be finished and then to get that to work on the Maemo 5.
Another possibly win looking the other way would be for the Java bindings for QT to be ported to Android and the JVM gets ported to Maemo 5.
Either way would allow for a lot for cross-pollination of apps.
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770, n810, n900, Ideapad S10-3t
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770, n810, n900, Ideapad S10-3t
TheOneRing, DialCentral, Gonvert, Quicknote, Multilist, ejpi, nQa, Waters of Shiloah
Programming Blog
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2009-10-19
, 17:12
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Posts: 1,255 |
Thanked: 393 times |
Joined on Oct 2009
@ US
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#13
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Number one with a bullet is that the ENTIRE install base of Android devices have 256megs or less app space- this includes Sholes, Moment and the devices with Dragon. The Android market mainly sucks due to this. No desire by many devs to make great apps, but PLENTY of desire to make repeats of other apps. Just like Jane's Addiction said, "Cash in now baby!"
Second is the hardware inefficient byte code jave translation layer. The 3430 chipset will help, but that assumes the device you get can be overclocked from the capped cpu speed. Need to root the device before you can change the CPU speed.
Android is kind of like Vista, in that you must throw hardware at it to make it run very smooth. Still will not fix the app space issue though.
Last edited by Rushmore; 2009-10-19 at 17:14.
Second is the hardware inefficient byte code jave translation layer. The 3430 chipset will help, but that assumes the device you get can be overclocked from the capped cpu speed. Need to root the device before you can change the CPU speed.
Android is kind of like Vista, in that you must throw hardware at it to make it run very smooth. Still will not fix the app space issue though.
Last edited by Rushmore; 2009-10-19 at 17:14.
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2009-10-19
, 17:32
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Posts: 41 |
Thanked: 23 times |
Joined on Oct 2009
@ US
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#14
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Originally Posted by Flandry
Yes, very nicely put. This difference is *the* hardest thing for most people to understand. That's why you get so many questions like "What's wrong with Android? Isn't it just Linux?" The average user might think that the internals of the system make no difference, but they make a huge difference in openness, legal restrictions, flexibility, and potential for developers.
But more recently two things have really changed my opinion about Android. First is the fact that for all the talk about Android being the open alternative, and the Linux phone, it's really not open in the way that your average Linux distribution is. Android is basically an application layer on top of Linux, and to really add to it in a meaningful way, you have to work within the constraints of that layer.
Maemo is a full-blown mobile Linux distro. From the perspective of both user and developer its not that much different from Ubuntu, Debian, or the BSDs.
Android, on the other hand, offers a single-language mobile development environment/API. As such, it bears more resemblance to the iPhone OS. The fact that it runs on the Linux kernel will make little or no difference to the end user.
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2009-10-19
, 17:36
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Posts: 369 |
Thanked: 191 times |
Joined on Sep 2009
@ Virginia
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#15
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Join the Google collective.
Serenity.
Serenity.
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2009-10-19
, 18:16
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Moderator |
Posts: 7,109 |
Thanked: 8,820 times |
Joined on Oct 2007
@ Vancouver, BC, Canada
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#16
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Wow, that was quite the compliment, even if it is perhaps "spreading it a little thick" 
I happen to agree with you about a lot of the guys here... Not always the best communicators, but they are often scarily knowledgeable.
I happen to agree with you about a lot of the guys here... Not always the best communicators, but they are often scarily knowledgeable.
Originally Posted by christexaport
...you are mistaking the intimate knowledge these guys here have of both platforms. Most of the guys here make software for both OSes, along with many others, so they are more aware of the architectural advantages of Maemo over the other mobile OSes out there. As I've discovered, your question is what they'd consider a "silly" question, and once you learn the facts you'll see why... The intellectual level of the majority of the members here are not so simplistic as to label them fanboys. They mostly develop software for a living, and know more than regular end users like you and I. Their education level has blessed them with the ability to judge the way the OS is designed and choose based on that, without even paying attention to the hardware. They don't always do a good job explaining why Maemo is better, but that's why they're programmers and I'm a writer. They're not always good communicators, but they're knowledge is top notch, if you know how to get it out of them...
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Please don't send me a private message, post to the appropriate thread.
Thank you all for your donations!
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2009-10-19
, 18:33
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Posts: 1,589 |
Thanked: 720 times |
Joined on Aug 2009
@ Arlington (DFW), Texas
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#17
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qole, I'll be the first to admit I'm probably better at writing, but The .Org is a genius repository, and the knowledge is beyond any developer group I've been around, and that includes Symbian and even the hallowed xda, of which many here are members as well. Maemo's devs are well travelled, knowledgeable, and self starters. The best mobile dev community, hands down. Even if they're not always the best communicators. I'll take a bad speaker that makes glorious apps for me all day, and no amount of arguing or threats can make me forsake this place. We're stuck with each other, for better or for worse, so someone throw the bouquet. (And not me, I'm the groom. Someone else can wear the dress.)
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Maemo-Freak.com
"...and the Freaks shall inherit the Earth."
Maemo-Freak.com
"...and the Freaks shall inherit the Earth."
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2009-10-19
, 18:40
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Posts: 751 |
Thanked: 522 times |
Joined on Mar 2007
@ East Gowanus
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#18
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Apart from a brief flirtation with Nitdroid I haven't ever used Android before (making it the only mobile OS apart from WebOS that I haven't used a lot). The previous posters have done a good job summarizing the reasons why Android is not as good as maemo. Its not bad but for now I'm more interested in a mobile computer than a mobile phone. Android is still trying to be a mobile phone whilst maemo is basically creating a place where a computer is a computer whether or not it makes mobile calls or not.
As Christexaport and Qole have said the users on this forum are pretty technically savvy. To the point of making fairly tech savvy ex-progammers like myself feel like grade schoolers (there are even 16 years olds who will completely school you). The reasons we choose maemo over Android aren't irrational or made 100% from manufacturer bias that you see on other platforms. There are users here who would be very quick to throw Nokia under the bus (and often do) but stick with maemo because it has that much utility and promise.
As Christexaport and Qole have said the users on this forum are pretty technically savvy. To the point of making fairly tech savvy ex-progammers like myself feel like grade schoolers (there are even 16 years olds who will completely school you). The reasons we choose maemo over Android aren't irrational or made 100% from manufacturer bias that you see on other platforms. There are users here who would be very quick to throw Nokia under the bus (and often do) but stick with maemo because it has that much utility and promise.
Originally Posted by qole
Wow, that was quite the compliment, even if it is perhaps "spreading it a little thick"
I happen to agree with you about a lot of the guys here... Not always the best communicators, but they are often scarily knowledgeable.
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2009-10-19
, 18:48
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Posts: 1,028 |
Thanked: 578 times |
Joined on Mar 2009
@ Chicago
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#19
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Originally Posted by christexaport
Stop calling it "The .Org".
qole, I'll be the first to admit I'm probably better at writing, but The .Org is a genius repository, and the knowledge is beyond any developer group I've been around, and that includes Symbian and even the hallowed xda, of which many here are members as well. Maemo's devs are well travelled, knowledgeable, and self starters. The best mobile dev community, hands down. Even if they're not always the best communicators. I'll take a bad speaker that makes glorious apps for me all day, and no amount of arguing or threats can make me forsake this place. We're stuck with each other, for better or for worse, so someone throw the bouquet. (And not me, I'm the groom. Someone else can wear the dress.)
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2009-10-19
, 19:24
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Posts: 40 |
Thanked: 5 times |
Joined on Sep 2009
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#20
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Thanks for your comments, (goes away to digest).....
To put it simply:
I can only speak from my own (limited) perspective.... but although I would classify myself as one of the very basic users of Maemo, this is why I'm buying the N900:
Maemo seems to be able to take advantage of the hardware much more capably than Android (running java on a linux kernel?) multitasking etc. So same hardware means better performance on Maemo than Android.
Maemo is linux (thanks Chris) and therefore can be pushed virtually as far as the community wants to take it. Programming is more inclusive.
I am interested in learning more about linux and possibly working at helping to improve the Maemo experience.
So: Maemo has a better design from the ground up: performance, potential, personality etc.
That being said..... I still want to buy a snapdragon Android device (or one with hardware that I like, particularly a keyboard) to try. I like and use Google Services. I really hope that Googlemaps comes to Maemo.
Eventually one will win my heart as my device of choice, but I think that Maemo has more potential in the long term, especially if we get some more manufacturers to be interested and have a strong community.
Buying an N900 is my way of supporting Maemo and improving my knowledge about the OS.
But I like android too.
Edit: please be gentle if I wrote anything that is blatantly incorrect.