Tablets in use at the table

[cryptoknight]

Just remember that Kindle Fires are android tablets. They just get a controlled experience from Amazon.

[egg_green]

Originally Posted by cryptoknight

Just remember that Kindle Fires are android tablets. They just get a controlled experience from Amazon.

Would an Android version of Hero Lab be able to work on one out-of-the-box, or would they need to make changes to accommodate Amazon? I assume they would need to submit it separately to the Kindle App Store, but can any Android developer just do that, or are there things that need to be changed before doing so?

[jlong05]

The biggest issue with android development is the inconsistency in device sizes. It makes for issues in being able to support all devices equally.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by jlong05

The biggest issue with android development is the inconsistency in device sizes. It makes for issues in being able to support all devices equally.

Well, it'd be fairly easy in terms of tablets. Trying to include cell phone support would require a different approach, but tablets are fairly straightforward, even with their slightly different sizes. Most professionally programmed apps don't have problems running on different Android tablets, so I see no reason why it should be an issue for HL.

[cryptoknight]

Originally Posted by egg_green

Would an Android version of Hero Lab be able to work on one out-of-the-box, or would they need to make changes to accommodate Amazon? I assume they would need to submit it separately to the Kindle App Store, but can any Android developer just do that, or are there things that need to be changed before doing so?

It should work out of the box. You just need it to be approved for the Amazon App store in addition to the standard Google one.

[jlong05]

Originally Posted by Joshua

Well, it'd be fairly easy in terms of tablets. Trying to include cell phone support would require a different approach, but tablets are fairly straightforward, even with their slightly different sizes. Most professionally programmed apps don't have problems running on different Android tablets, so I see no reason why it should be an issue for HL.

I didn't say it wasn't possible, just additional work in providing screen support for the other sizes possible. If you toss phones in too it becomes an even bigger nightmare. Compare this to the iPad and you get something completely different. All iPads are the same screen size, only different resolutions are possible for the retina is play. Nothing that HL or even AB would need to be concerned with, and to add iPhone/iPod support there is even a standard for it as well. Just makes it easier to support is my point.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by jlong05

I didn't say it wasn't possible, just additional work in providing screen support for the other sizes possible. If you toss phones in too it becomes an even bigger nightmare. Compare this to the iPad and you get something completely different. All iPads are the same screen size, only different resolutions are possible for the retina is play. Nothing that HL or even AB would need to be concerned with, and to add iPhone/iPod support there is even a standard for it as well. Just makes it easier to support is my point.

I don't think it's very reasonable to add in cell phone support as an issue, considering that Apple presents the same problem. And when it really comes down to it, all that would be needed in terms of "extra code" with different sized Android systems is a scalable background, just like any programmer has to include for different sizes or resolutions for desktops. If a programmer can't do that blindfolded and drunk, s/he shouldn't be a paid programmer. Basically, I disagree that it's a valid issue.

[jlong05]

You apparently have not done any development for a tablet based system. It really isn't that simple. The scale idea only works if the scale moves equally in both directions, but unfortunately that is not the case. The real issue isn't the restroom but the actual screen size. Programs such as HL and AB need to utilize the majority of the screen on this devices. The scaling of the images would cause text irregularities as well as graphical issues that would need customized for each screen size to be a polished app we would expect from Lonewolf.

[egg_green]

With regard to screen size, the Windows and Mac versions both handle scaling both vertically and horizontally quite well. I don't believe it would be significantly more different to handle that on an Android device than on a desktop OS. Apple's model of specifying the resolution would make development in that regard easier, but I have to believe that managing the screen layout is a relatively minor consideration compared with all the other stuff the app would need to deal with.

[Joshua]

You misunderstood my perspective, jlong. I didn't recommend scaling the entire application, but rather the background, essentially increasing just the window. Hero Lab already does this from a windowed view to the fullscreen view. You can simply fit in a bit more text in fullscreen. Neither the texts or the images scale from one to the other, so I don't see why you'd expect (or think it'd be a good idea) for it to do so on a tablet. It seems like you're just creating problems where there aren't any. And yes, it really is that easy.