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Hero Lab on Android

Dan- which version of Android? Sure, it looks like Android is more popular, 120mil to 70 mil. But then you look down at individual platform sales, and the fragmenting begins. Except in one brand/OS- Apple. All 70mil iOS devices are a known quantity. Samsung's 37mil Android devices MIGHT all have the same Android version, but that not a guarantee, and the fragmenting continues from there, based on each individual manufacturer's needs.
 
Dan- which version of Android? Sure, it looks like Android is more popular, 120mil to 70 mil. But then you look down at individual platform sales, and the fragmenting begins. Except in one brand/OS- Apple. All 70mil iOS devices are a known quantity. Samsung's 37mil Android devices MIGHT all have the same Android version, but that not a guarantee, and the fragmenting continues from there, based on each individual manufacturer's needs.

While true, you can be pretty damn safe in creating for Android 4.0 and cover most, 3.2 if you want to get the older tablets too. Also it's pretty hard to break compatibility for newer versions by coding for older ones, so you could code something that will work in Android 2 and it is almost guaranteed to work in 4. With the ubiquity of 4+ and the fact that anything made for older is compatible with newer, at least on the software front the "fragmenting" is a very weak argument.

But really, the final word is that we have already heard from Lone Wolf when they're going to make an Android version. As soon as the iOS version is complete (and not just a character sheet viewer for a single system), they're starting on the Android version.

So while this is going to sound counter-intuitive, because Lone Wolf has already decided to make an Android version, our best bet for getting an Android version as soon as possible would be to push them to finish the iOS version as fast as they can.

Yeah, I know, weird right? I just told the Android fan boys (including myself) to root for Apple.
 
But really, the final word is that we have already heard from Lone Wolf when they're going to make an Android version. As soon as the iOS version is complete (and not just a character sheet viewer for a single system), they're starting on the Android version.

So while this is going to sound counter-intuitive, because Lone Wolf has already decided to make an Android version, our best bet for getting an Android version as soon as possible would be to push them to finish the iOS version as fast as they can.

Going to jump in here. Our current answer to "When is Android coming?" or "When is [other system supported in Hero Lab] coming?": We'll be looking at creating a Hero Lab app for other game systems and other platforms once the full Hero Lab app is out for iPad.

If we decide to begin developing an app for Android, we will share the news on our website and in our newsletter. However, no such announcement has been made.
 
+1 android user here.

I have android. I've had android since i have had a choice. Apple is too expensive and too restrictive. I use my android while gaming all the time. The o nly advantage apple has is it's hype. I'd throw in on a kickstarter for it.

Timothy doesn't. Know what's going on but he knows to kill it with fire!
 
Well, throw my name in there for day-1 Android purchaser for HeroLab - tester, too, if you like. I've used HeroLab on my Windows PC for about three years now, and am also a fan of RealmWorks - all Wolflair products, really. I used to bring a laptop with me to GM or play at RPG sessions, but my perceptions have changed with the new technologies and now it feels huge and clunky to bring a laptop when I've got a 10" android tablet (Nexus 10) to use, with a handy-dandy touchscreen. As a GM, I'll probably still use something with a larger screen, but as a player, I'd really love to have a mobile HeroLab character sheet to take with me to sessions - even if only as an extension to my full install of HeroLab on my home desktop. I'm spoiled by HeroLab now - I don't think any other character sheets on the market stand up to comparison, or my expectations. It's cool that the iPad users will get some love, but the Apple "walled garden" ecosystem runs counter to every fiber of my technophile being, so I look forward to the day it comes out on Android.
 
To throw in my $.02 worth (and apologies if this has already been raised) ...

One of the most annoying things that a lot of Android Developers do is to only distribute their products via Google Play. Great for most Android devices, but many folks use the Kindle Fire because it is very affordable and good value for money - so please also make an Android version of HeroLab available on Amazon's Kindle store as well as Google Play, or provide a downloadable apk file so that it can be sideloaded onto the Kindle (since I am sure that there are a lot of folks who do not want to root their Kindle to get Google Play).
 
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I would be happy with just an app that you an load your Hero Lab profile into and just use the In-Play, Adjustments, and Condition tabs. I would think that would make it simpler to develop if/when the decision is made to move forward with Android.
 
I would like to be able to edit Hero Lab characters on Android, but yeah, a Hero Lab "reader" would work great too.

I wouldn't often build full characters on mobile - that's why I have a desktop computer (content creation on mobile devices is often slow and/or painful). Something to be able to read and tweak the already-made profiles would work for me most of the time. The question is whether that's really much easier to build. I'm guessing not. ...and if it were essentially a PDF reader, that's not really adding any value - I can already print to a PDF and copy the file to my Android.

In any case, I WOULD love to have the option of using Hero Lab and Realm Works on my Android tablet (a 2013 Nexus 7 right now).
 
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What I am talking about would would be a little more then just the PDF reader. Of course it is really easy to just view a PDF on your tablet especially when using drop box or Google Drive.
 
+1 for Android as well.

As a developer of mobile applications (both in native and web), I can speak for the viability of the newer android devices, especially as an emerging platform. My company's bottom line would be seriously hampered by not supporting this significant demographic. I cannot speak for Kindle Fire, given that while it is an inexpensive alternative to other tablets, the general commitment to housing a dedicated web platform hasn't entered the realm of competitiveness or even web readiness that is demanded of an accepted platform. To put it bluntly, the platform is a glorified book that is non-standard, feature-weak, not enough people with money use it, and there's no incentive to change that (similarly, we're not working with blackberry). You are wise to pick your battles.

Of course, your development team knows this, and is quite keen on reasonable scope support with respect to the bottom line and the very sustainability of your organization. I've been writing my own web app that latches on to Hero Lab's export, performing a scrape of the HTML statblocks and character sheets, and then using it as a malleable web application that works fine in chrome (because god help anyone who uses something else ;) ). This has helped me out tremendously, as all the information that is reasonably organized within your application can then be accessed without much ceremony. Basically I make the html docs a day or so before the session, and my smartphone becomes an interactive note card for my statblocks during the game. Plus, it gives me the ability to work around many of the short-comings and known bugs within Hero lab (not that I'm faulting you there, because any sufficiently non-trivial application will have bugs). As a game master, this has turned a fun toy into a powerful tool. I'd be happier if the HTML you exported were more... stylized of course, however this works for now.

That, of course, begs the question, if I'm capable (as one person) of writing a web application (as in plain ol' html, css, and js) in my spare time that can overcome these shortcomings, what's to stop someone else from doing the same? If the source material is available through the online PRD, the value added by hero lab is limited. Respectfully, I caution you not to neglect this emerging demographic while you can maintain a competitive edge. You have a fine product, but an inaccessible fine product is no product at all.
 
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