Best looking Android APPS

Neodite

Neodite

Neodite

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So we all know how ugly and waste of space some APPS are on the market.

And there are also the ones that look ugly but are really good at what they do.


So which APP do you think looks the best?

Ive just installed Twitter for the first time on my Desire, and it is a fantastic looking APP, if only all APP's looked like this the market would be an awsome place to be, but nope :(

It seems people love the hole black BG's and the ugly buttons, even really simple APPS that don't do a lot are ugly, would it kill these guys to make them look decent?
 
I totally agree mate. Almost all the Android apps look like they've never seen a copy of Photoshop. They're terrible. It just underlines for me the lack of polish Android has...and it needs to improve because right now it's miles behind the iPhone.

The Twitter client is nice, yep, also there's a note-taking app called Springpad which is well laid out. But there's really very little else. All everyone does is put a black background in and some horrible buttons. It makes apps hard to use and limits their appeal.
 
I think a lot of problems are down to different screen sizes and resolutions, an iPhone app only has to cater to one, and designing for one screen resolution makes life a whole lot easier.
 
The only thing i can think of is people have been rushing to get there APPS on the market first so they can start making money.

They seen what happened with Apples app store where some people made a lot of money and they wanted in on the action.

Just had a look at Springpad and yep that is a very nice app too.

I honestly feel like making a design in photoshop for the APPS i use and sending them to the DEV's in hope they will atleast make an effort
 
Cuchulain said:
I think a lot of problems are down to different screen sizes and resolutions, an iPhone app only has to cater to one, and designing for one screen resolution makes life a whole lot easier.
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Only for the DEVs that don't have a clue how to code and design.

The same way people new to webdesign might not be able to sort there site for different res/screen size
 
Well, Google have released design guidelines for Android but I don't think they're as comprehensive as Apple's are. Plus add to that that most Apple programmers have got some design background, or at least know people in the industry.. whereas Android's geek appeal mostly attracts just nerdy programmers.
 
360 live and Xiia are the ones that pop into mind, sure some apps are ugly but most of them are just about there in the form/function balance. Super cool hypercolour graphics are not why I download an app, unless it's a game...
 
I wish i could code.

I would love to create my own market for Android phones, and then be stricter than google but not as much as apple ;)

Would be an awsome addition.

So who can code for android here? ;) Ill be more than happy to team up with some people :p
 
I keep telling myself im going to learn, but i find it really hard to get into.

It's probably because my goal is too big for someone starting out
 
UI design on Android is (imo) tricky. It is divorced from the code and constructed in XML. I've written a fair few Android apps (none are out yet as I'm still learning and am not done messing with them), and found getting to grips with the different views, layouts etc a bit trickier than I thought it was going to be.
It has been made easier as Android progressed but still a pain!!
 
I've only found a few apps I think are accwptable.. UI is terrible and I find that quite inportant.. still think sense is amazing.. not enough widgets out therw... tho I don't like apples colours the actual designs are very nice... shows how well Apple have done, if you could change their white background id be very tempted bt the iPhone
 
How about we create a good looking app, it does absolutely nothing apart from providing a visually pleasing screen - this would be completely on par with the topic too, at being the "best looking app"

AMIRITE?!

I have almost 60 apps now installed and almost all of them I'd consider to be visually pleasing to look at and use though.
 
The Orange Wednesday & Engadget Apps are both well made.

Most look rubbish though, especially compared to the WebOS apps that get made...... and that has a tiny amount of potential buyers in comparison. Damn I wish Palm had produced better hardware, the OS design is so good.
 
reflux said:
Plus add to that that most Apple programmers have got some design background, or at least know people in the industry.. whereas Android's geek appeal mostly attracts just nerdy programmers.
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How have you come to that conclusion?

I agree, a lot of apps look pretty unexciting. But I think as Android becomes more popular, which it has due to HTC's efforts, the quality of apps will only improve.
 
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BlackDragon said:
How have you come to that conclusion? Strikes me as Apple fanboism where anyone associated with Apple is cool, and everyone else is uncool and geeky.
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OK, it's a generalisation, but Apple products have always featured designers and artists as a key part of their audience. Part of the reason Apple are a successful brand is because of their support of the design community during the early days of desktop publishing, when you had to buy a Mac to do any design work. And these days their big focus on high quality, cutting edge design means that most designers prefer Macs (I do not though :D)

Linux by its nature attracts nerdy programmers - it's just how it is. That's not a bad thing, just that because it's a far more open platform you can do a lot more with it. Perusing the XDA forums' Nexus One section might explain why some of the apps are so badly designed - "oh look, let's make all the icons LIME GREEN because that's really cool".... erm, no, it's not - it looks terrible! :D

Obviously there's a lot of nerdy programming going on on the Apple side of things too (the apps themselves, and obviously the whole jailbreaking community) but Android's lack of polish is clear evidence to me that there's almost a complete lack of UX designers involved. I don't think Google have realised yet how important good design is. It's why Windows 7 doesn't look like Windows 95 anymore for example.

Google have had a great opportunity to do something truly revolutionary with Android, and so far everything they've produced outside the engineering department is just 'good enough'. No part of it is any better than just adequate.
 
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reflux said:
OK, it's a generalisation, but Apple products have always featured designers and artists as a key part of their audience. Part of the reason Apple are a successful brand is because of their support of the design community during the early days of desktop publishing, when you had to buy a Mac to do any design work. And these days their big focus on high quality, cutting edge design means that most designers prefer Macs (I do not though :D)

Linux by its nature attracts nerdy programmers - it's just how it is. That's not a bad thing, just that because it's a far more open platform you can do a lot more with it.

Obviously there's a lot of nerdy programming going on on the Apple side of things too (the apps themselves, and obviously the whole jailbreaking community) but Android's lack of polish is clear evidence to me that there's almost a complete lack of UX designers involved. I don't think Google have realised yet how important good design is. It's why Windows 7 doesn't look like Windows 95 anymore for example.
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I agree with you there. Just wasn't sure if you were being an Apple Fanboy with your comment at first! :p

Me and my workmate were talking about the user interface today and he was saying how Google really need to work on the UI design and make things smoother and more intuitive to use.
 
BlackDragon said:
Me and my workmate were talking about the user interface today and he was saying how Google really need to work on the UI design and make things smoother and more intuitive to use.
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I guess that's exactly what I want to see - I want to enjoy using Android, I want to feel satisfaction from using it, and right now, even with a ton of mods and custom bits coded into the FroYo release I'm running right now, it still looks pretty meh :(

I know design is very much an abstract thing, but part of the reason Apple products succeed is because of their slavish devotion to making things look nice. HTC have done a good job with HTC Sense, so why can't Google and the app designers do something similar?
 
App designers are... you only have to look at the multitude of widgets out there that have many skins all customisable too. If you're not seeing it then perhaps you're not looking in the right places?

Just look at XDA and Modaco's screenshot/homescreen threads. Hundreds of custom layouts that look superb and suit every taste. Apple has one look to suit one style only.

As popularity grows so do the app features and customisation abilities.

On another note every single person who has seen my phone has commented on how smooth and polished it looks (the UI and way you interact with apps and the OS as well as the underlying features) and these are generally people who aren't up to scratch with mobile technology so if it's hitting them immediately then app designers and Google are certainly on the right track.
 
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Androids UI sucks, seriously. Black background and white text?

This is why I always go back to Sense ROMS after trying out FroYo for all of 30 minutes, because the usability of the UI just goes down the pan.

Also, email client on Android is shocking. I'm sure you still can't send meeting invites and change out of office messages like you can with Sense email application.

The Ocado application, ShopSavy, eBuddy, DoubleTwist and Movies applications look pretty good.
 
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