How Google should fix Android's shortcomings

We'll soon know the cool new mobile capabilities in store -- but don't let that cause long-standing irritations to go unresolved

 

Google opens its Google I/O conference tomorrow, promising to reveal details on upcoming versions of its Android mobile operating system, Chrome OS Web operating system, and Chrome browser, among other technologies. Typically, such previews focus on new technologies or services. The irritants in the existing OSes tend to be ignored, and they often remain in a new version.
But there are several irritants Google needs to address, both in an update to Android 4.x "Jelly Bean" and as part of any planned Android 4.3 or 5.0 "Key Lime Pie" OS. (Several folks have seen Android 4.3 signatures in the wild and assume that's a rev of "Jelly Bean" and not the new "Key Lime Pie," but remember that "Jelly Bean" was Android 4.1, which was then revved to 4.2, with its multiuser account support, confusing lock-screen widgets, and cool photo controls. This followed 4.0's "Ice Cream Sandwich," which followed 3.0's "Honeycomb," which followed 2.3's "Gingerbread," which followed 2.2's "Froyo," which followed 2.0's and 2.1's "Eclair," which followed 1.6's "Donut," which followed the unnamed 1.5, 1.1, and 1.0 versions -- see the pattern? Or the lack thereof?)
[ Here are the irritants that Galen Gruman says need to be fixed in Apple's iOS 6. | Want a media tablet? InfoWorld pits the Nexus 7 against the iPad Mini and Kindle Fire. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights via Twitter and with the Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. ]
A media strategy with dull teethThe biggest issue with Android is its poor integration with computers, particularly around media files. Google has big aspirations to measure up as a rival to Apple's iTunes, but it lacks the software infrastructure to pull it off at the user's home. Now that ISPs have joined cellular carriers in metering your broadband connections, Google's "download on demand" approach risks becoming unaffordable. Meanwhile, Apple has made iTunes backup and syncing nearly automatic over a set-and-forget Wi-Fi connection, while also providing the "download on demand" approach as a complementary setup.
Google's Android File Transfer utility is very primitive, like something from a 1970s mainframe. Samsung's Kies and the DoubleTwist app available for most Android devices are better, but still way behind iTunes. If Google is serious about its media aspirations, it needs to double down on creating an iTunes-like environment -- before Apple finally wakes up and provides iTunes for Android, which would seal its hegemony.
If you use an iPhone or iPad, you know how wonderful the AirPlay feature is in tandem with an Apple TV; it makes conference presentations a snap, and video playback becomes dead-simple across iTunes-enabled devices. The standard video-out capabilities through the Dock or Lightning connector mean you can present or play on any VGA or HDMI monitor.
In contrast, Android devices are all over the map when it comes to video-out. Three kinds of video-out ports are in use, and many devices have none. Some devices support the DLNA wireless video transmission protocol, but it's implemented unevenly across various TV and stereo makers -- it's a standard that isn't standard. In other words, Android is a mess when it comes to video-out.
Google should universally adopt the new Miracast protocol, as that ensures the much-needed interoperability. I suggest that Google's licensing terms for the Android 4.3 or 5.0 name require that there be Miracast implemented. At the very least, require at least one of two video-out technologies on a device: SlimPort and/or Miracast (which is already deployed in the Nexus 10 tablet but not in the Nexus 4 smartphone). That would let the Android join the video and presentation parties for real. If device makers also feel the need to support DLNA, MiniHDMI, or MHL as well, fine. But create a common playing field.

A muddled browser mixGoogle has long been the leader in pushing forward the HTML5 standard in its desktop Chrome browser, regularly outpacing both Mozilla and Apple, despite their strong HTML5 commitments. In mobile, Apple's Safari has held the lead, but that changed last fall: In the HTML5test.com tests of HTML5 compatibility, the iPhone 5's Safari browser scored 360 points out of a possible 500, whereas the Galaxy S III's stock Android browser scored higher, at 380 points. Google's optional Chrome browser scored 369 points.
InfoWorld's tests show that the stock Google Android browser is more compatible than Chrome for Android with AJAX and TinyMCE, which means it works better with high-functionality sites. Yet Google is trying to push Chrome as the standard Android browser. There should be just one Google Android browser, and Chrome is the natural choice so that you can get cross-device syncing. But Google has to make sure Chrome for Android handles HTML5, AJAX, and plug-ins like TinyMCE as well as as its older browser did, which still ships with many new Android devices. Then it can kill off that old browser and simplify the user experience without compromising it with two variations.
Untangle the email jumbleAlong the same lines, Google needs to merge its Gmail and Email apps. Yes, I know it wants to promote its own services, but it's nuts to expect users to bounce between email clients, which anyone using an Android smartphone for both personal and business purposes is likely to do. Email is email -- don't create an artificial division.
If Google wants to really promote its cornucopia of privacy-invading services, it should copy the intent behind either Windows Phone's People app or BlackBerry 10's Hub, which provide an integrated communications experience across email, social media, and messaging. A Google app that combined its many communications-centric services would make a lot of sense for users and reinforce its brand -- unlike the Gmail separation of today.
Simple security holes to plugAndroid has made a lot of strides in its security and management capabilities, though it continues to trail iOS, Samsung's SAFE version of Android, and BlackBerry 10. A few straightforward changes would go a long way to making Android a safe choice for business users:
  • A VPN configuration utility that humans can use. An iOS user doesn't have to know all the protocol details to connect to a VPN, but an Android user does, which is just silly. It could use support for Cisco IPSec VPNs, too -- like iOS does.
  • Support for certificate-based PEAP-secured Wi-Fi networks, again like iOS.
  • An option to disable side-loading of apps, so non-Google Play apps can't be installed. At the least, the ability to set a password on the Unknown Sources side-loading control would help, but an API control for mobile device management tools to use to disable the side-loading feature on corporate-managed devices would be even better. Such side-loaded apps expose Android's biggest security weakness: Its unregulated app model, which has made Android the No. 2 magnet for malware, after Windows.
  • The Google Play app store also has a lot of malware, despite Google's Bouncer malware scanner. Either Google needs to vet its apps closely, as Apple, Microsoft, and BlackBerry all do, or create a program for safety-guaranteed apps that would let users -- and MDM tools -- know which apps are safe to install from Google Play.
  • Up the device encryption level from 128-bit to 256-bit, for parity with iOS, Samsung SAFE, and BlackBerry 10.
Clean up the UIAndroid often lacks iOS's consistency, but it also has brought truly useful features like the notification tray and easy-access common settings to the mobile world that users love. One of Android's hallmarks is that each manufacturer can adjust the code after release. As a result, the user interface can vary wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer. But if Google cares about getting Android accepted in businesses -- rather than let Samsung take over that market -- it should establish a few standards:
  • The icons for the standard apps, such as Settings and Email, should not be changed.
  • All devices have a settings option to revert to the standard Android home page. That would apply equally to HTC, Samsung, and Google; its Google Play overlay is just as annoying to a support technician as the HTC One's Facebook Home or Samsung's variation of the home screen. I applaud the desire to add value to the basic platform, but give us a "revert to default" option to help support staff, trainers, and people who switch manufacturers. We can have our variation cake and our consistency cake, too.
  • Require device makers and carriers to have users run an installer for all their bloatware, rather than allow it to be preinstalled. Yes, a user can delete unwanted music players, for example, but many users fear doing so because they don't know what each does, and they don't want to spend hours figuring them out. If Samsung, HTC, Verizon, AT&T, or so on wants to suggest special or self-serving apps for the user to install, fine -- but don't bury the user in bloatware at the outset.
There are also a bunch of UI quirks and rough edges that Google should take the time to fix:
  • Rework the "Jelly Bean" onscreen keyboard so that the new Input Method stops getting in the way of typing. Consider making the numeral row standard, as it is in Samsung devices.
  • Rework the "Jelly Bean" lock-screen widgets so that they're easier to add and access. Right now, it's hugely unintuitive.
  • Add iCloud IMAP setup to the Email app. That would tweak Apple and might ease some Apple-based users into the Google world. iCloud email is standard IMAP, but Apple keeps the settings opaque, so most users won't know how to do this on their own.
  • Add a notes app. This is a very simple but very useful app, especially when it supports Exchange and IMAP notes for automatic syncing across PCs and mobile devices.
  • Add a clock app. The various widgets aren't very good, and doing simple things like setting a countdown timer (such as for a parking meter) or an alarm is harder than it should be in Android. (Samsung has a good Clock app on its Android devices.)
  • Have the Calendar icon show the current date. Yes that's copying iOS, but Google's done that before. It's a thoughtful touch to have a live calendar icon, and this is a point that ex-iPhone users often raise as a frustration.
I don't think any of this is too much to ask. Google, when will you deliver?


 

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