Apps: Quality vs Quantity

[tech1greek]

Look before I start a flame war, I am anxiously awaiting new apps for the Pre and definitely see the use and value of many of them.

However, I do agree with Palm's approach of limiting apps and releasing useful apps (even if they are running late).

Have you ever seen an iPhone users phone? At least half of the apps are garbage, from farts to poor racing games.

Honestly a better implementation of Google Maps, a dedicated Facebook App, and perhaps a third-party browser would be great, but what more do you want? Games (not of high importance).

You have all your calendars, multiple e-mails accounts, sms, mms, phone, a competent browser, google talk, can upload your photos online, and most bank websites have a web portal.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN APPS:

Performance Updates
New Feature Implementations
Security Patches
Corporate IT Support

Anyone with me? Just feels like there is a lot of impatience and frusteration over Apps not being released. Just be patient there are new ones coming soon.

[donm527]

Can't start judging quality until you actually get more apps in... so start rolling them in fast and furious and we'll be the judge of quality.

[no1smartphone]

I want quality and quantity but usually it ends up being quantity.

[Aridon]

Unfortunately you need quantity to have quality in any masses created app store. Because right now we certainly have neither quality nor quantity. Most of the apps in the app store frankly suck. Sure most of them are in some form of beta state but regardless the fact remains we don't have much.

We also need all the things you mentioned.

So in other words, regardless of what the Pre defense force says, Palm has its work cut out for it as the phone NEEDS ALOT OF UPDATES. And fairly quickly.

They need to start sooner rather than later because Palm is anything but saved from the Pre or WebOS. They aren't selling anywhere near enough devices at the current rate to stay alive and their hope on huge international sales could be a bust sort of like how the USA sales haven't met expectations. A month into launch and selling 15-20k a week, a number which is going to only drop, isn't nearly enough.

Add pixie to At&T, a inferior device by any stretch for the same prices a a 8gb 3g Iphone but with a tiny screen and half the memory do you really think they are going to sell millions of them? I don't. They will also be dealing with the Touch Pro 2, the HTC Kaiser and who knows what other phones. Including the Hero most likely on Sprint.

Palm better get their **** together or they will be in chapter 11 shortly after the new year. They need 5-6 million units out and competition isn't getting easier. They also have lots more competition overseas than they do here. Since most of the world is on GSM and have a plethora of phone options, mostly unlocked.

So in 6 months if the most commonly used term here is still"an update will add/fix that" then Palm will be in deep doo doo. I'm not holding my breath for fast and furious fixes, if it was easy they would have had in done already. This OS has been in development for years.

[donm527]

quantity is so much better because you open the flood gates people will be working hard to better what's out there and you will have many more apps out their that might perform the same function but better than the last. youre creating competition for the consumers dollar... you create better quality that way.

Originally Posted by no1smartphone

I want quality and quantity but usually it ends up being quantity.

[Felipe]

what i want from palm is a reason it is taking so long for #app31. we know there are out there, but why arent they in the catalog?

is it technical? if it financial?

as for apps i want? hmmmm. ill know it when i see it.

[donm527]

Exactly! Stop PRE-judging (heh) what should go in and not and let the owners be the judge and judge through their dollars. Open the flood gates and let all the programs in (I know some of you fanyboys are secretly jones'in for a fart program... any fart program at this point instead of playing calculator all day swishing empty cards away).

Let the developers duke it out and try to better the other with better versions and always updating theirs and the quality will be there.

Originally Posted by Felipe

as for apps i want? hmmmm. ill know it when i see it.

[tim.gier]

Originally Posted by Aridon

Unfortunately you need quantity to have quality in any masses created app store. Because right now we certainly have neither quality nor quantity. Most of the apps in the app store frankly suck. Sure most of them are in some form of beta state but regardless the fact remains we don't have much.

We also need all the things you mentioned.

So in other words, regardless of what the Pre defense force says, Palm has its work cut out for it as the phone NEEDS ALOT OF UPDATES. And fairly quickly.

They need to start sooner rather than later because Palm is anything but saved from the Pre or WebOS. They aren't selling anywhere near enough devices at the current rate to stay alive and their hope on huge international sales could be a bust sort of like how the USA sales haven't met expectations. A month into launch and selling 15-20k a week, a number which is going to only drop, isn't nearly enough.

Add pixie to At&T, a inferior device by any stretch for the same prices a a 8gb 3g Iphone but with a tiny screen and half the memory do you really think they are going to sell millions of them? I don't. They will also be dealing with the Touch Pro 2, the HTC Kaiser and who knows what other phones. Including the Hero most likely on Sprint.

Palm better get their **** together or they will be in chapter 11 shortly after the new year. They need 5-6 million units out and competition isn't getting easier. They also have lots more competition overseas than they do here. Since most of the world is on GSM and have a plethora of phone options, mostly unlocked.

So in 6 months if the most commonly used term here is still"an update will add/fix that" then Palm will be in deep doo doo. I'm not holding my breath for fast and furious fixes, if it was easy they would have had in done already. This OS has been in development for years.

I guess if I have the choice of trusting either (1) the foresight of the management and development staff at Palm & Sprint - or - (2) some poster to a web forum, I have to go with the web poster. After all, what could those silly Palm people know that he doesn't anyway??

[realistdreamer]

As long as you minimize memory hogs and crashers, quantity is fine. You should need a way to help users sort through the garbage. Palmgear for example had loads and loads of crap on there. Yet, I was able to use the categories and search to minimize my time searching through them.

As for my personal phone, there won't be many apps on it. I'm into productivity. I need one or two games to keep me occupied on the train or plane and that's about it. A good book reader and/or audiobook will take care of the rest of my entertainment. But, to each her/his own.

[Really mobile]

If it's easier to develop apps for WebOS and if Palm approves most, if not all, apps, won't that mean that all types of apps, good and bad, will make it's way into the App Catalog in the Fall? If so, we'll see both quantity, quality, and garbage....very similar to what Apple faces today...

[sgtkwol]

I hope Palm uses the design standards on their "Best Practices" page and "User Interface Guidelines". I would rather have a fart app on my phone that manages resources well than one that is more useful that eats batteries for breakfast.

[Domali]

There is absolutely no excuse or reason for no new app coming out in the last however many weeks it has been. The only valid excuse would be NO ONE is developing for it, which obviously isn't the case. I don't care if new apps are put on that I wouldn't use, it's just getting a little old that there has been nothing new for the phone in the past few weeks.

[DougB541]

Originally Posted by Domali

There is absolutely no excuse or reason for no new app coming out in the last however many weeks it has been. The only valid excuse would be NO ONE is developing for it, which obviously isn't the case. I don't care if new apps are put on that I wouldn't use, it's just getting a little old that there has been nothing new for the phone in the past few weeks.

Perhaps apps aren't finished yet?

Hmm?

On a serious note...the app whining is getting so annoying. It seriously is.

[Muyiwafly]

Personally I prefer quality. Useful apps are much better than more apps. But the apple store seems to have both. Although the pre is better, the apps I think are much useful are apps like dictionaries, study guides for students(such as medical preps and SAT prep apps), and scrabble( to increase vocab).

You know, just saying.

[rc46]

I'll take quality over quantity any day. So far there is a total of 1 home brew app that I thought was worthy of installing on my Pre (and I've tried all of them on my emulator). And even that one was so bad I deleted it.

I dont really care about fart apps or games I want productivity apps like Evernotes or Remember the Milk.

[GMoney749]

Originally Posted by DougB541

Perhaps apps aren't finished yet?

Hmm?

On a serious note...the app whining is getting so annoying. It seriously is.

Agreed. What, exactly, are the apps that all you whiners can't live without?

[tech1greek]

Originally Posted by rc46

I'll take quality over quantity any day. So far there is a total of 1 home brew app that I thought was worthy of installing on my Pre (and I've tried all of them on my emulator). And even that one was so bad I deleted it.

I dont really care about fart apps or games I want productivity apps like Evernotes or Remember the Milk.

I am glad I am not the only one that feels this way.

Seriously just use your phone and be happy instead of complaining about apps, if you have a serious hardware issue or get poor service that's one thing, but for apps just go about your lives and you'll get a pleasant surprise when you do get apps.

[joshewah]

3rd party browser would just be silly. The whole OS is built around the webkit browser. Its called WebOS for that matter. If theres issues rendering a page or features missing thats something that has to be worked on.

I do think a lot of the apps are pretty good quality. They look and function well. They might not have every feature under the sun, but they aren't a cluttered ugly mess. They flow well.

I think there are people cramming out applications that don't have a full grasp on making an application fit with the OS and flow well. They jump right to calling it version 1.0 even though the app is not much more than what you could do on a simple webpage without any palm APIs.

Oh well, its going to happen one way or another unless you lock everything down which wouldn't be a good thing in the long run. The old school Palm OS had tons of apps, and a lot of them were useful even though the interface was horrid. It was nice to see a set of applications at launch that looked and worked well instead of cramming the kitchen sink in.