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Google wants developers to focus on tablets

by on31 October 2012



Surprise, surprise


Google is kindly asking developers to stop fooling around and focus on designing tablet apps for Android. Google’s Play Store is slowly catching up with Apple’s App Store, but it still lacks tablet centric apps. Hence, the iPad still enjoys a much better ecosystem than Android slates.

In an interview with the Guardian, Google exec Robert Hamilton said he would like to see developers pay a bit more attention about “great tablet experiences” and points out that there are plenty of great Android tablets on the market already.

“The Nexus 10 is a world-class device that we think will be really successful, so we want more people to take advantage of the tools that Android provides for developers to think about what their tablet experience is,” he said.

The Nexus 10 is a particularly interesting device thanks to its 2560x1600 screen. Although most apps will work just fine on the hi-res panel, they were never optimized for such high resolutions. Take an average game for example. A game designed for 720p should have no trouble working on the new screen, but it won’t be able to make the most of it. Geometry needs to be optimized, with more levels of detail and more accurate models with plenty of polygons to spare. Then there’s the textures, they need to be much bigger to avoid pixellization on a 2560x1600 screen.

Hamilton claims that Google’s decision to launch the Nexus 7 prompted many developers to rethink their approach and think about improving the tablet experience. The Nexus 10 could do even more to help development, as it reiterates Google’s commitment to tablets and provides developers with an excellent platform to play around with, packed with a top notch processor and class leading screen.


Last modified on 31 October 2012
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