Re:Twice as Many Mobile News Readers Prefer Browsers to Apps
by VLM on Monday October 08, 2012 @09:28AM
(#4626728)
Its interesting that the article was purely observational and most of the HN comments are highly technical or individual app UI oriented. I agree most app UIs are awful and none are consistent with other apps.
One point not mentioned is the Meta issues. I've got one main screen 4x4 icons and 5 total screens and I do a heck of a lot more with my phone than read one site's news. I do not have the screen space for an app for every website I've ever visited plus all the base load of apps (runkeeper, doggcatcher, kindle app, a dozen or so others). So a "bookmark" app needs to be important enough for me to delete another app or spend a long time scrolling the list to find it. The browser, on the other hand, is always and easily available.
The other issue is I have limited memory on my phone. Some people do not. But for some of us, its a constant battle to remove stuff. To install "really big app thats basically a incredibly bloated bookmark" I need to delete something else. Will it be runkeeper? Will it be doggcatcher? Don't think so.
Finally some apps have a smell about them. Go to "manage apps" "Running" and why, oh why, is my bank app running? To screw me over I assume, or waste my battery, or spy on me? After enough "problems" like this I distrust apps. Why does "tune in radio pro" waste ram and battery and probably do something nefarious by running 24x7? I can justify dropbox syncing in the background. I can justify doggcatcher polling my favorite podcasts periodically in the background. Why is google googles running 24x7, how does that benefit me? I mean benefit in reality, not marketing speak? This mis-behavior gives apps in general an icky repellent smell. If I install this app, how much battery life and privacy am I giving up?
Reminds me of the old days when people used to buy retail software, so to "gain market share" you would have giant boxes on the shelf with a tiny little CD and one sheet of paper inside the mostly empty box... literally push the competition right off the shelf... In the modern era a site is so desperate they need to use the same strategy on my phone, that site probably is not worth visiting, if it had value it wouldn't depend on dirty tricks to gain market share.
One point not mentioned is the Meta issues. I've got one main screen 4x4 icons and 5 total screens and I do a heck of a lot more with my phone than read one site's news. I do not have the screen space for an app for every website I've ever visited plus all the base load of apps (runkeeper, doggcatcher, kindle app, a dozen or so others). So a "bookmark" app needs to be important enough for me to delete another app or spend a long time scrolling the list to find it. The browser, on the other hand, is always and easily available.
The other issue is I have limited memory on my phone. Some people do not. But for some of us, its a constant battle to remove stuff. To install "really big app thats basically a incredibly bloated bookmark" I need to delete something else. Will it be runkeeper? Will it be doggcatcher? Don't think so.
Finally some apps have a smell about them. Go to "manage apps" "Running" and why, oh why, is my bank app running? To screw me over I assume, or waste my battery, or spy on me? After enough "problems" like this I distrust apps. Why does "tune in radio pro" waste ram and battery and probably do something nefarious by running 24x7? I can justify dropbox syncing in the background. I can justify doggcatcher polling my favorite podcasts periodically in the background. Why is google googles running 24x7, how does that benefit me? I mean benefit in reality, not marketing speak? This mis-behavior gives apps in general an icky repellent smell. If I install this app, how much battery life and privacy am I giving up?
Reminds me of the old days when people used to buy retail software, so to "gain market share" you would have giant boxes on the shelf with a tiny little CD and one sheet of paper inside the mostly empty box... literally push the competition right off the shelf... In the modern era a site is so desperate they need to use the same strategy on my phone, that site probably is not worth visiting, if it had value it wouldn't depend on dirty tricks to gain market share.