When to release a free Android app? (development cycle)

[Ben Rubinstein]

On 09/12/2011 19:32, Pete wrote:
> Sounds like you're pretty familiar with the Kindle Fire.  I'm thinking of
> getting one primarily for web access to my Google mail, docs, calendar,
> contacts, etc.  How's the web browser on it?  Do you find the lack of
> access to the Android Market a problem?

Alas, I'm not at all familiar with it.  I took the opportunity to get one 
while I was on a trip to the US last week, just to mess around with; because 
it's pretty cheap as an Android tablet, and because I suspect there's a good 
chance it's quickly going to become the most widely owned Android tablet.

Unfortunately I can't at present use the Amazon App Store at all, because 
Amazon require your 1-click account to be set up with a US-based credit card, 
and I don't have one (even free apps can't be downloaded in this situation; 
and although I can buy myself an Amazon gift card and credit it so that paid 
apps would be billed against that instead of the registered 1-click credit 
card, it still won't play ball. There doesn't seem to be any way round this at 
present.)

If I was serious, I'd presumably root the device and hence access the Android 
market. But for the moment I'm just playing with it when I should be getting 
on with my real work.  I must say I thought it was splendid when I opened a 
random stack from my disk, checked build for 'Android', and immediately had an 
approximately working app on the device.  But err... that's about as far as 
I'd got with it, until I started playing with Andy's app tonight, which has 
led me to start poking around a bit more.

FWIW, if I'd bought it as a consumer - at least one very familiar with the 
iPhone and iPad - I'd think it was as crude as hell.  The web browser is ugly 
and hard to use, things don't scroll smoothly, the interface is horrible, the 
'Pulse' app doesn't work properly, it keeps losing WiFi... etc.  Some of this 
may be the result of being very familiar with iOS, not all familiar with 
Android.  I think myself most of it is because it really is crude as hell. 
But, it was $199 instead of $600.  For watching movies on, it's probably fine. 
  And if I could only download Angry Birds, my guess is that would play fine too.

Ben