If You Have a Galaxy Nexus or are Trying to Use Android 4.0+ ….this is why PrayNow and PastoralCare for Android Won’t Work For You
The short answer is PrayNow and PastoralCare do not support 4.0+. This was a change we made during the release process to contend with early complaints from users.
The long answer: Our developer arrangement was to cover versions 2.2, 2.3.3, and 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2, the versions of the SDK that existed when we bid and began development on the project. In perspective, the Galaxy Nexus came out less than a week ago, shipping a drastic change in their OS, 4.0.
You may have read some of the headlines about Google’s “iPhone/iPad killing” OS Ice Cream Sandwich–this is version 4.0. While Google advertises this as the magic platform that will solve every ones problems–as it allows phones and tablets running Android to have the same OS finally (something iOS has had from the beginning)–from a development perspective, it is simply another slice of the pie to contend with. Note, as of Dec 1, the apps we just released support 88.21% of platforms. See below, click on the image to see the original full-size image:
Google advertises that all new platforms they introduce are backwards compatible; but this is really a fabrication. Hence, when we had a couple users install PrayNow on 4.0, we had one user complain that they couldn’t get the app to come up without crashing. I then attempted to load the app on the 4.0 desktop simulator and all of the UI elements were misshaped overlaying controls on text, etc., but we couldn’t reproduce the crash. My solution to the problem for the time-being was to disallow installs on Android 4.0+ until we can adequately test/fix the product for those platforms.
Hope this helps explain the situation. It’s changing everyday…
We will continue to monitor and if the usage of Android 4.0+ increases significantly, we will be supporting it. But for now, for the reasons mentioned above, we won’t.
Your last paragraph strikes me as very odd – the same statement could be applied to Apple products. For example, I would be equally upset, as a customer, if you decided to not support iOS 5 because you “weren’t sure of the usage of iOS 5″. New Android devices will be shipping with 4.0 next year – why wouldn’t you want to support those customers as well?
I do understand your position and the agreement that you have with the developer, but again, why wouldn’t you want to support what will be a large portion of the Android user base? Seems to me that you would want to have your application compatible with all versions.
Tom, thanks for your comment. I indicated why we did not release the Android apps to support 4.0. You are free to disagree with those reasons, but they are sound reasons. Also, please note that at present Android 4.0 is causing significant problems, and less than 2% of the installed base of Android OS systems on devices are running 4.0. In fact, just yesterday, Google stopped pushing out an update to Android 4.0+ due to very significant problems. I did not say we won’t support Android 4.0. I said when the usage of 4.0 significantly increases, we will be supporting it.
Also, this article explains the differences between iOS and Android.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/242706/the_problem_with_android.html
Thanks for the update. I was thinking about getting these, but since I have a Droid Razr that’s going to be updated to ICS in a month or so, I’m going to be waiting until all the functionality is worked out.
Will you be working to make these apps available in ICS in the future? If so, do you have a tentative release date? I have a gingerbread phone now, but in the future, it will be updated along with most phones. It would be a shame to no longer be able to use a $10, or in some cases $20 app.
We will be monitoring the situation and will be updating when it is a good idea to do so. It’s kind of up in the air and I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but we have to watch our limited resources of time and money and devote them to the projects that have the greatest chance of serving the most people at any given point in time. As it stands now, there have been well documented problems with some of the Android iterations, particularly those that companies tweak and modify. Open source is not the best way to go when it comes to smartphone operating systems, as developers and consumers are finding out with Android devices.
Any chance for a refund for purchased apps then? Pastor’s resources are somewhat limited too.
Please check with Apple, I’m not sure what their policies are about that.
Pr. McCain, I really appreciate your quick responses. I was referring to Android – you’ve made it clear you will continue to support Apple products – I’m worried about my android phone. The return window for the Android Market is 15 minutes, enough time to try an app quickly. Past that, they encourage users to contact the program’s developer. I’m doing that now.
I’m very satisfied with PrayNow, but the idea of only being able to use it for another month or two, before my phone is updated to Android 4, is disappointing.
As I indicated previously, we will be supporting the latest Android platforms when that becomes a prudent thing to do. And, I think we did make it clear which versions of Android are supported and which are not. It is simply not reasonable, or fair, for you to expect a refund because you are intending on upgrading your device’s OS system which we are not supporting at this time. I’m sure we will going forward, at the appropriate time, as I’ve explained previously.