You would imagine wrong. The Android apps generally work on all as there is a toolkit so, regardless of resolution, every app should run on any Android. The only exceptions being old Androids with older OSs, but that same applies to anyone with an older iPhone who can't upgrade to the latest version. Oh, and while there may be one (actually 2, but whose counting) iPhoen model sold. They are constantly upgrading the hardware and OS, so older phones have to be replaced with newer ones to run the newer OS and apps.

Really, this is my realm (software development) and I have some knowledge in handheld development (Java ME, Windows CE, working on some Android apps for fun and written a few Blackberry apps).

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/android-fragmentation/
"“Instead of working on updates to our apps, we find we are trying to make each app work for multiple versions of the OS and different hardware capabilities,” says Chris Fagan, co-founder at Froogloid, an Android focused application development company. “We are not complaining about all the growth, but if you are a small or a new Android developer coming in and trying to learn I could see your head exploding. It would be overwhelming,” he says."

Sorry that link is really old. Maybe the situation is different now.

This more recent article say that it is not a problem.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/androids-biggest-worry-fragmentation/8022

The toolkit has gotten better such that you only have to deal with the headaches caused by a specific "on top" package from the provider. And they are startin to conform to standards as well now. But writing this app isn't like writing a game that uses the servo sensors, sound, and motion feedback. It is much more straightforward.

@Draugnar

Here are two links to back it up:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/25/admob-registers-50-market-share-for-iphone-os-based-on-smartphone-traffic/
http://www.macstories.net/news/the-iphone-now-with-nearly-50-of-worldwide-market-share/

I guess in the US it's less than 50%, but this site is international after all

Considering all the headaches involved in Android development (see links posted by spyman), plus Iphone's 50+ market share, it's obvious why Kestas would choose Iphone. Making app work on all Android phones would be a waste of resources.

Even Microsoft's Bing app is primarily developed for Iphone, and then ported to Android and Windows Mobile. That tells a lot

"Even Microsoft's Bing app is primarily developed for Iphone, and then ported to Android and Windows Mobile. That tells a lot"

Hmm...Can you think of no other reason why Microsoft Bing is not primarily developed for Google Android?

But, if you had to chose between developing for iPhone or Android, I would chose iPhone. Especially since there are standards for porting to iPad. But, in the near future, it will be a toss-up.

The only reason is market share, since they would be developing it for Windows Mobile according to that logic

Those links seem to be talking about market share of the traffic, as opposed to market share of the devices. Two different ways of measuring. Like comparing how many of each brand of car versus how many miles are driven on each brand of car. Both may be meaningful but different.

Regardless, from what I've heard I doubt Kestas will be doing either. It sounded like he was talking about putting together an api and then if someone wants to write an iPhone app or an Android app, they could use that api. In which case which is done first depends on who, if anyone, steps up and does it.

I don't think an iPhone app is really needed, as this site works well on iPhone. How would an app improve the experience?

Actually I have thought of one thing that would be nice - push notifications for new messages and phase changes.

feel free to learn how to write an android app

http://anandhansubbiah.com/blog/writing-your-first-android-application/

google is your friend, there are tutorials for basically anything.
Aardvark may also be good at getting answers... i've no time for ' I'm no programmer, sorry'

i don't own an android, so i'm not planning to write anything for it...

Isn't the iPhone set to support SVG & HTML5?

If so then it would be wonderful to see the SVG map finally finished - the ability to drag your units around the map with your fingers would undeniably be awesome

"Aardvark may also be good at getting answers... i've no time for ' I'm no programmer, sorry'"

So people can't make "features it would be nice to see" threads unless they then intend to program those features themselves. I don't get that. What's wrong with floating a few ideas?

I think its all in the tone. Some of them, like this one, are polite and clear - seems perfectly reasonable to make suggestions/requests. That said, there are others which demand features or complain about those not implemented.

@alamothe - Articles from March and April of last year are hardly current stats. Try to find something within the last 2-3 months or it's "epic fail." :-)

@spyman - this was a perfect thread as far as that goes. And I was just poking at alamothe when I called him alaMOUTH. It just worked so well I chuckled to myslef as I typed it.

@alamothe - Let's agree to each develop the app for our respective phones when the api is released...

I'm a java dev/architect and have toyed with the idea of making a droid app that wraps the website for forums and communication in game. The only funky part is the orders. I'd be cool to have a drag and drop feature for the phone, but I haven't looked into what all that would entail...
The biggest issue is time, though. I don't have it, especially with my consulting firm using me to help write bids on projects. If my time would start to diminish, though, I'd see what I could do...

@orathaic: Sorry I'm a liberal arts major? I wasn't aware there was a "compsci majors only" rule as far as asking about adding features went...

@fortknox: Drag and drop orders would be great, but really even just something to smooth out the chat system's hiccups and inconsistency would be nice, and that's really what was in the front of my mind when I made this thread.

"So people can't make "features it would be nice to see" threads unless they then intend to program those features themselves. I don't get that. What's wrong with floating a few ideas?"
- you(they)'re entirely entitled to ask, but my responce is 'i've no time for this idea.'

You don't have to be a comsci major at all. You have to be willing to learn.

My point is this - no i don't have time.

if someone walks up and says - 'Can you do some work for me, i'm not able to do it myself' - then my responce is, 'try and i'll do my best to share my skills with you...' - hence the link to a tutorial.

Anyone can be a programmer in their spare time.

Wait, so you don't have the spare time to code an app, and then you just tell me I have the time to learn how to code?

UOSnu, this is going to start breaking down, but I see orathaic's point.

Suppose I'm a plumber. You walk up to me randomly and say "Hey, my pipes are rusted, can you go fix them for free?"
My response is "I'm far too busy in my life to do this, but here's a book on plumbing so you can help yourself."

Yeah, you may not have time to read, learn, and do it yourself, but it was a nice gesture by the plumber, no?

Poor analogy is poor. I didn't pose the question "will you, orathaic, personally make me an android app for webDip?" I asked a forum whether anyone knew if such a thing could possibly happen. Apps aren't de facto free, and I never asked if (nor do I think I implied that) such an app would be free

Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple, has stated that Android will become the dominant smartphone OS in terms of market share. (like how Windows has dominated the PC OS market share)

Arguments that free and open software would never work are hilariously flawed, and ignorantly overlooks the many success stories with free software.

The plumber analogy is retarded. Developing software is a one-time cost. Copying and distributing software is free and easy. Maybe you won't be able to just go up to a random person on the street and get him to write some code for you, but that's not the point. As long as there is someone in the world that believes in the idea, they can help the project and push it forward. Not only are they helping you, they are helping everyone who wants that improved software.

Have you heard of...
the Linux kernel
the GNU project
any of the 1000s of Linux-based OSes
VLC player
OpenOffice
Perl
the list goes on and on... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_software

Have you heard of this neat website, that let's you play diplomacy for free? The website code is also free and open source, allowing any one to create their own diplomacy site. Also, this website was at first created by one guy, but then people really got into it and some other programmers decided to contribute their skill and effort into making it better.

Oh by the way, the name of that website is "WebDiplomacy". Maybe you've heard of it.

this site is opensource and free.

and while i didn't say others will not write a third party app and sell it to you, i did offer you an intro to writing apps. You clearly have enough time to post questions here, and i am of the opinion that if ever person who spent their time asking these questions instead learned to code something themselves we'd all be happy.

sorry that i can't be of more help.

Sorry, I know you guys weren't really trying to put down free software, but I just felt like I had to rant.