We all know that it’s important to test the different configurations of your app, but it’s really difficult to get *every* configuration.  The power of Android is its diversity.  However, I just added a powerful new tool to my arsenal when I got a Xoom WiFi (update:  oh man, this this is ancient now and I don’t test with it any more in 2020).

I expected a similar experience to my Droid, just with the new bells and whistles of Honeycomb (Android 3.x), and of course the larger screen.  That wasn’t what I got.

I was immediately most impressed by the speedy interface and some new UI elements (dubbed the ‘holographic interface’).  Games are more fun to play on a larger screen (when they don’t crash because they haven’t been tested on a tablet – more on that later).  Reading books and documents is nicer.  All-in-all, it’s a very nice toy – and a useful business tool.

Immediate Business Benefit – Testing

However, the first thing I did after connecting up to my WiFi network was to download my first app, Droid Secret Tips.  Oops – immediate force close.

Luckily, I had already fixed the most recent bug that the Android Developer Console had shown me.  Only 2 crash reports had rolled in, so I thought it was a minor bug.  However, after seeing exactly how this crash occurred… now I know what was happening.  Any user who was on WiFi but had no phone network connection would trigger a bug I introduced recently.

That meant that every Wifi-only tablet was locked out of using my app, because it would force close.  That’s right, I just excluded a large chunk of the market accidentally.  I’m in the process of preparing a new release anyway, so this bug is on notice.  Still, I would suggest all of you developers consider the WiFi-only device market in your testing, as I imagine it can only grow as we get more Android devices on the market.

Tablet users have had to face a lot of frustration from developers that didn’t plan for the new types of devices.  Don’t be one of the problem developers – do your best to make your app tablet-proof, even if you don’t optimize for the larger screen and newer OS.

Other self-justifications for owning and Android Tablet

Having witnessed that bug firsthand, I figure I’ve already justified my purchase as a business need, even before you consider being able to check email from the couch or on the go (with greater ease than with my phone).

Beyond that, however, I had a few other expectations that required some work to figure out.  See my previous post about getting video to work and getting files onto the device.

That being said, now that I resolved my frustrations I can recommend the Xoom to anyone needing a tablet.  I can’t say that any other tablets won’t do the same job, but I like this one and think it will get the job done for you.

Even if you’re not going to buy a tablet, keep in mind that Android 3.x tablets are going to change how users use their Android device.  I’m learning a lot just from observing how I use my tablet differently than my phone, and I hope to roll that into a Honeycomb-targeted app at some point soon.  Stay tuned here and sign up to my newsletter (the BrainCast) to hear what I discover for tablet development.