Code Development Update

When initially creating this project having Android OS API version 3.1 was a target goal. After having some design sessions and creating the prototype (see below) I became aware of my target audience a bit more. Designing the application to be easily usable by everyone was one goal but what sort of design would it be to lock out many users from taking advantage of what I was making. One could argue that this does not directly influence the design but it became apparent *because* of the design flow I've been meticulously documenting and researching.

1. User Audience/Accessibility - After looking through the amount of devices running Android 3.1 it became clear that having this limited to users because of hardware was not necessary. Creating the most widely accessible application become a design goal. The OS version was downgraded to the most baseline version of Android. The new target platform is Android 1.6 and will hit over 99.99% of all Android devices when it is available.

2. Simplicity - After designing the first prototype for the system, I got a clearer picture of the small amount of information that needs to be pulled in order to be successful.

3. Widget - One of the two great features of Android over iOS is the Widget. Having this small bit of information always updating on the homescreen can give users the most important information immediately without ever having to open an application. By designing the prototype, I quickly saw that the information is so minimal that once the location is set one can assume they will want the current location as the main source of weather information. And the current temperature is most likely the most needed piece of information.

4. Live Wallpaper - This is one of the best features of Android yet underutilized. Having the ability to "take" over the user's home screen is incredibly important. This gives even faster access to the information. Live Wallpaper + a widget renders the launching of the app useless. Optimization at its finest.

When looking through the most successful weather applications and most well designed ones I came across quite the find! The best looking ones had the most downloads! Moreover, they utilized these notes above in order to get widest appeal and use.

If we look at one utilizing both, it is between 1-5M downloads. Market Link




Two great examples of the nice live wallpapers used by one of the best Android weather apps.






Those previous two are the weather application created by Google that comes stock on many new Androids. This is also very simplified but I don't believe many people look at the chart.

http://www.thedroidgeek.com/2010/04/android-widgets.html

BeautifulWidgets pretty much encapsulates the importance of this project (RCOSUIR). The best looking widget for weather is rated in the top 5 of all Android apps. People across all phones want a usable experience (and customization).