Just started to develop for Android, the idea is to create an app available on the Android Market. I would really like to be able to use the bulit in “Graphical Layout” (WYSIWYG) to create the UI. I now have two questions:
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From what I can see almost all users are currently using Android version 2.2 or earlier. From what I understand there are lots of improvements in the 3.0 version specially when creating the UI, but when will 3.0 version be available for larger mass? Should I continue to develop for 2.X users or should I go with 3.0?
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Do you recommend me to use the “Graphical Layout” to create the UI or should I do it manually using the xml-files? I’ve read that the “Graphical Layout” wasn’t working that good in earlier version but is much better for 3.0?
Current data looks more like:
60% on 2.2,
27% on 2.1,
1% on 2.3*,
6% on 1.6,
5% on 1.5
So with 2.1+ you reach 88% of the market. 3.0 is for sure something of the future, but only available for tablets right now – developing exclusively for it will leave all the mobiles out for a long time.
The graphical layout editors get better and better – I did not have much luck when I looked at them 9 month ago, but the situation has changed.
I’d propose to look at them and use them – and then a) have a look at the results and b) optimize the result if the graphical editor’s is not what you want.