Hello all who are interested in the success of Android,
This thread is intended to create a comprehensive list of desired
features, improvements, and upgrades you would desire to see in a
future Android release.  You can give reasons as to why you think this
is necessary or want it, or just list the upgrades you wish for.  If
you have a cool idea for Android that you don't think is feasible with
today's technology, post it below too, all ideas are welcome!  Beyond
simply stating your ideas, please, read others and give insight into
how they could be implemented, whether they are already included in
Android, or your opinion on the idea.  For the generous Google
engineers who work on the Android OS and read these forums, please do
not interpret any of the ideas as complaints or whines (which would be
understandable because it is an open source project and people could
add these upgrades themselves), but rather as suggestions, feedback,
and constructive criticism.  We understand that most of what is said
is not in your jurisdiction, your responsibility, or in your power to
fix, and that you've heard many of these comments before.  In fact,
I'm sure many members of the community would like to hear your
opinions and thoughts on Android as it stands, so by all means, chip
in your two cents too!  Furthermore, even if you've already posted
your ideas throughout the forum, it's of the utmost importance to have
a unified and comprehensive list for constructive ideas on how to
improve Android, and will, I'm sure, turn into a vast and
irreplaceable resource for Android developers.  A completely fictional
example of someone's suggestions is below:

"* More stable keyboard - often times when I'm writing it reads that I
hit the wrong letter.
* Universal search - this would be really useful for Android so people
could access their data conveniently and quickly
* Multitouch - self-explanatory
* A more coherent theme throughout - to slick up the Android OS and
make it more competitive with the iPhone and crazed Apple fans
* Peer to peer Bluetooth connectivity
* VoIP (understand if they can't do this due to T-Mobile or other
carriers)
etc. etc."

This thread is a continuation of two previous threads (my first two
attempts to make a list like this, though I realized the name was
misguiding).

First:
http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/threa...

Second:
http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss/browse_thread/thread/f...

In the spirit of open source and as members of the Android community
who care about its success, while perhaps not being in a position to
write the code yourself (a smallish portion of the world knows C++ and
C), please help by contributing your time and ideas, suggestions and
feedback, for those who can implement them into the platform.

Approximately three-quarters of the content of this list is "desired
features, improvements, and upgrades you would desire to see in a future
Android release", frequently packaged as tirades, rants, and insults.
There are thousands of requests logged in http://b.android.com and
internal-to-OHA issue trackers. We are not short of things to do, nor
are we short on opinions of which of them are important. In other words,
what you are trying to do has been done before, repeatedly, frequently,
and frustratingly.

We *are* short on people to actually DO THE WORK.

You seem like a bright, capable, energized person. Why not help Android,
rather than talk about what others should be doing to help Android?

You seem to like to write. Android could use all sorts of things
written, from application reviews to end-user guides to developer
documentation. All of that will materially and directly help the platform.

If you have programming experience, why not head over to
http://b.android.com and see if there are any itches you see there that
you would like to scratch? Or, scratch some of your own itches and
publish the results. Or, write the definitive guide to help newcomers
get going on modifying the low-level firmware (C) or frameworks and apps
(Java) that go in a system image. All of that will materially and
directly help the platform.

Do you want to play critic? Exercise the applications and file concrete
specific bug reports, with useful steps to reproduce the problem, over
on http://b.android.com. Or, volunteer to help test some third-party
apps, perhaps with an eye towards those that might wind up contributing
to the firmware (e.g., K9). All of that will materially and directly
help the platform.

Do you know people in the consumer electronics industry? Evangelize
Android and its devices, to try to get interest in people distributing
devices, making quality accessories, or perhaps creating devices of
their own. All of that will materially help the platform, albeit perhaps
more indirectly than the other ideas in this list.

Do you enjoy public speaking or event organizing? Organize an Android
Bar Camp for your region, to get together interested folk for a day to
talk about each others' experiences with Android. Or record an Android
podcast series. Or see if there is interest in an "Intro to Android"
seminar at your local university. All of that will materially and
directly help the platform.

Do you speak and write multiple languages? Consider offering your
assistance in translating key online Android material to other
languages, whether that be official documentation or seminal third-party
material. Or start a separate localized discussion list for Android
developers, to help spur interest from and deliver information to people
who are not facile in English. All of that will materially and directly
help the platform.

I'm sure I can come up with more ideas if you feel this list is
insufficient for your needs.

Any of these things would be significantly more valuable to Android than
the thread you keep trying to start. Any of these things will help the
people that do them make a mark for themselves within the world of
Android, with possible benefits to their professional careers.

If you have questions about any of these ideas or how to get started,
let me know.

--
Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy)
http://commonsware.com
Android App Developer Training: http://commonsware.com/training.html

Sorry if you were offended by my attempt to create a unified place
where people can express themselves about their Android wishes.  I
just discovered http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list within
the last couple of hours, which is essentially what I was trying to
create.  Albeit, I maintain that having a much more informal and
conversational mirror of that list couldn't hurt, and would be a good
place for people to talk, learn, and jot down everything they can
think of (including things that they may not know how to write down
specifically enough to make it an "enhancement" or a "bug" on the
official list.

I'm only fifteen years old, and haven't yet learned C or C++ so
unfortunately I'm currently unable to directly enhance the Android
source code.  Trust me, I evangelize and preach about Android and
other Google products plenty, much to grumblings of my friends.  In
fact, I've even been stigmatized as a crazed Google fanboy by most
people in my life :P (to such a point where I download Google Chrome
on everybody's computer I see using a browser including my school
libraries :), and have even converted some diehard Mozilla fans).
I've had some experience programming and am very interested in
learning Java and the extensions necessary to make applications for
Android (I've read most of the resources online and am looking for a
book or some hard copy reference source, however, it's interesting
that it was you who tried to shut me down because I checked out your
company and you guys make three Android development books which claim
to be good for even people who don't have previous knowledge of Java,
unbiasedly (I realize that it's your company so you have a conflict of
interest, and I also know I just put a parentheses in a parentheses in
this giant sentence) would you recommend these?  Furthermore, I didn't
know Google allowed third party operators to write end-user guides or
development documentation, though currently I wouldn't be in a
position to write the latter, and unfortunately don't own a G1 or
Android powered device so can't really write either the former or
application reviews.  I have worked extensively on improving other
Google projects more within my realm, however, I see massive potential
in Android and note it's import, thus, though possibly ill suited have
taken an interest in it as well.  Thus, while I'd love to "DO THE
WORK", and I fully understand and empathize with your frustration,
please realize that I am trying to help the platform in the only
manner I am currently capable of.  Furthermore, even though you stated
that I am "trying to start" these threads, in my opinion they have
been exceedingly successful and I have learned much from other members
of the community who were kind enough to share their insights and
knowledge, especially the Google engineers who have illuminated me to
how Android is seen and run within Google.

*I acknowledge that my last paragraph was much too large for a
paragraph, but I'm a bit rushed and running on minimal sleep*

Finally, I would be very interested in any other ways you can think of
for someone in my position to help improve Android besides learning,
reading, promoting, offering feedback and making suggestions, and
working on developing applications?  As a larger question to any
Google engineer who happens to be reading this discussion, would
Google take a highschooler for a summer internship, for I feel that
working inside I could be much more productive through increasing
communication and other internal functions.  Specifically, any
opportunity in the New York City area.  Thank you for your ideas Mark.

I am not "offended" so much as "disappointed". You have a lot of energy,
which is excellent. Frittering away that energy through "reinventing the
wheel" makes me sad.

For an ecosystem to succeed, there must be balance. This is true whether
we are talking about ecosystems in nature, ecosystems in business, or
ecosystems in human communities like this one.

We already have the issue trackers, and many threads on this list (and
[android-developers], to my general dismay) are focused on "Google
should do X" and "T-Mobile should do Y" and "Android doesn't do Z, so
Android is teh sux0r". That doesn't mean all those comments are
irrelevant or wrong, just that we're drowning in them, particularly
compared to posts and such depicting how the community is enhancing the
value of Android, through apps, tools, components, evangelism, and, yes,
firmware improvements.

Hmmmm...I'll try to tighten the prose on that one page on the site. My
books assume at least a basic level of Java experience, though not
necessarily with any particular flavor (e.g., JavaME) or third-party
class library.

Thanks for pointing that out!

You could do worse. ;-)

Right now, the "big 3" are my series, _Professional Android Application
Development_ by Reto Meier, and _Hello, Android_ by Ed Burnette (not to
be confused with the SDK tutorial of the same name). I have not read Mr.
Meier's book, but based on the feedback I've seen, it is probably pretty
solid. Mr. Burnette's book is also good, particularly in coverage of
2D/3D graphics, which my series specifically lacks at this time.

Note that my series and Mr. Burnette's book assume prior knowledge of
Java-the-language, if not necessarily specific frameworks or class
libraries beyond the basics (java.io, java.util, etc.). Mr. Meier's
probably does too, but since I have not read it, I cannot say for certain.

You could do application reviews via the SDK emulator, but I agree that
it would be better to do them on a device.

Given what you write below, I'm no longer questioning what you do overall.

Yes, that was poor phrasing on my part, and for that I apologize.

That would seem like plenty for somebody who also presumably has other
matters to attend to outside of Android. However, I offer a couple of
suggestions:

1. If you haven't done so already, make a "home" for your efforts, such
as a blog that you register with Planet Android. Doing lots of things is
good, but doing lots of things that *visibly* add up is that much
better. Since we don't know what it is you all do, it is up to you to
provide that visibility.

2. Ask questions first. Admittedly, that's sometimes hard on discussion
lists, and I am as guilty of not asking questions as is the next guy. It
also may be I missed the post where you asked "hey, is there a good
central spot for coordinating feature requests and the like?". If
nothing else, hopefully we would have let you know about the issue
trackers and perhaps engaged you in a debate on whether any mailing list
is the best vehicle for orchestrating a desired-feature list. Again, if
you posted such a query and I missed it, I apologize.

IANAGNDIPOOTV (I Am Not A Googler, Nor Do I Play One On TV). However, I
seem to recall that either they opened up Google Summer of Code to high
school students or created a parallel program for them -- have you seen
any evidence of this? There might be some opportunities there. I sure
hope the core Android team has filed a GSoC request and, if needed, will
ask the community for mentoring help.

--
Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy)
http://commonsware.com
Android App Developer Training: http://commonsware.com/training.html