Just because that tablet you’ve got your eye on is running Android doesn’t mean you’ll be able to access the Android Market. While the criteria are complicated, there are a number of telltale signs that should give you an idea of whether that tablet runs Android Market or a wonky alternative Android app store. Click through for our easy ten point checklist.
First, a bit of explanation: While Android is an open platform, people can use it in whatever way they want (i.e. for different tablets and devices), so in order to maintain a healthy ecosystem, devices that want to have Android Market need to pass compatibility requirements. To get Android Market they need to conform to Google’s “Compatibility Definition Document”, which details the specs required by a device, and looks pretty manageable, until you get to the appendixes and resources…
1. Soft Keyboard
The tablet has to have at least one soft keyboard implementation, which means it has to have a touch sensitive keyboard built in.
2. Touchscreen
The tablet has to have a touchscreen, but it doesn’t have to be capacitive, it can be resistive.
3. Home, Menu and Back functions
A tablet has to have home, menu and back buttons. These functions are “essential to the Android navigation paradigm”, and they must be available at all times when you’re using the device, no matter what application you’ve got running. They don’t have to be hardware buttons, but Google says they “should” be. If they aren’t hardware, they have to be available and accessible at all times, and “not obscure or interfere with the available application display area”.
4. HTML5
An Android tablet clamouring for Android Market has to include a modern HTML5 capable browser.
5. Camera
Google states that a device has to have a rear facing camera, with a resolution of at least 2MP to qualify for Android Market, which is often a feature missed off budget Android tablets.
6. Accelerometer, GPS and Bluetooth
The tablet has to have an accelerometer, GPS receiver and Bluetooth.
7. Phone function
Despite the suggestion that the phone function was tagged on to the Samsung Galaxy Tab so it could qualify for Android Market, it isn’t actually required. The compatibility document says: “Android 2.2 is compatible with devices that are not phones. However, if a device implementation does include GSM or CDMA telephony, it MUST implement the full support for the API for that technology.” Which means that if you don’t have a phone function, you still have to keep the nuts and bolts of coding in there.
8. Notifications
The Google Compatibility document says that to pass, a device has to have sound, vibration and light notifications, and also a status bar.
9. Connectivity
The Android compatibility document requires a device to have support for “wireless high-speed data networking”. This means that there has to be at least one wireless data standard, that can run at 200kbps or more. It does not have to have 3G.
10. Memory
Google requires that tablets have at least 92MB of memory.
This list is not exhaustive. The Compatibility Definition Document is enormous, with pages of information about the magical inner working of the devices, but this should give you a good idea of whether that Android tablet you’ve got your eye on is likely to have Android Market without having to root around in FAQs.
Even if a device adheres to the myriad requirements of the CCD though, it still may not pass and be granted Android Market, as there’s another stage to the Google requirements called the Compatibility Test Suite, which runs 20,000 test cases on the device for bugs, glitches, and missing components.This stops buggy devices from passing the Android compatibility tests, and makes sure that if you’ve got an Android tablet or smartphone, you won’t encounter any major glitches or limitations in your gadget that stop you running Android apps.
What do you think of the Google compatibility tests? Surprised at anything in the list? Drop us a line and tell us what you think…
