Why won't all Android apps run on the Archos 70?

[bmurf]

I have some apps and games that force quit or simply won't run on this thing, downloaded from the Google Market, many times over. Why is this? They run fine on my Droid.

Thanks,
Brian

[AllenPapapetrou]

Aloha Brian,

Welcome to our forum

There are many reasons. Most related to hardware. No Archos tablets are Google certified. That's why we have to side load the Market. In fact, until this month there weren't any Google certified tablets.

C'est la vie

Allen

[bmurf]

Thanks Allen. What I'm not understanding is what happens to the Android OS when it gets to Archos? Does it become modified in any way? For their particular hardware? Then it's not really considered Android (officially, that is) is it?

[AllenPapapetrou]

Google designed Android for smart phones. Archos came out with a non-phone tablet - the 5IT. It did not have the HW Google required for certification. The 5IT came out in September 2009, an Android tablet one year and five months before the Motorola Xoom - a Google certified Android tablet.

Archos has been pushing the edge with Android since the 5IT.

Allen

[jiyong]

bmurf, please give some examples of apps or games that don't work for you.

I don't fully agree that the hardware Archos chose is the problem. Android apps are running inside a virtual machine, unaware of the actual hardware. The Archos 70 isn't much different from a smart phone, except for size and lack of phone frequencies (GSM/CDMA, 3G, etc.).

The Samsung Galaxy Tab was Google certified before the Xoom, as it does have 3G. The Xoom Wifi only is Google certified as Google dropped the 3G requirement for Honeycomb.

[AllenPapapetrou]

jiyong can you name any Google Certified Android tablets without phone HW which are running an Android version prior to 3.0?

The answer is no. Because prior to 3.0 Android was not Google specified for tablets w/o phone HW.

No current Archos Android devices meet any Google HW requirements.

Allen

[bmurf]

Jiyong, a couple examples are...

3D POOL MASTER
cnetTV

These have never run on my 70...always force quit.

[Earlybath]

Perhaps the app authors have written code that enquires from the Android phone's SIM?

I wouldn't know since I'm not an app coder but that might be something that could cause a force-quit, considering that the Archos doesn't have a SIM.

[jiyong]

Market won't allow me to find 3D Pool Master. Perhaps there is a reason for that.

Cnet TV wants to access the state of the "phone". So it could be right that it searches for something that isn't there. Too bad.

[bmurf]

yea, I had to side-step the installation of 3D Pool Master and find the APK online. A real shame. I really enjoyed playing that and looked forward to it on a 7" screen instead of my droid.

[AllenPapapetrou]

Aloha Brian,

Could you have installed, say, AppMonster on your Droid. Then backed up 3D Pool; copied the backup to your A70 and installed it?

Allen

[bmurf]

I just tried it and in AppMonster, it says the pool game is protected. There are a few other apps the same way...I can't do anything with them : ( Oh well, hopefully the developer will come out with a wi-fi tablet based version.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Brian