App Retina Support

[Kaykaykay]

Some tech blog (I can't remember which) said that the Kindle app looked crummy on the new iPad, but Amazon says it's being upgraded.

 

[Skull One]

Some tech blog (I can't remember which) said that the Kindle app looked crummy on the new iPad, but Amazon says it's being upgraded.

Yes, that is 100% factual. This was due to the project manager of the Kindle app being a complete idiot. He didn't use the native text rendering API calls and created his own system. Personally, I hope he is fired for this incompetence.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Yes, that is 100% factual. This was due to the project manager of the Kindle app being a complete idiot. He didn't use the native text rendering API calls and created his own system. Personally, I hope he is fired for this incompetence.

What I don't understand: Kindle works fine on iPhone 4S, for instance, which has retina screen.

 

[Skull One]

What I don't understand: Kindle works fine on iPhone 4S, for instance, which has retina screen.

Correct. They wrote the code for both the 480x320 and 960x640 resolutions. For the iPad they only wrote the 1024x768 version. And that is why I believe the project manager should be fired. He should have written the code to detect the resolution of the display device and render correctly. From all the evidence presented he hard coded it. Very bad practice.

 

[scifan57]

The kindle app has just been updated to take advantage of the retina display on the new iPad.I just updated this morning.I'll see how it looks after I see it on my new iPad.

 

[f4780y]

Correct. They wrote the code for both the 480x320 and 960x640 resolutions. For the iPad they only wrote the 1024x768 version. And that is why I believe the project manager should be fired. He should have written the code to detect the resolution of the display device and render correctly. From all the evidence presented he hard coded it. Very bad practice.

They didn't just hard code it because a PM was incompetent though, which seems to be your insinuation Skull. The decision was likely taken so that they (Amazon) have control over how text renders across all of the different platforms and the multitude of resolutions they all support. That way, a consistent "view" of Kindle text can be attempted internally, rather than relying on the platform to do it for you. After all, in the Kindle space, text is king. You don't want folks to be saying that the text looks better on different devices if that is something which completely outwith your control. This way, they have some control.

I'm not saying it's a great decision, but it's not a sackable offence IMHO! It was probably a key strategic decision taken at board level a long time ago!
Almost moot now, since they have released the update already

 

[Diane B]

The kindle app has just been updated to take advantage of the retina display on the new iPad.I just updated this morning.I'll see how it looks after I see it on my new iPad.

Yes and many other apps. I've been getting updates for apps for the last 10 days or so. All my photo related apps, my reading/news apps as Kindle and NY Times today. I'm looking forward to better graphics for sure.

 

[Skull One]

They didn't just hard code it because a PM was incompetent though, which seems to be your insinuation Skull. The decision was likely taken so that they (Amazon) have control over how text renders across all of the different platforms and the multitude of resolutions they all support. That way, a consistent "view" of Kindle text can be attempted internally, rather than relying on the platform to do it for you. After all, in the Kindle space, text is king. You don't want folks to be saying that the text looks better on different devices if that is something which completely outwith your control. This way, they have some control.

I'm not saying it's a great decision, but it's not a sackable offence IMHO! It was probably a key strategic decision taken at board level a long time ago!
Almost moot now, since they have released the update already

I would agree with you right up till you said "multitude of resolutions". The very fact that the Kindle app on Android has to deal with at least 7 known resolutions, tells me they are able to detect and compensate for each aspect ratio and Pixels Per Inch. Which means if they had done the same coding on the iOS version, it wouldn't need adjusting. Project manager is at fault for this.

 

[f4780y]

I would agree with you right up till you said "multitude of resolutions". The very fact that the Kindle app on Android has to deal with at least 7 known resolutions, tells me they are able to detect and compensate for each aspect ratio and Pixels Per Inch. Which means if they had done the same coding on the iOS version, it wouldn't need adjusting. Project manager is at fault for this.

IMHO I think it's more likely, since screen resolution never comes as a surprise in the Android world (devices are announced months in advance), that the app is "hard coded" to support new resolutions far in advance of them actually turning up in folks hands. Let's remember, the iPad3 screen resolution was confirmed only 7 days ago. After 6 days, the IOS app is updated with support for it

 

[Skull One]

IMHO I think it's more likely, since screen resolution never comes as a surprise in the Android world (devices are announced months in advance), that the app is "hard coded" to support new resolutions far in advance of them actually turning up in folks hands. Let's remember, the iPad3 screen resolution was confirmed only 7 days ago. After 6 days, the IOS app is updated with support for it

You are correct that resolutions aren't a surprise. But the PPI (Pixel Per Inch) is very much a surprise. Take for example the new Samsung Note. It has a "known" resolution but its screen size is 5.3". That changes the PPI dramatically and you have to account for that when rendering text to the device. Because if you use the math from a 4" screen, your text will look huge on a 5.3" screen. This was actually one of the reason I stopped developing for Android back in late 2010 and switched to only doing custom ROM consulting.

 

[f4780y]

You are correct that resolutions aren't a surprise. But the PPI (Pixel Per Inch) is very much a surprise. Take for example the new Samsung Note. It has a "known" resolution but its screen size is 5.3". That changes the PPI dramatically and you have to account for that when rendering text to the device. Because if you use the math from a 4" screen, your text will look huge on a 5.3" screen. This was actually one of the reason I stopped developing for Android back in late 2010 and switched to only doing custom ROM consulting.

I shouldn't have said resolution. I should have said overall screen specification. The resolution and PPI for the Note was known well in advance of it's release, and therefore not a surprise. As an IOS developer I would prefer that timeframe any day

 

[f4780y]

Great News - Real Racing 2 HD has just been updated with full retina 2048x1536 support and 4x anti-ailiasing! Awesome!

 

[AQ_OC]

Great News - Real Racing 2 HD has just been updated with full retina 2048x1536 support and 4x anti-ailiasing! Awesome!

Interesting. So I guess it will still output 1080p over an HDMI port...I wondered how it plays at this 4X resolution, though.