Instapaper creator softens a bit on Android, discusses the pros and cons vs. iOS

As we reported earlier today, long-time iOS-exclusive Instapaper has just arrived in the Google Play Store. To say the move came as a surprise would be something of an understatement. Instapaper developer Marco Arment has long been an outspoken critic of Android development, and has been made out to be something of a pariah by fans of Google’s mobile operating system. Arment didn’t actually develop the Android version of the app himself, but he did decide that Android was an important enough platform to commission another developer to do so. In light of the launch, Arment provided his views to The Verge on the differences between iOS and Android development.

There are a couple interesting nuggets – Arment says he’s never really had it in for Android; it was just a full time job developing for iOS, which is his personal platform of choice. He also indicated that one of the hold ups was how long it took for Android to start selling tablets in volume. Arment indicates that on iOS the vast majority of his sales come on the iPad rather than the iPhone (despite there being far more iPhones in the market place), so it wasn’t until the Kindle Fire started to take off and Android tablet sales increased their market share that he decided the time was right to commission an Android version of Instapaper.

Now that he’s been a back-seat driver for an Android development project, Arment says he can see pros and cons to both platforms. He offers up that it’s easier to create inter-app communication and sharing on Android, for example. But he indicates that Android's freedom comes at a price, as you have to develop for a much larger number of form factors and OS versions.

With Instagram, Flipboard, and now Instapaper arriving on Android, it appears that app development between the two platforms is truly reaching parity. If you want to read all of Arment’s interview hit up the source link below.

source: The Verge