You can actually release a total different app under the same version based on device and OS criteria with Play Store.
http://developer.android.com/google/play/publishing/multiple-apks.html

So you could split the Android app into a full and a Lite version, and just serve up the Lite version to 2.3 and below devices automatically. 

Note that this creates significant overhead in the release process however. Store releases always are a expensive piece of overhead, making more of them or more complicated ones should not be underestimated (but is usually quite constant).

DJ


On 1 feb. 2015, at 23:48, Toby Negrin <tnegrin@wikimedia.org> wrote:

Dan -- can you please limit the scope to sizing the android app? I think that's more relevant to reaching people in the developing world.

Also, can you see what percent of our GS traffic uses 2.3? Google has it at about 10% globally but we need to understand our target market better. You might also want to check in with your new contact at App Annie to see if they have useful GS data.

-Toby



On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 11:15 AM, Carolynne Schloeder <cschloeder@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Creating a separate app to optimize sounds like a good idea. We will check the market stats on Android versions, and I'll get the scoop from Facebook on their learning. 

I was somewhat surprised that most OEM's we've talked to are shipping Android 4.x even on low-priced models targeted for developing markets. But I'll clarify what's happening and circle back with Dan on the distribution plan (preload vs. appstores). I'll also catch up with Kim. 

I do love to see this attention given to our lower end handset users, thank you!

Carolynne

On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 9:30 AM, Lila Tretikov <lila@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Dan,

I think this is really important and thank you for highlighting this. 

Could you do rough sizing on what it would take to get something like this out? What if we did this with a pre-load?

Carolynne -- I recommend you start reaching out to Kim as you re-formulate your W0 strategy. 

Lila

On Sat, Jan 31, 2015 at 2:36 AM, Florian Schmidt <florian.schmidt.welzow@t-online.de> wrote:
+1 for this idea. I still have an Android 2.3 device, but the Wikipedia app (and others too) is very slow and becomes more and more unusable, while it's agreat user experience on my Android 4.4 device.

If dropping 2.3 support means a faster development of the main Wikipedia app and the <2.3 users still have access to Wikipedia through a lite app (which will be faster and more usable) i would say: do it, it has advantages for both sides :)

Florian

Gesendet mit meinem HTC

----- Reply message -----
Von: "Dan Garry" <dgarry@wikimedia.org>
An: "mobile-l" <mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org>, "Carolynne Schloeder" <cschloeder@wikimedia.org>, "Toby Negrin" <tnegrin@wikimedia.org>, "Lila Tretikov" <lila@wikimedia.org>
Betreff: [WikimediaMobile] [Apps] Wikipedia Lite app?
Datum: Sa., Jan. 31, 2015 06:45

Hi everyone,

Those of you who were at the Mobile quarterly review heard me mention Facebook Lite, an app that's designed especially for the developing world.

Notably, their app has a lot of optimisations which make it good for users in developing world:
  • It's only 252kB, good for limited data plans.
  • It supports down to Android 2.2, good for older devices.
  • It's data-efficient, good for 2G connections and for people on limited data plans.
From a development perspective, some advantages are:
  • You no longer have to support older versions of Android in your main app.
  • You can tailor the performance of the lite app to the older devices so it's faster.
  • You can tailor the features of the lite app to the developing market.
So obviously there are a lot of advantages for our users if we do this. And, selfishly, I can't stress enough how much dropping Android 2.3 from our current app would speed up development. As an example, almost all of the edge cases with lead images occurred on 2.3 devices, and they required quite a lot of investigation and hacking to fix them up. Obviously we've not dropped 2.3 so far because it's a very strategically important part of our user base, which I'm sure Carolynne can attest to!

I'd say that we should put some serious thought into whether we'd prefer to have a Wikipedia Lite app for the developing world, rather than our current "one app to rule them all".

Comments? Questions?

Dan

--
Dan Garry
Associate Product Manager, Mobile Apps
Wikimedia Foundation




--
Carolynne Schloeder
Director Global Mobile Partnerships
Wikimedia Foundation
skype: cschloeder

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