
Nikon’s Android-powered camera isn’t as cool as you think - maxko87
http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/134190-nikons-android-powered-camera-isnt-as-cool-as-you-think?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nikons-android-powered-camera-isnt-as-cool-as-you-think
======
Irfaan
I'm confused - the author assumes an android powered camera should have the
same usage expectations as a tablet or phone...

And that's a terrible mistake. I don't care how capable my Angry Birds
experience is on my camera. I care about applications written to enhance the
photo-and-videographic functionality of my camera.

I'm fine with Nikon throwing on a custom launcher, if that's what they need to
do to work around Android's touch-focus. I'm fine (and in fact, prefer) folks
authoring applications specifically to the Nikon camera's interface.

And there's so much opportunity to extend a camera's capabilities, once it can
run 3rd party applications. Auto stitching panoramas. Unwrapping spherical
maps. Chromakeying. Instagram-esque filters. Subject tracking. Realtime
preview and control over wifi and bluetooth via companion devices. Panning
motor control. Multiple camera's automagically synchronizing. Etc etc.

The author uses Parrot's Asteroid car stereo system as an example for how a
non-standard usage and non-standard UI are bound to fail. But that's a really
weak comparison. Who do you think is more likely to grow a robust 3rd party
ecosystem - a one-off experiment in a crowded, cost-sensitive market (a $350
device for bleeding edge enthusiasts), or an oft-upgraded stable of
professionals who are already spending multiple thousands on equipment to be
more productive?

The alternative is Nikon creates their own OS and development environment. But
why compete with a flourishing platform, when you can just simply _use it_?

~~~
bryanlarsen
He's also got a most other things wrong. For instance, he claims that Android
doesn't have good support for hardware controls.

