“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” - Jack Handey
I have been a full-time Android user and developer for over 3 years. I purchased the first Motorola Droid when it launched in October 2009. Shortly after that I wrote my first app and have been writing Android apps ever since. I am passionate about all aspects of the Android platform including it's creative vision, commitment to innovation, pragmatic approach to problem-solving, and underlying philosophy.
In my professional life, I've had the opportunity to work closely with many talented iOS developers. A majority of friends and co-workers owns an iPhone. Even my wife has one. (She purchased her first iPhone the same day I got my Moto Droid.) Yet I have oftentimes found myself at odds with the iOS platform, if only because I have often been in the position of defending Android as an unique platform with it's own characteristic patterns and conventions.
I have never owned an iPhone and the only Objective C I have written didn't amount to much more than a glorified Hello World! project. My perceptions of the iOS platform have been almost entirely from the third person. As an observer. An outsider. Up until now I have been perfectly content in my robotic bubble surrounded by the dominant iWorld.
It's time for this to change. I have decided to take the plunge and really try to understand the iOS platform at a deeper level from the perspective of an engineer and a user. I am going to assume the role of an iOS developer at work (at least part-time) and use an iPhone as my primary mobile device. Phone number and all. One can only truly understand an ecosystem by participating in it.
This blog will chronicle my joys and pains, wins and losses, delights and frustrations, and most importantly my mistakes made and lessons learned. By the end of this experiment I hope to be a more well-rounded consumer and developer with a more holistic understanding of mobile platforms and technologies. Or maybe I will freak out and call 911 (if I can even figure out how to do that on my iPhone).
Stay tuned to find out.
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