Last week, I reviewed an app called Bubblebeats which had a very original and intriguing concept for managing playlists using bubbles. Recently, Bubblebeats developer Jason van Anden took time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions for the blog, here’s the interview in full-
Ok, first off, would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself and your development background?
I have been programming computers since the late 70s. I am also a visual artist. Much of what I do is art supported by software I have created.
I originally invented BB as a way to visually program improvisational behavior for a pair of emotive robotic sculptures I created named Neil and Iona. More about them can be found at my art website: http://www.smileproject.com. Basically, I wanted to create a way for the robots to behave in a life-like way. With Neil & Iona, the bubbles define cues for facial expressions, movement and sound. 
At a certain point I realized the software could be a great app for music. You can actually use the program as a musical instrument by loading sounds into the bubbles and mixing them and I worked on that for a bit. However, the application as it is now, a new sort of music organizer and player, obviously has a broader appeal so I decided to focus on that. I chose the Android mobile platform because, honestly, I felt Apple would see it as competitive to iTunes and wouldn’t accept it. I didn’t want to waste a load of development time only to have it rejected. I am glad the Android platform is much more open.
How long did it take to create Bubblebeats and what was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome during it’s development?
I spent weekends and evenings working on BubbleBeats – pretty much learning Android as I went. The biggest hurdle was the Android framework paradigm shift. I started in November of 2008.
The bubble grouping idea has a lot of potential, possibly even in applications away from music playlists (groups of contacts for example). Are there any plans to branch the concept in to other areas?
That’s perceptive of you. I filed a patent on the technology for just that reason. At the moment the focus is on enhancing BB. There is still a lot that can be done with that app.
Which is your favourite Android app (other than your own of course)?
I make a lot of use of the apps Google provides (Gmail, Contacts, Maps, Messaging, Camera …). Non-Google developer apps … I like DoggCatcher for listening to podcasts on the subway and I like using BFF Photo to immediately post photos to Facebook.
How much potential do you personally feel the Google Android platform has?
The current tech environment reminds me of the early 80s, when you had an assortment of companies coming out with different computers (Radio Shack, Apple, IBM, Compaq, Amiga, Atari and a few others I would have to work hard to remember). Android reminds me of MS DOS at the time – its just an operating system and its up to the hardware manufactures and software developers to define what that means. iPhone is like … Apple. They want to control the platform to maintain standards. Evolution is a messy business, and does better in an uncontrolled environment. I think Android is poised for long term success.
How did you find developing in Android? Was there any tool or function that you felt was a glaring omission from the platform?
The tools that Google provides within Eclipse are awesome. Android documentation has been very thorough. The Android Google Groups are a living organism of collective intelligence that I scan daily for answers to questions I didn’t know I had.
What’s next for you – updates to Bubblebeats or something entirely new?
BubbleBeats will continue to evolve. I have some new Android ideas to explore – my next project may be more towards the art side of things.
Any advice for aspiring Android devs?
The beginning is the most exciting time to participate in the evolution of a new technology. This is when you get a chance to define it. Have fun!
It’s well worth checking out Jason’s website and having a look at his earlier work, including a video of the robotic sculptures, Neil and Iona, that he mentioned in the interview. For more info on BubbleBeats itself, head over to the BubbleBeats site.
Hi,
Thank you for the interview. It is always interesting to heard about Android from developpers : the people who are making the platform alive.
About Bubblebeats itself, I did not find out the advantage of such a music player. This should be obvious but I did not get it.
Moreover, creating bubbles is very easy, managing them lacks the delete feature. A detail but important from my point of view. The help section redirect to a website. This is fine but the page is not adapted to the device screen
Hey there,
Thanks for your comments. I'm delighted that Jason took the time to speak to me as I really do think his idea is a very clever one.
By the way, he seems very keen on receiving feedback (positive or negative) on Bubblebeats. I'm sure he'd love to hear your observations on Bubblebeats and his site. You can email him at jason@bubblebeats.com.
-Martin