JRR

Here’s what I’m calling the “browser picker” dialog from Android 4.0 and 4.1:

This new interface is better and worse. There are two requirements I have of this dialog:

Requirement 1 – All user action paths shall flow downward.

This felt really weird before, and now it feels better. Great!

Requirement 2 – Selecting a browser “just once” shall require only one tap.

This worked well in 4.0 (and prior versions) but became inconvenient in 4.1. Users who don’t select a default browser will see this every time they click a link!

Third time’s a charm

Here’s how to satisfy both requirements:

It’s awkward, but I’d take it over either of the prior implementations. How could this be further improved?

This topic was discussed on a G+ thread, with interesting comments from a couple Googlers.

Update: Android 4.4 behavior

The dialog has been revised again, and the solution is way better than what I proposed.