ACRA vs Android developer console crash error report

Question

I am looking for a way to debug crashes happens on user devices. currently I see crashes in the play market. what I see there is a stack trace but no other details (for example: log before the crash). Is there any way to get more info?
And more generally, what is the difference between the play crash report and ACRA? What are the upside/downside of using ACRA?

Answer 1

Do use ACRA.

Market error reports are only sent if the user chooses to, and most people just hit 'Cancel'. The lack of detail (device model) makes them pretty much useless, and there is no way to get more detail, apparently due to privacy concerns, etc.

ACRA allows you to customize how much detail you get (more details may require more permissions though), and specify/customize the way reports (HTTP, email, etc.) are sent. You only need a Google Docs spreadsheet to get started, and you can move to your own server or third-party service such as BugSense if you outgrow it. You can make report sending automatic, so that no user involvement is required. It might be a good idea to provide a way to turn it off if you decide to go that route though.