Fragmentation sucks

[czerdrill]

czerdrill-

i do love the way your mind works - way to hold and explain a concept!
thanks for making it a very entertaining thread!

r, john

More lack like of holding a concept. What he is seriously forgetting are two key points.

This issue has been going on since mobile devices came out. Look at Palm, RIM, Nokia... every OS for every device has this issue dude. I went through 3 blackberries with 3 different OS versions before coming to Android. On about the second one I learned I could up date the machine myself .
For devs its a simple fix.. all they have to do is state that this app works on X.X OS. At that point its up to the end user to know if it will work. Or Google can make a function in the marketplace to check both ends for compatibility.
If a dev doesn't support a widely used OS version it's his fault and his investment is lost. I fail to see where a dev HAS to support the older versions. I also fail to see where we argue that we want control over our mobiles, then you say the manufacturer has to keep updating in a timely manner.
Fact is most people get tired of their devices after about 18 months. Unless your super attached to it or other wise can't move.
But saying Google or the carriers have to support this is like asking your car dealer to replace your 2.0 liter engine with a V6 or a V8 in the same car.

you're not understanding the point. i don't know the numbers on blackberry but i can guarantee that most of the latest phones are all running the same OS version, because Blackberry OS is not released six times a year. Yes there will be people out there with older versions, but when you go to a store to get a blackberry you'll get one with the latest version. With android, you can go to a store and buy three phones and they'll all have different versions.

A dev HAS to support older OS's because he isolates those who don't use the current OS (because of fragmentation) and loses ROI (which is a joke in the Android world). You can't just ostracize an entire group of users when there are so many versions out there. Why even bother developing the app then? For the 0.4% who have GB? Or when the next version comes out for the little bit who have that? A devs goal is to maximize his revenue. Cutting off users is a ridiculous suggestion.

 

[jaycemiskel]

I already have GB and some of my apps fc but they worked perfectly on Froyo. I guess it's just the price we have to pay.

 

[czerdrill]

I already have GB and some of my apps fc but they worked perfectly on Froyo. I guess it's just the price we have to pay.

Yeah I have GB as well, but only because I have a D1. Only the Nexus and Nexus S have GB other than custom rommed D1s, I believe.

Many apps will fc on GB that worked fine on Froyo...some will just stop working period, like Protector...it simply doesn't work. And we saw that happening with Missed Call app from 2.1 to 2.2. It just stopped working...don't know if the dev fixed it or not, but still..it's annoying for them without a doubt. It's a PITA for any dev to have to figure that out, and then two months later a new Android version comes out and causes the same headache.

There has to be some standardization and it has to come from Google not the end user or a dev.

When 51% have Froyo, and 35% have Eclair, that's a huge problem in itself. Throw in all the other versions, and the ones to come and it gets worse.

 

[jbdow]

Thanks again czerdrill - I've been trying to learn all the in's and out's
of this sw since i got my first smartphone, d2g, in late december. Seeing
an indepth explanation from someone willing to take the time and knows what their talking about is very helpful. I haven't installed any apps yet, because i'm
still very leery of everything. This thread has helped me refine my approach.

r, john

 

[czerdrill]

Thanks again czerdrill - I've been trying to learn all the in's and out's
of this sw since i got my first smartphone, d2g, in late december. Seeing
an indepth explanation from someone willing to take the time and knows what their talking about is very helpful. I haven't installed any apps yet, because i'm
still very leery of everything. This thread has helped me refine my approach.

r, john

yw, to be sure, you can install any apps you want without any reservation, but like jaycemiskel said you might find that they stop working or get buggy after an OS update ("luckily"(?) for us os updates are few and far between in the android world haha). as annoying as that would be for the user, it would be doubly annoying for the dev. that's all i'm trying to convey, that the fragmentation is just getting worse.

i think the amount of os releases will slow down (hopefully) and the devs and manufacturers are given a chance to catch up. that'll be the best solution, and i'm sure google knows that. clearly, i'm not the only one who sees the fragmentation and google knows they have to do something to rectify it...that's pretty much a given.

 

[PikaCane]

Historically, Google has released an update roughly twice a year. Eclair was an exception, coming out just a few weeks after Donut and popping from 2.0 to 2.0.1 to 2.1 within a couple of months.

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[czerdrill]

Historically, Google has released an update roughly twice a year. Eclair was an exception, coming out just a few weeks after Donut and popping from 2.0 to 2.0.1 to 2.1 within a couple of months.

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more like 4 times a year...they've had 6 updates in 18 months...that's about 1 every three months...this year honeycomb and ice cream sandwich are already announced and both will be out by june (according to google). if they continue their current trend, we'll have J in Sept and K in December...

there's no reason to think they'll continue the trend (and i hope they don't), but let's tell it how it really is...

1.0 to 2.1 took 1 year and less than one month...that was five versions...2.1 to the announced ice cream sandwich will be about 1 year and 6 months...that's another 4 versions...that's 9 versions in 2 and a half years...

no one is running 1.0 and 1.1 but that still leaves 7 versions that were released in one year and nine months...the math doesn't equal two a year.

every one gets giddy when they announce new versions cuz of the cute dessert names, but devs and manufacturers are grinding their teeth over it...

 

[jaycemiskel]

I for one will be happy when they feel they've worked all the lil stuff out and can slow the updates down. I mean I love updates, but once I upgrade from the Droid, depending on which phone I get there's no telling how long it will be for the manufacturer to get updates out.

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