The end for Android?

[Dregun]

I'm not an alarmist by nature and although the way the market is currently moving at first glance it would seem I'm high off my horse; yet I have to wonder if the Android OS has just plateaued?

My concern is that with all the excitement I should be having over the newest phones being released I'm actually feeling kinda blah! Don't get me wrong the move the technology is making is wonderful, multi core processors, dedicated graphic chips, 3d displays, front and rear facing cameras. All of those are great advancements to the smartphone market that Android is currently benefiting the most from.

What are these latest advancements in technology going to provide for us that we in some way shape or form are not performing already? increased speed will give us the ability to play games sure, they will allow us to perform easier multitasking and so forth. Yet the biggest change happened when the Moto Droid hit along with the latest version of the Android OS that put the Android OS on the map. It offered options out of the box that were stunning. Free turn by turn navigation powered by google maps, customizable home screens, widgets and down loadable aps was all new to someone who came from a Windows based phone.

In my opinion the Android powered phones have already hit the peak and now we will start witnessing it's decline. I've had my Droid for quite a while and honestly the effect it had on me is already worn off. If it wasn't for the fact that I've played with new roms I would have thought the newer phones were going to be that much better. I still recommend Android powered phones to everyone I know...but thats because nothing better has arrived yet.

My point is this, it wouldn't take much at this point in time for someone to differentiate itself from the current lineup by using a new or modified OS to compete with the Android's. My Droid can pretty much do everything the Evo can do, will do pretty much everything the Lightning Bolt will do; so what is really going to drive people to upgrade their smartphones?

Right around the corner it is not going to matter if you have the next Motorola android powered phone or the HTC android phone; they will both offer the same features and almost the exact performance. Either each company needs to do something to help make their Android experience better or look for a different OS.

 

[hookbill]

While you bring up several interesting thoughts, keep in mind what is being offered in the new upcoming phones was never even thought about when the original droid made it's appearance. Has it plateaued? Well, we keep getting new members to the Forum every day. Many are new X owners, or D2G people.

So I don't think that it's plateaued. Maybe your expectations have. I mean, yeah it be great if the darn thing got my coffee ready in the morning and fried and egg for me. Laugh at that idea if you want, then lets see 5 years down the road how funny that is. You can't picture pressing the coffee app that's installed in your Android coffee maker and starting your coffee with your Droid? More apps keep coming out. It's in strong competition with the iPhone. I think it's got a long way to go.

 

[Jeyman]

will see new stuff such as payments being done with the phone. How about the laptop dock? just because you and I cant think of were we will go next does not mean the minds behind the phones and the OS's cant come up with new stuff lol

next year you will say the same thing, just let it flow...

 

[Adrozz07]

While you bring up several interesting thoughts, keep in mind what is being offered in the new upcoming phones was never even thought about when the original droid made it's appearance. Has it plateaued? Well, we keep getting new members to the Forum every day. Many are new X owners, or D2G people.

So I don't think that it's plateaued. Maybe your expectations have. I mean, yeah it be great if the darn thing got my coffee ready in the morning and fried and egg for me. Laugh at that idea if you want, then lets see 5 years down the road how funny that is. You can't picture pressing the coffee app that's installed in your Android coffee maker and starting your coffee with your Droid? More apps keep coming out. It's in strong competition with the iPhone. I think it's got a long way to go.

I agree. I mean hell, LG is already talking about having household appliances that will be smartphone compatible. The possibilities of what a smartphone can accomplish in our lives is only limited by the companies that will or won't put tech in their products that allow for remote integration. Necessary? Maybe not, but then again there was a time when telephones and airplanes were simply unheard of. This is human evolution.

 

[motoconvert]

My family and I own a Sears Hometown Store and recently attended their conference in Orlando. Electrolux (or LG, I don't remember which) already has a fridge with downloadable apps! Need milk or eggs, put it on the screen and txt it to your hubby, wife, or kids! Right from your fridge! So, it's coming...

I have a ford fiesta with the sync system in it...my car and phone talk to each other! Never in a million years did I think that was ever gonna happen! I think its only gonna get better from here!

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[dankarlinski]

Android, being open source, has no limits. That's why it is so great.

As a quick example, there is a printer I saw at BB the other day. It ran on the android platform, and showed everything from ink levels to last documents printed.

And, correct me if I am wrong, but one of the new e readers also runs on android. I believe it is the nook. Just shows the powers of open source

From my Liberated Droid 2 (Liberty v 1.5)

 

[Dregun]

i understand what you guys are saying, and it would seem more impressive if my Droid wouldnt be able to do those things in the near future. Yet all that I need is the app and this almost 2 year phone can.

That is pretty much my point, the android and ios for that matter with its current iteration have the ability right now. unless a completely different ui and structure is made the only difference in what a android phone can do today as opposed to the future is purely based on its speed.

Open source with tons of apps that add functionality. Think about it, when was the last time you saw an android commercial that was about an app? Its now about hardware, an extra camera, larger screen and more speed. Androids innovation is now left to those other people making apps for it.

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[VTRweasel]

It depends on who you ask...

 

[jbdow]

I think of it as still changing and i would expect for the better. maybe right now comparable to where win was with '95? how do ya like that for a comparison. way off? r, john

 

[52brandon]

It may be plateauing, but I don't see that as a bad thing. When I first got my droid on 2.0.1, as much as it was better than anything I'd had before, I still had some complaints. Fast forward 15 months later with a custom ROM and OC kernel, I have no complaints. It has everything I could have asked for in a phone and more. Completely customizable, fast and smooth operation and enough apps and games to be able to do damn near anything I could need/want to do from almost anywhere. There's really nothing more I could ask for in my phone, so if they don't make crazy breakthroughs, it's all good to me

 

[Dregun]

Yeah I guess I should have clarified my statement, I LOVE the Android OS!! The fact that it plateaued in my opinion doesn't make it a bad OS by any means and there is a reason its success against the rival ios has been so successful.

I think of it as still changing and i would expect for the better. maybe right now comparable to where win was with '95? how do ya like that for a comparison. way off? r, john

That is actually not all that bad for a comparison but, I think WindowsXP would be the better choice. Simply because an incredible amount of PC's are currently running with that OS and doing pretty much everything computers with the latest Win7 OS are doing. In fact the performance of those machines is relying on the hardware more then the software at this point.

I think the President of Nokia made a comment very similar to this, it will be hard for cell phone makers to stand out in the crowd when they are all running the same platform. So now what made the original Motorola Droid so popular is now washed away with the recent flood of Android powered phones.