what do you think? Google Android's self-destruction derby begins

[jkwakopo]

Google Android's self-destruction derby begins | Mobilize - InfoWorld

i kinda agree... too many fragmentation within our os... do you guys think this can be a potential problem?

 

[armeddroid]

Google Android's self-destruction derby begins | Mobilize - InfoWorld

i kinda agree... too many fragmentation within our os... do you guys think this can be a potential problem?

This debate is a 3Dimesional debate.
On one side, our competitor, Apple mostly a locked market an OS that goes to everyphone.
Another side is 1.5-2.1 firmwares scattered everywhere
And all these firmwares are not even coming to certain phones.
That being said...
what happens to the other phones?
once 2.1 is out, is Droid finished after that? Will it get anymore updates?

Look e.g. the Motorola Devour
Its running 600mhz and is on 1.5 and yet with blur...
If you saw the 7-9min video of Devour, i have to say, i am impressed with the speed.
So...idk
i am wondering myself....

 

[Martin030908]

I do hope to see, sooner than later, Google streamline Android into a single OS version and move forward from there.

 

[DigiK]

There will always be hardware churn, but I do agree that Google needs to remain conscientious of how many OS permutations are out in the wild. More versions equals more work for developers at the end of the day, and I see that as an impediment to maintaining the momentum needed to become the number-one mobile platform in the long-run. End-users shouldn't have to worry about being abandoned when their carrier decides it's no longer profitable to update that particular model phone; although one could argue that's what we have the ROM scene for. The G1 has managed to live on quite well in this regard.

The writer has raised some valid concerns, but he's perceiving the glass to be more empty than it actually is.

 

[Martin030908]

Good point about the G1. That device is still around and kicking thanks to ROMs.

 

[Mojo]

From my understanding Google has made 2.1 readily available for manufactures to use.... it is the company's that are making the hardware that are making the OS fragmented.

 

[jkwakopo]

There will always be hardware churn, but I do agree that Google needs to remain conscientious of how many OS permutations are out in the wild. More versions equals more work for developers at the end of the day, and I see that as an impediment to maintaining the momentum needed to become the number-one mobile platform in the long-run. End-users shouldn't have to worry about being abandoned when their carrier decides it's no longer profitable to update that particular model phone; although one could argue that's what we have the ROM scene for. The G1 has managed to live on quite well in this regard.

The writer has raised some valid concerns, but he's perceiving the glass to be more empty than it actually is.

I know Google is selling their android phones about 60,000 a day which is amazing... I'm just worried about fragmentation within our os... Growing too fast isn't also so good, as proven by those IMF days by countries like Korea and Brazil ( i know you shouldn't compare big corp to countries but this could happen to Google!!) Also when MS is making a splash with their new OS, I think Google needs to do something about this fragmentation bs before this goes to wrong direction.

 

[EvilWays]

i have an iphone fanboy friend who sees this as a problem, personally, i dont. I still have a computer at home running xp, i ignored vista, and have another running windows 7, i see this as the same situation. theres no way to have 1 os on all phones without becoming apple or even worse, palm. palm os and iphone os work great on every phone they were released on because the os manufacturer worked very closely with and/or even controlled production of hardware, so if we want veriety in hardware, there will ineveitably be veriety in firmware.

 

[radsaq]

There's a number of factually wrong things that the writer says that rather undermine the point of the article.

 

[cabotcat]

It really makes no difference to me. I like my Moto Droid. Its capabilities are probably greater than I will ever be able to utilize. While software updates are nice, lack of is not a deal breaker for me. My main desktop computer is an old Apple purchased in 2000 with an upgraded processor and an antiquated OS. My laptop is a dual boot setup primarily running Ubuntu and rarely running XP.

I love the latest and greatest as much as anyone. However I see electronics as tools to accomplish a task. My 1963 Fisher 500B tube receiver sounds better than most electronics manufactured in the last 30 years.

 

[Mr. Premium]

i have an iphone fanboy friend who sees this as a problem, personally, i dont. I still have a computer at home running xp, i ignored vista, and have another running windows 7, i see this as the same situation. theres no way to have 1 os on all phones without becoming apple or even worse, palm. palm os and iphone os work great on every phone they were released on because the os manufacturer worked very closely with and/or even controlled production of hardware, so if we want veriety in hardware, there will ineveitably be veriety in firmware.

A few things wrong with your comparison. Microsoft releases a new desktop OS about every three years. Look at the time frame from 2.0 to 2.1. The G1 is hardly 2 years old and it lacks a ton of features 2.01 or 2.1 devices have. Also you don't have to sign a contract to buy a PC.

Then look at the G1 to the Droid or N1 and compare it to the original iPhone to the 3GS or the 3G to the 3GS. The experience is the same except for some minor features.

I am just being open minded. I like my droid but I think this is an issue and might ruin android for me.

 

[dub8420]

I think that's just an over-exaggeration of something that is a good thing in the phone world twisted into a negative. if I had the droid where it was at right out of the box with no updates other than some bug fixes then I would still be more than happy with my decision and that's why you do research before you buy a phone. All the upgrades are greatly appreciated perks and android is setting an amazing standard.

 

[droidkm]

the upgrades are perks, for now. and then a year from now when it's no longer perks that your phone doesn't have but major functionality upgrades and major design/appearance improvements, you won't be so casually thinking that the upgrades are just bonuses we should be grateful for. nobody owes us updates necessarily, but it is in our own best interest to ensure the longevity of the devices we just bought, and them setting a standard of not giving my device everything they could is a sign that i will be buying a new one sooner than i otherwise might need to, which i think is an outcome it's entirely reasonable to try to avoid.

 

[jaydee6385]

Do y'all think whenever they drop 4G will they start out with a new android os, say 3.0, to have an even platform. Or will they have them on different versions like they have now?

 

[KZIWarrior]

As much as I like my phone I highly doubt that my next phone will be an Android device. It think that we will be moving more towards OEM developed/controlled OS's with accompanying market places.

Samsung is already well into development of their OS (which will be released later this year). Nokia of course (who is the LARGEST cell phone manufacturer by far) has had their own for a while now... Motorola and LG have both announced they have a desire/plan to do so as well.... Essentially the only major OEM that has yet to announce their own OS is HTC which seams content to stick with M$ for now (and Google).

Fiscally speaking this makes far more sense... You control your own R&D and are not dependent upon others. In addition this opens up the VERY LUCRATIVE 'market places' to each OEM. With many business's moving towards 'micro-transactions' as their preferred distribution these markets could prove VERY profitable to the OEMs (even more so than the hardware itself).