Android Fragmentation and state of the OS

Apple only updates their phone once a year and their updates are pretty weak. My wife has an Apple 3G she bought exactly 2 years ago and the last two updates have made her phone almost useless because its so damn slow. We are switching to Android and not updating it unless there is a big bug fix.

 

Google made Android this way to chip at iOS's dominance... mission accomplished, now Google will turn on the money switch.

or... buy a Nexus phone

 

Some Android fans will say that you can always root the phone to get the update, but that really doesn't address the 'issue'.

Personally I think fragmentation is the main reason that Android's market hasn't really taken off like it should. Devs seem concerned with finding a way to get access to everyone that has Android, which is hard to do because of the update situation. (Not too mention, it would mean more money for them).

Google needs to find a way to try and pull back control from the carriers (some of which clearly don't give a **** what happens to the handset they put out once they get their money) but, like you said, it's hard to do that when you still want to stay 'open'.

This is incorrect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history

 

Well it's part of the reason why Google is moving to yearly updates instead of every six months.

Of course, I can hardly blame Google when certain manufacturers can't get their **** together. *cough*SAMSUNG*cough*

 

I think for Samsung, the problem lies more within US cellular carriers than it does with Samsung. All the Galaxy S phones outside of the US received upgrades to Froyo months ago. I don't like Samsung but I do feel that they are getting a lot of unfair blame because of this.

Google already said at MWC that the upgrade schedule will stick to 6 months. Which I think is best since it keeps them ahead of the curve.

I am rooted w/ a 2.2 ROM so I don't really care about what my manufacturer schedule is. I tried out a 2.3 ROM (Cyanogenmod 7) but felt that the upgrade wasn't all that great (plus the 2.2 ROM is alot more stable).

While 1% of phones have 2.3, it is seems like 2.3 is not entirely ready. Problems with Gingerbread have been (surprisingly) found, tho Google has been quick to address issues and push out updates to the Nexus S fairly frequently. Hell, the Nexus One is still yet to have (official) 2.3 (my guess being that they are not yet ready to release it).

Furthermore, I don't see how these OS upgrades really can affect app development. 1.6 to 2.1 (I think it brought live wallpapers and more homescreens) was fairly minor, 2.1 to to 2.2 (it was faster and flash available for high end devices) was fairly minor as was 2.2 to 2.3 (mostly UI changes and improved copy/paste functionality). Keep in mind, about 58% of phones currently run 2.2+ (with that number growing) and 90%+ running 2.1+. The only apps which do not support 1.6/2.1 are ones based on Flash. Once again, not really sold on how these OS versions affect app development (and the Android app market has been growing fairly considerably lately). It will be interesting to see how Ice Cream Sandwich affects it since that OS upgrade is supposed to be fairly major (incorporating parts of Honeycomb).

I personally think the whole fragmentation argument is overrated and more geared towards so many different types of phones than OS version, different screen sizes/resolutions, different processors, different amounts of RAM/internal storage, etc. But I feel that variety is a part of the beauty of Android. I haven't really heard many developers angry over "fragmentation," more hearing iPhone fanboys angry about it than anybody else.

 

While I do think the fragmentation is annoying, I also think it's ridiculous to say the Android hasn't taken off the way it should.

It's really taking off better than planned, and Google's response time to fixing issues makes it a good experience for me. When I had problems with my iphone, I basically had to wait for the next iphone to come out for it to be fixed, at which point I'd want the new iphone instead of just a new OS.

The same idea that brings the fragmentation is what allows you to use your Android as a flash drive, dragging and dropping stuff easily, being able to read multiple formats, use flash, buy different batteries, and use readily available/fairly priced hardware attachments.

I can't be certain ofcourse, but I just think Google is way more likely to address the fragmentation problem than Apple is to sort out its in-house control-freak ways.

When it comes to updates, I think the best strategy is to get the carriers to commit to an update schedule. I think Android could easily implement something where carriers that are not committed to their own update schedule do not get access to the latest software, which hits their competitiveness with new phone releases.

 

I like my Samsung Vibrant a lot, but the long wait for 2.2 really annoyed me.

From what I've read, though, outside of hardcore gaming development for the different versions isn't that big a deal.

Furthermore we geeks tend to overestimate how certain technical issues will negatively affect consumer perception. For 98% of customers, if the handset works, makes calls, downloads apps and runs them, fine. They aren't checking Engadget every day to see if Samsung has finally pushed an update for 2.2 for the Galaxy series. They would have no idea what Android 2.2 or 2.3 means.

Apple gets kudos in my book for forbidding stupid bloatware onto the phone. That is standing up to the carrier for the consumer.

What I would like Google to do is tell all handset makers that their 'skins' must be optional. Just like Launcher Pro. Touchwiz, Blur, Sense, etc- we should all be able to go into settings and select the vanilla Google experience if we want. 95% of customers won't bother anyway.

 

Differentiation is exactly why Android has taken off. There are only only so many chips and screens on the market. Vendors and Carriers have to do things to differentiate themselves. Android is not a one size fits all solution.

 

That is what Google did with the Nexus series. But since there are so many Android devices, most carriers just told them to go f themselves.

 

Google doesn't really care and will not be changing this any time soon. Whatever increases their ability to generate revenue from ads, they will stick with.

I've protected myself from having to wait for updates by purchasing a Nexus S, although the way they are treating the Gingerbread update for Nexus 1 is not helping their case with me. For me to stick with Anrdoid, I need to see better support from developers.

 

Apple updates a couple times a year, and the reason your wife's 3G is almost useless is because the recent updates have been made for the more powerful 3GS and 4G!

 

Eh, I would consider it more than just a 'fanboy' issue; I mean an Android user I believe is starting the discussion. Also, it's reflected in the marketplace itself, which effects all users. Despite Android's huge market share, the Android Market revenue numbers are not only far behind iOS, but also behind Blackberry and Nokia. Devs are a big deal. And something like Netflix, for example, has stated their problems with fragmentation, which imo is a pretty big name player.

Google doesn't seem to care much. I mean, they've already got guys on the Internet trying to hype 'Ice Cream Sandwhich' while phones are still struggling to get Gingerbread or we are just getting devices with Honeycomb shown off in trade shows. It's just getting a little out of control.

 

Well, I hear Honeycomb is going to be for tablets only so don't expect to get that on your phone.

As previously stated, Gingerbread is still getting alot of kinks ironed out (as seen by the frequent updates) and only officially available on one phone, Nexus S (still yet to be on the Nexus One which is only one year old). Seems like Nexus S owners are guinea pigs at this point.

So as far as I am concerned, FroYo is the latest version. And I read that 57.6% of phones have FroYo and over 90% of phones have Eclair or higher. So that is a pretty overwhelming majority which is up to date on the OS or close to being up to date ( http://www.gsmarena.com/90_of_all_droids_are_now_on_21_froyo_reaches_576-news-2291.php )

I read about the revenue thing but there is no way you can convince me that Blackberry App World has a better app marketplace than Android (I have seen Blackberry's App World, came away less than impressed). Maybe they are making more revenue off paid apps but how important is that really when so many apps are available for free (especially on Android where so many users go for free apps)? The free game Angry Birds is making $1M per month on advertising from Android ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/03/angry-birds-android-1-million-advertising/ ). I am sure that could be enough incentive for developers. Android is currently #1 in marketshare (at least in the US), I doubt developers would stop developing for that market.

As far as Netflix goes, they claim that it there are some security issues with certain CPUs and that they it will be available on newer phones with Qualcomm MSM8x55 processors (along with others in the future)- http://phandroid.com/2011/02/14/net...t-qualcomms-next-gen-dual-core-cpu-mwc-video/ . I personally don't believe it since all WP7 phones use the outdated QSD8250 processor and have Netflix (along with the iPhone that uses the A4 chip which is Samsung's Hummingbird slightly modified) but apparently that is the way it is. I always doubted that there was ever a chance that Netflix, like flash, would be available on crap devices (if you buy a cheap phone, expect less features). Who really cares about Netflix anyways? All of the movies available for stream are like over 10 years old.