[Hands0n]

I have, of late, thought of Google's Android as being something akin to the biblical Tower of Babel. On HTC-only hardware the OS has proven itself to be a worthy challenger to the iPhone OS. But as additional manufacturers give us their interpretations of the Google Android OS there is a whiff of corruption in the air. What was initially a solid platform for developers and users alike is beginning to look a bit raggedy around the edges.

Already we have a situation where Android handsets exist in its 1.5, 1.6 and soon 2.0 versions. There is some evidence of apps not working well across the different versions - and on Android Market you can even find apps that are versioned to the different OS versions. All of this may seem fine to the initiated, the more technical among us. But for the vast majority of the public it is going to lead to confusion and upset.

The following short article lays out the situation reasonably succinctly. Where is this variety going to lead? I'd hate to see it collapse under its own weight, and for Android that is unlikely. But one has to wonder where this is all going to lead.


Uh, oh. Looks like there’s trouble in Android land. The rapid growth of Google’s smartphone OS is causing developers conniptions as they struggle to support multiple versions of the OS and different hardware configurations. With more than a dozen Android phones on the market, all the different configurations are leading to serious platform fragmentation, Wired.com reports:

“A slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0), custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between different models.”

For users, it means buggy apps that sometimes won’t work on their hardware at all. One developer tells Wired.com that instead of concentrating on adding new features, he spends all his time making sure his apps work on all the different hardware and software configurations.

Looks like Google might be wandering into Microsoft territory. Microsoft had exactly the same problem with it’s now-discontinued “Plays For Sure” music-player platform, which became known as “Plays For Shit” because of the difficulty supporting multiple hardware and software configurations.

Just goes to show that there’s distinct advantages over owning both the hardware and the software, like Apple. Apple has released just three different hardware versions of the iPhone, and does a pretty good job of making sure most iPhone owners are running the latest software. In addition, the tightly-controlled App Store ensures a high-level of software compatibility. Even Android developers say its a good idea, according to Wired.com:

For developers, Apple’s autocratic ways may be frustrating, but they can pay off.

“Apple maintains an iron grip on what they do and there’s an advantage to that,” says Kelly Schrock, owner of Fognl, which has three apps on the Android market. “IPhone developers don’t have to worry about fragmentation and creating apps for the iPhone is much easier.”


Source: http://www.cultofmac.com/report-google-suffering-microsoft-like-headaches-with-fragmented-android-platform/21458

[Ben]

I suppose this was bound to happen? Google does seem to have made Android very 'free', and with everyone tinkering with the implementation of it on such a wide array of hardware it's inevitable that software written for the Android OS wont be a write-once-run-anywhere situation :(

But then it hardly ever is. Even mobile Java, which you'd think could be pretty consistent across devices given how limited and encapsulated it is, is horrific. FishText had to be tweaked and tweaked just to work across most Nokia S60 phones. Some other manufacturers have seriously poor implementations of Java.

There are upsides and downsides. Potentially Android could end up with massive market share through its openness and, hopefully, Google's commitment to filling it with the latest and greatest features. The downside is the fragmentation. It's inevitable, all these manufacturers don't want there products feeling the same - they want to put their stamp on.

Apple's treatment of developers is diabolical, and their iron fist will definitely limit how fast and far mobile OS X can grow. But it does seem to be keeping the OS strong and focussed, not to mention keeping app quality high.

[gorilla]

But what can they do? Make the OS work on a restricted set of hardware? Does that risk handset design?
Perhaps they should limit the OS to just a few hardware manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and Motorola.

[gorilla]

Techcrunch are running an article (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/17/thegoogle-phone/):


...One source told us that HTC, a Taiwanese company, is building the new Google phone, but we think that information is incorrect. We have some fairly good information that suggests Google is working with a Korean phone manufacturer on the Google phone – LG or Samsung. Samsung has multiple parts in the iPhone and could be pressured by Apple not to work with Google, which says LG is the more likely partner for Google. So rumors like this one may be much more important than they first appear. But either way, the best information we have right now points directly at Korea as the birthplace of the Google Phone.

We’ve also heard from a good source that Google is planning a big advertising push around the device early next year – like January.

That’s all we have for now. We don’t yet know what the device will look like, how big it will be, or even if it has a physical keyboard. But we do know that Google is getting into the phone building business directly, and doesn’t seem too concerned about competing with all the other device manufacturers building Android phones.

What do you think? Would you buy a google branded phone?

[Ben]

I'd probably be more inclined to buy a Google branded phone than an Android phone from other manufacturers... I suppose it'll all come down to how good the handset actually is, though. I mean... LG? Could go both ways IMHO, I've never rated them, personally.

[Hands0n]

Likewise. I would buy a Google branded phone before anyone other than HTC. From what I've seen of the new breed of Androids the manufacturers like Samsung have really messed up. These are not software companies, and it shows! Tales abound of their Galaxy OLED-based handset being stuck on Android 1.5, no prospect of 1.6 or even 2.0. Even those who like to make new ROMs are reportedly shunning the Galaxy because its code is diabolical.

Yes, Google branded will do nicely thanks. At least it is assured to run the Android OS as it is supposed to!

[solo12002]

" Google branded phone"

Go on name a few? I can only think of the G1

[Hands0n]

" Google branded phone"

Go on name a few? I can only think of the G1

If you're thinking of that particular handset then all of the HTC Androids have the Google branding on them to date (Hero, Tattoo, Magic etc.).

But in this context we're thinking about a handset that is as exclusive to Google as the iPhone is to Apple.

It is an intriguing prospect, but one that I think will make for a reference standard for Android - and it really does need one of those.