I believe too much is made of the different versions. Three of the versions shown above (like 1.1) were never available to the public on any phone to begin with. You;ll see a lot of G1 users demanding features that WON'T work on their handset due to hardware, but try and tell them that. Then you'll have Apple fans imagining a world where there's no fracturing on the iPhone/iPod Touch despite numerous features that are arbitrarily left out of software updates in the guise of hardware limitations (video capture?)
Phones sold in the last year that won't be upgraded to 2.x are all over the place. It takes 2 years to clear them out of the food chain. We've probably got 1.25 years to go for those phones.
Also lots of crapgadgets use 1.5/1.6 like the Eken and Archos Tablets. I think these can be ignored although they are probably messing with the chart too.
@Tes Nope, nothing shocking about that at all. First of all, it's a dated chart but it clearly shows that 2.2 and 2.2.1 account for 92% of all phones. That is the definition of NO fragmentation. Furthermore, fragmentation is only a problem because it means that some users can't run some software/use some feature. Barring a very few hardware limitations, any time an iDevice user finds some software that won't run on their firmware, they are perfectly free to update their firmware whenever they want with a click of a button. Can Android users claim the same thing? And don't give me any crap about "Custom ROMs come out in no time on xda-developers". I played that game on WinMo and while it's fun, it's just a game. It's not a real solution for 90% of users.
What on that chart is there to be shocked about exactly? The fact that almost the entire iphone OS base is on the latest version at the time that report was released?
OS 3.0 had literally just been released when that chart was produced.
The point is there is still fragmentation. I don't care how you decide to cook, it, combine, don;t combine. I chose that one because the iPhone version leaves out several version because they're less than a percent (see above) and combines them as "< 2.2"
The point is also MOST restricted apps...as in apps that don't work on early Android builds are MOSTLY 1.6 and up...in other words more than 2 thirds of all Android users.
Then you forget to factor in all the eBook readers, media players and tablets that now run Android, usually 1.5. Do they need the new PHONE features of 2.0 and up? No...so what's fractured? If you actually owned an android device you could tell me. I had a first gen iPod Touch and decided to skip two updates but never felt I was running any thing gimped. What is it you believe Android users are missing out on? What is the end result of this apparent fracturing in REAL terms, because I have yet to hear anyone say what it is. If the hardware is not there to run 3D turn by turn or there's no GPS, what is it you want the OS to do?
What that doesn't show is that those handful of OSes are... spread amongst like 5000 cell phone models and noone knows when their phone will be able to upgrade.
How the F do you upgrade an Android device anyway? Ugh.
The most current version of iPhone OS is 3.1.3. Since you couldn't get a newer chart, we have no idea what the current fragmentation looks like.
Way back when 3 just came out, Apple was giving iPhone owners free software updates and charging iPod touch users (5 bucks, etc). So the people who don't have the latest OS are choosing to not have it. I mean, the one guy on 1.0 is just a cheap bastard, plain an simple.
As for 2.0 vs. 2.1.... It doesn't affect the games/apps one iota. Why haven't people updated? Because they haven't docked their iPod touches with iTunes to get the latest OS. By now, they will have. The only fragmentation is due to hardware advances every year, and that's actually not that brutal either. I have a bunch of games on my iPod touch 1Gen, and never worry about slowdown, etc. It's 2 years old anyway, so... I'm getting a new iPod soon. I got my money's worth.
Btw, a pie chart cut up into quarters, is a lot worse than one with an overwhelming majority, and a few slivers of 1 and 2%.. Your chart just made you look like a fool.
OK...I conceded that. But I've ask twice now. This fracturing of the Android OS, what is the actual net affect of it. No one as yet has been able to give me an answer. Maybe because even you realise it's about as big a straw man as there's ever been.
Plus, and here's the big deal with tomorrows announcement, with 2.2 we will see less fracturing, whereas iPhone 4.0 will introduce MORE. I'm sure at that stage the non issue that it actually is will suddenly not matter to you fanboys.
@Tes "IN 3 months of having access to a FREE update most people hadn't bothered. Why?! It didn't MATTER to most of them. Well guess what...that's the same with Android users. "
--Thats not the same as android users. The ipod touch owners have DIRECT ABILITY to update to the new version. do android owners have the ability? nope. never... the fragmentation is because of AVAILABILITY and control from telecom providers.
"I want you to actually TELL me the difference in real terms between 1.6 and 2.1 that is a show stopper? Most people here don't really know about Android OS and so spout nonsense based on their best guess. "
--- ok, since the new versions arent desirable, how would you feel if google said 1.6 was the final version of android ever, since 1.6 apparently, according to you, is the epitome of phones and has everything you ever needed. Because since the current versions are dramatically different, then that means this update system is completely ok....
Listen to yourself. First...how old is the iPhone? 3 years? You've had a new model each year and a new OS in pretty much the same time frame. Android is less than 2 years old...late 2008. In that time we have several hundred different handsets it seems, as well as other devices including MIDs and eBook readers. Do they need updated Bluetooth profiles or added webcam features? No...do they need voice search? No. So you'll see then stay on 1.5/1.6 forever pretty much. That is why the above chart is useless. It means nothing. It also does not hinder the OS. Not many ebook readers need turn by turn navigation or voice search. And it's all well and good saying "Oh, I have the latest OS, even if that OS gives you nothing because the major updates are all hardware specific.
Add to that the fact that MOST iPhone users I know upgrade every year. I only know 1 person with a first gen. If Android users were the same we wouldn't see so much bitching from G1 users.
I say to both Android users and Apple fanboys...what do you think drives innovation? Some slavish desire to make the OS work on old hardware? No, lets not push the envelope...lets make sure G1 users can run it?!? Nonsense.
lmao at youre delusional self. "zomg they havent downloaded in 3 months of availability!" seriously how could you think that wasnt wrong when it automatically updates when connected? you really are completely dumb
"ok, since the new versions arent desirable, how would you feel if google said 1.6 was the final version of android ever"
again a spurious argument. You have YET to tell me the reason you believe this fragmentation is some disadvantage, instead pursuing this tenuous path. The point developers are and do release apps for ALL Android devices, but - like iPhone devs, they can take advantage of new features that will understandably cut a few people out...for instance anything that uses the 3GSs compass is useless to earlier iPhones. No biggie. you can't stifle creativity to please people with legacy hardware. Expecting old hardware to run the 3D Android launcher from 2.1 is just foolish.
@Tes Take the HTC Hero as an example. It launched around July 2009 with 1.5 (Cupcake) In Spetember, 1.6 (Donut) was out, bringing with it a good few updates. Now, sure some (not all) were updated to 1.6. The fragmentation starts when 2.0 (Eclair) gets released in October 2009.
I don't know of any official updates to 2.0 for the HTC hero, let along 2.01 or 2.1.
Three months after the release of a brand new Android device there is a MAJOR update to the OS, yet here we are, seven months later and they still haven't been updated???
I would be seriously pissed if I'd just bought a brand new device and was not getting software updates that came out just a couple of months later.
The iPod Touch diagram that shows 78% of the devices running the latest version that was PAID for. This doesn't take into account the iPhone users that didn't have to pay. 3.0 was released 1 day prior to that chart being made.
I'm not saying the iPhone OS is perfect, but they tend to slow things down to get them right. WP7 is going to attempt to do the same thing.
There are no articles being written on iPhone fragmentation - it all has to do with Android.
My father-in-law tried updating his Moment to 2.1 the other day... what a pain in the neck that was. How would they ever expect the typical user who lacks the technical know-how to do these updates?
He ended up sticking with 1.5 because he wasn't sure if his 1.5 apps would work.
lmao at youre delusional self. "zomg they havent downloaded in 3 months of availability!" seriously how could you think that wasnt wrong when it automatically updates when connected? you really are completely dumb"-
And your replies have haven't been? You need to get a reality check.
The Cobra Tag may help you win that losing battle, acting as a Bluetooth device that attaches to your key ring and connects to your phone, it gives you the opportunity to find the missing item if it's less than 30 feet away.
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that pie chart is the definition of fragmentation
@account5
Really? You'll be shocked at this chart then:
http://www.drobnik.com/touch/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/touch-os-june-221.jpg
@account5
I believe too much is made of the different versions. Three of the versions shown above (like 1.1) were never available to the public on any phone to begin with. You;ll see a lot of G1 users demanding features that WON'T work on their handset due to hardware, but try and tell them that. Then you'll have Apple fans imagining a world where there's no fracturing on the iPhone/iPod Touch despite numerous features that are arbitrarily left out of software updates in the guise of hardware limitations (video capture?)
Can we all stop being so blinkered about this?
@account5 eh, its just a lagging chart.
Phones sold in the last year that won't be upgraded to 2.x are all over the place. It takes 2 years to clear them out of the food chain. We've probably got 1.25 years to go for those phones.
Also lots of crapgadgets use 1.5/1.6 like the Eken and Archos Tablets. I think these can be ignored although they are probably messing with the chart too.
@Tes
Nope, nothing shocking about that at all. First of all, it's a dated chart but it clearly shows that 2.2 and 2.2.1 account for 92% of all phones. That is the definition of NO fragmentation. Furthermore, fragmentation is only a problem because it means that some users can't run some software/use some feature. Barring a very few hardware limitations, any time an iDevice user finds some software that won't run on their firmware, they are perfectly free to update their firmware whenever they want with a click of a button. Can Android users claim the same thing? And don't give me any crap about "Custom ROMs come out in no time on xda-developers". I played that game on WinMo and while it's fun, it's just a game. It's not a real solution for 90% of users.
@Tes
"Really? You'll be shocked at this chart then:
http://www.drobnik.com/touch/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/touch-os-june-221.jpg"
What on that chart is there to be shocked about exactly? The fact that almost the entire iphone OS base is on the latest version at the time that report was released?
OS 3.0 had literally just been released when that chart was produced.
@tonicboy
The point is there is still fragmentation. I don't care how you decide to cook, it, combine, don;t combine. I chose that one because the iPhone version leaves out several version because they're less than a percent (see above) and combines them as "< 2.2"
The point is also MOST restricted apps...as in apps that don't work on early Android builds are MOSTLY 1.6 and up...in other words more than 2 thirds of all Android users.
Then you forget to factor in all the eBook readers, media players and tablets that now run Android, usually 1.5. Do they need the new PHONE features of 2.0 and up? No...so what's fractured? If you actually owned an android device you could tell me. I had a first gen iPod Touch and decided to skip two updates but never felt I was running any thing gimped. What is it you believe Android users are missing out on? What is the end result of this apparent fracturing in REAL terms, because I have yet to hear anyone say what it is. If the hardware is not there to run 3D turn by turn or there's no GPS, what is it you want the OS to do?
@account5
What that doesn't show is that those handful of OSes are... spread amongst like 5000 cell phone models and noone knows when their phone will be able to upgrade.
How the F do you upgrade an Android device anyway? Ugh.
@GmanC
Erm that chart is from June 09...iPhone OS 3 was released MARCH 2009. In three months there was 1% adoption.
@Tes
Here's why you're a total queer:
The most current version of iPhone OS is 3.1.3. Since you couldn't get a newer chart, we have no idea what the current fragmentation looks like.
Way back when 3 just came out, Apple was giving iPhone owners free software updates and charging iPod touch users (5 bucks, etc). So the people who don't have the latest OS are choosing to not have it. I mean, the one guy on 1.0 is just a cheap bastard, plain an simple.
As for 2.0 vs. 2.1.... It doesn't affect the games/apps one iota. Why haven't people updated? Because they haven't docked their iPod touches with iTunes to get the latest OS. By now, they will have. The only fragmentation is due to hardware advances every year, and that's actually not that brutal either. I have a bunch of games on my iPod touch 1Gen, and never worry about slowdown, etc. It's 2 years old anyway, so... I'm getting a new iPod soon. I got my money's worth.
Btw, a pie chart cut up into quarters, is a lot worse than one with an overwhelming majority, and a few slivers of 1 and 2%.. Your chart just made you look like a fool.
@Tes
Erm, where are you getting March from????
It was released with the iPhone 3GS on June 17th. Oooo, 3 days before your chart.
And, like others have said, your chart was for iPods', who had to pay to upgrade.
@Doctor Kwame Nkrumah
OK...I conceded that. But I've ask twice now. This fracturing of the Android OS, what is the actual net affect of it. No one as yet has been able to give me an answer. Maybe because even you realise it's about as big a straw man as there's ever been.
@Wesscoast wrote "How the F do you upgrade an Android device anyway?"
When your phone has an upgrade available, you push the button on the screen. It's pretty self-explanatory.
@Tes
Plus, and here's the big deal with tomorrows announcement, with 2.2 we will see less fracturing, whereas iPhone 4.0 will introduce MORE. I'm sure at that stage the non issue that it actually is will suddenly not matter to you fanboys.
@Wesscoast why does every Android Article turn into Apple vs Android? So stupid.
@Tes
"IN 3 months of having access to a FREE update most people hadn't bothered. Why?! It didn't MATTER to most of them.
Well guess what...that's the same with Android users. "
--Thats not the same as android users. The ipod touch owners have DIRECT ABILITY to update to the new version. do android owners have the ability? nope. never... the fragmentation is because of AVAILABILITY and control from telecom providers.
"I want you to actually TELL me the difference in real terms between 1.6 and 2.1 that is a show stopper? Most people here don't really know about Android OS and so spout nonsense based on their best guess. "
--- ok, since the new versions arent desirable, how would you feel if google said 1.6 was the final version of android ever, since 1.6 apparently, according to you, is the epitome of phones and has everything you ever needed. Because since the current versions are dramatically different, then that means this update system is completely ok....
you google fanboys make me laugh
@Doctor Kwame Nkrumah
Listen to yourself. First...how old is the iPhone? 3 years? You've had a new model each year and a new OS in pretty much the same time frame. Android is less than 2 years old...late 2008. In that time we have several hundred different handsets it seems, as well as other devices including MIDs and eBook readers. Do they need updated Bluetooth profiles or added webcam features? No...do they need voice search? No. So you'll see then stay on 1.5/1.6 forever pretty much. That is why the above chart is useless. It means nothing. It also does not hinder the OS. Not many ebook readers need turn by turn navigation or voice search. And it's all well and good saying "Oh, I have the latest OS, even if that OS gives you nothing because the major updates are all hardware specific.
Add to that the fact that MOST iPhone users I know upgrade every year. I only know 1 person with a first gen. If Android users were the same we wouldn't see so much bitching from G1 users.
I say to both Android users and Apple fanboys...what do you think drives innovation? Some slavish desire to make the OS work on old hardware? No, lets not push the envelope...lets make sure G1 users can run it?!? Nonsense.
@tes
lmao at youre delusional self. "zomg they havent downloaded in 3 months of availability!" seriously how could you think that wasnt wrong when it automatically updates when connected? you really are completely dumb
@account5
"ok, since the new versions arent desirable, how would you feel if google said 1.6 was the final version of android ever"
again a spurious argument. You have YET to tell me the reason you believe this fragmentation is some disadvantage, instead pursuing this tenuous path. The point developers are and do release apps for ALL Android devices, but - like iPhone devs, they can take advantage of new features that will understandably cut a few people out...for instance anything that uses the 3GSs compass is useless to earlier iPhones. No biggie. you can't stifle creativity to please people with legacy hardware. Expecting old hardware to run the 3D Android launcher from 2.1 is just foolish.
@account5
So...that's a non answer on the "what is the apparent downside to this so called fracturing" then?
Thanks for proving my point.
@Tes
Take the HTC Hero as an example. It launched around July 2009 with 1.5 (Cupcake) In Spetember, 1.6 (Donut) was out, bringing with it a good few updates. Now, sure some (not all) were updated to 1.6. The fragmentation starts when 2.0 (Eclair) gets released in October 2009.
I don't know of any official updates to 2.0 for the HTC hero, let along 2.01 or 2.1.
Three months after the release of a brand new Android device there is a MAJOR update to the OS, yet here we are, seven months later and they still haven't been updated???
I would be seriously pissed if I'd just bought a brand new device and was not getting software updates that came out just a couple of months later.
How long did Droid users have to wait for 2.1?
It shouldn't happen, period.
@Tes You're really reaching here...
The iPod Touch diagram that shows 78% of the devices running the latest version that was PAID for. This doesn't take into account the iPhone users that didn't have to pay. 3.0 was released 1 day prior to that chart being made.
I'm not saying the iPhone OS is perfect, but they tend to slow things down to get them right. WP7 is going to attempt to do the same thing.
There are no articles being written on iPhone fragmentation - it all has to do with Android.
My father-in-law tried updating his Moment to 2.1 the other day... what a pain in the neck that was. How would they ever expect the typical user who lacks the technical know-how to do these updates?
He ended up sticking with 1.5 because he wasn't sure if his 1.5 apps would work.
@Tes
windows phone 7 will be automatically available for every phone at every update.
have fun making excuses for android's delays.
@trainwrecka
What pain in the neck? "Do you want to upgrade?" YES / NO.
Your father in law couldn't figure that out?
@Tes +1
@account5
-"@tes
lmao at youre delusional self. "zomg they havent downloaded in 3 months of availability!" seriously how could you think that wasnt wrong when it automatically updates when connected? you really are completely dumb"-
And your replies have haven't been? You need to get a reality check.
@hitdog042
I find it funny that people with a "Google" phone seem to have so many questions about their "Google" device. Good time to use Google maybe?