Counterpoint: fragmentation won't destroy Android after all
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 27th 2010 2:18PM
posted May 27th 2010 2:18PM
Thing is, even as Android becomes more fragmented, it's also becoming more of a consumer product. Gone are the days when the ultra-geeky G1 was your only ticket to ride; now you've got dozens of choices, including high-end, heavily-marketed phones on American carriers like the Droid Incredible, Backflip, myTouch 3G Slide, and EVO 4G. What that means is that carriers and manufacturers are both successfully turning the conversation away from the platform, the technology, and the politics of Android -- subjects that your average phone buyer couldn't possibly care less about -- and turning it toward things that actually sell devices in volume: sex appeal, speed, and easy access to services like Facebook and Twitter.
This phenomenon was demonstrated for us this week on the Engadget Mobile podcast, where our special guest (and podcast producer) Trent Wolbe -- a guy who isn't the unabashed phone nerd that I am -- told us on no uncertain terms that the lack of Froyo on the EVO 4G at launch is a complete non-issue for him. It makes sense: if a phone does everything you need it to do, and it does those things extraordinarily well, who really cares? Well, as technology writers, it's easy for us to care (in fact, it's our job to care) and to get swept up in the notion that having the latest and greatest is absolutely critical to our enjoyment of a product, but in reality, your average EVO 4G buyer might not even know what Android 2.2 is, much less understand why he or she should want it.
We're not advocating that HTC and others slack off on keeping up with Google, of course -- or that Google shouldn't consider slowing down a smidge as Android's core matures -- but there's definitely an argument to be made that we're all going to enjoy the cream of this year's Android crop, Froyo / Gingerbread or otherwise.
I like to dip my gingerbread in my froyo #justsayin
@MattsZ Been thinkin' up that one for a while?
@MattsZ
We already knew this. Only Apple Fanbois would argue otherwise
@MattsZ Why are people starting to write comments like tweets? The @ replies work, but the hashtags annoy the crap out of me outside of Twitter.
@MrHashbrown
agreed. coupled with the fact that we already know said person is "#justsayin" it, I deem this hashtag to be annoying.
@Beatnik
You are missing the point. The issue is not vertical fragmentation (which is what you are referring to) but horizontal fragmentation where at any given specific point in time down the road you will have multiple UI frameworks on top of Android with incompatible capabilities running on different phones having same generation of Android. The end result is that an app developed for one UI framework (say SenseUI) wont work in another Android phone running a different UI framework (say Motoblur).
This is a very serious problem for developers and adoption and not a new one - just look at Symbian. What Google needs to do is put a barrier synchronization mechanism in place - Nokia is already doing it (namely, Qt) so Google needs to hurry or they will be left with an even bigger mess in the future.
@naashak
You have a very valid point.
Seems like Engadget CENSORSHIP is high level today, they DELETED my post.
@Beatnik I think the point Chris is trying to make is this: Mobile technology is moving at a much faster rate than general purpose computing technology (Desktops, Notebooks and Netbooks) . It seems that it takes only a half-Moore (9 months) or so for a new generation of mobile devices to come out, whereas you wouldn't expect Apple or Microsoft to introduce a new operating system more often than every 2-3 Moore's (36 to 54 months).
It is hard to fathom that the G1 and the EVO are separated by only 18 months. Beyond the innovation of the manufacturers, I think the breakneck pace is actually driven by the symbiotic relationship between the open source nature of the Android app community working with Google engineers.
So a buyer should be happy with what they are getting--more like a car purchase, and not be looking to update to the latest and greatest release at a moments notice, like software. Mobile technology likes somewhere in the middle.
You can actually you can hack Froyo onto G1, it has been done, I'm just not sure how rewarding an experience it is.
@Beatnik
Message to Engadget:
Censorsip is not a good way to treat people only if they disagree.
I am feeling shame for you, because you cannot take contrary opinions AND ANSWER with good arguments. If you delete my opinion is because you HAVE NO GOOD ARGUMENTS, acting like Dictatorship, learning from Steve Jobs? the 1984 lesson?
@dalex7777
Agreed.
@MrHashbrown
I'll bet they picked up the habit at Gizmodo.
@naashak
To the best of my knowledge apps should work across a given set of devices running the same OS version. I thought the UI version was irrelevant.
Can you name some apps that have issues running on different UIs?
@Beatnik
I don't know what happened to those posts but mine was deleted and I was disagreeing with you! So it isn't like they deleted it because they didn't like what you said
@MattsZ
this article is a sight for sore eyes. At the Google IO, they announce "Hey guess what EVO 4G is for sale now" and on the other corner, another guy says "look at our N1 now, it runs Flash and performs 2-5x faster and has the fastest browser in the market".
Like seriously, the average buyer won't know? or do they have to close one eye and hope for the best? Its the age of the internet, people will get opinions from the web. People will GOOGLE about something before buying.
A N1 user can justify THEIR purchase when they see you holding out your EVO.
@naashak
That's not even true. An app is written for an Android version. You may have comparability issues between 2.0 and 2.1, but not within different 2.1 UIs.
Not to mention that that doesn't even make sense to say. The application framework sits on the top level, and the Home Activity (whatever UI it is) sits up there with all of the other apps. Each app runs on its own thread with the only communication being simple content over the ContentProvider class. When an app's activity is launched, it runs completely independent of the UI and thus what UI is used doesn't even matter.
The only problem may come from displaying notifications since that is basically the one thing the stock UI ContentProvider provides. However, all of the main (and by main I mean Sense, MotoBlur, Panda, and whatever else you want to get from the market), provide the same id-like entity in the ContentProvider so your program can be written just to call that one method and it won't matter what UI is used because it will just use Java's lovely ability to simply overwrite methods and replace it with the necessary one for the UI.
Could you make the green hyperlinks darker? It's kinda hard to read lol for me anyways.
@ashleythehottiest +
@ashleythehottiest I third this!
@Twoleaf ++
@ashleythehottiest
Don't you get it? It's ALT!
Mainstream blogs have fonts that are easy to read. ALT gives you something that is harder to see, so it makes you think of what a hyperlink really means. Will clicking this link really fill that whole in my heart? Maybe I should tackle my own personal issues instead of wasting my time on this tech blog. You know what? I'm gonna take that night class. And I'm gonna ask that chick from accounting out.
Thanks ALT!
@ashleythehottiest
You do realize that this is all talking about the consumers getting fed up with the fragmentation right? A little business knowledge for all of you nerd techs out there. The quickest way to die as a business is to expand to big to fast. People want the biggest and the best, but that never happens with Android because things are only biggest and best for a couple weeks until the the come out with some new software to put on new devices. They then forget about other devices. Simple answer here would be to build a couple devices that can plan atleast a year in advance for new software coming out. Google has been building there android launches for years. They know exactly what is coming out a year from now. So build it into the software that can adapt. Soon everything will just been another android phone if they cannot figure this out. Think logically about what the average consumer knows about a cell phone before you start blurting out your random nerd talk. You know what people outside of the tech world say about the EVO. It is just another android phone. (And yes I know I will get killed for this statement, but the big picture is the hardest thing for tech people to understand.)
@ashleythehottiest Popped down here to leave the same comment.
++++++++++
wait, what the hell is engadget alt? Is it like engadget for the post-punk and grunge generation?
Exactly my stance all along. If I ever get FroYo its a bonus
@Tes I agree Tes.
Hell if you know enough about Android to really want Froyo, then you probably know how to root your device and can take advantage of the custom Android 2.2 that will inevitably come along for Evo.
This is also why I don't get all the complains against Apple for not supporting the 3G. The phone is over 2 years old now. Either you're happy with your device as is, or you're ready to move on to the next iPhone. Same goes for Android.
If you have an Apple or Android phone for more than 2 years and you're unhappy about the lack of support; hack you're phone! It's easy as all hell and will had new functionality (a shitload if you jailbreak your 3G.)
@NaeemTHM
*and will add new functionality
@NaeemTHM Thing is, Apple is the actual maker of the device and the operating system, unlike manufacturers with Android handsets so they are under more obligation and have better ability to update their phones. Also, the jump between iPhone OSes, despite taking like three times as long to come out, are at best on par with Android in terms of amount of new stuff. To be fair, iPhone OS4 does add quite a lot to the iPhone in comparison to the other updates, so it's understandable that the original iPhone won't support it. The G1 has had as many OS updates as the original iPhone, and they added more, it's just Apple has been painstakingly slow at updating.
I think that vendors that lag in updating their handsets will have less returning customers. The vendors that can keep updating past handsets in a timely manner will have people not only coming back when contracts expire, but get good word of mouth that they get things updated. It will help reduce the lazy vendors.... seriously HTC, you have senseUI running on 5 handsets before you are done "testing" senseUI for the hero?
@xtasi Well I am going to be buying an Android device as soon as a decent one comes to AT&T. But what xtasi says above makes sense about carriers updating their phones' OS systems.
I currently have a Blackberry Curve. If AT&T in the here in the states still had its way, I think I'd still be on 4.6 but because I was able to download an OFFICIALLY recognized version (not a hacked version) of the 5.0 OS from RIM from Greece and install it on my phone, I have the latest and greatest on my phone.
I'm thinking whatever device I get, if AT&T has any say, it will be a long time coming before I ever say an upgrade to 2.2 as I won't buy a device with anything less than 2.1.
@xtasi isn't 2.2 the version that will be granular? where updates to components will come from the market? btw, is there a reason that the new JIT compiler (the one that is giving ridiculous speed gains) can not be installed on 2.1 or 2.0?
@xtasi Yep, I totally agree. And I think it's true that most consumers won't care about this fragmentation issue, but I sure do. I went from a Droid to an Incredible, and the Sense UI de-Googled and bloated the phone up to where I'd rather go back to the Droid. The only reason I'm keeping it is because the hardware is faster.
HTC added all these crap apps like City ID (trial software), Peep and all this social networking stuff that I'd rather download. They also took out the awesomeness that is Google "Gallery" and replaced it with this weak HTC photo gallery app that doesn't even have Picasa sync. Then they added like 3 steps to adding a contact to Gmail, otherwise it just gets added to phone and not your Google contacts (idiotic), 2 steps to get to the Alarm clock (why???), and the list goes on and on.
I really hope more phone manufacturers bring out stock Android releases like Droid, or at least give us the option to remove OEM apps. When I look at my Incredible, I feel like I'm looking at a PC I purchased from Best Buy.
@jasonbarone
The software is mainly the carrier's fault.
I agree with this, however I am the type that loves me some new updates. I will be getting the Evo, but I know I will still be eagerly anticipating all that 2.2 goodness!
My sister on the other hand, could care less what version is running on her Hero, and looks at me like a deer in the headlights when I start throwing "Froyo" around! :P
@element4life3
Well, maybe you should close your door when you're throwing your Froyo around...
@element4life3 Regular users may not know the difference between version 2.1 and 2.2 but they WILL notice that they can't run flash or some other application while their buddy can.
@edoles Wow, I love the "digg style" comment, ++
@Crb
Agreed. And it'll be even more significant when regular iPhone/iPad users discover that their phone can't play Farmville but their friend's Droid can.
There is a difference between fragmentation and standard distributions (or however you want to phrase it). The fragmentation, although initially helping get Android out there, is now becoming more of a nuisance with the lack of features here and there on this phone and that. A standard distro released to manufacturers (like most WinMo distros) would have been a better way to spread the system, in my opinion.
@bravokiloromeo at this point fragmentation means nothing to me. i have the nexus one and know that for the foreseeable future i will be able to get new updates quickly because of googles support for n1. now someone that buys the att backflip wont, but probably doesnt care about getting the updates. if u are smart enough, u will get a device that you know will be able to handle the latest and greatest (if thats what you want). nobody mentions the fact that multitasking for iphone os 4 will NOT work on 3g and below, only 3gs and newer. same exact concept with android, except it just happens in a quicker time frame because of androids speed of updates and manufacturers releasing subpar phones like the mytouch slide that will be coming out soon.
Well, if you are a true "phone nerd", you'll have that bad boy rooted and running some sick Froyo within two hours of tacking it out of the box.
Great article.
"...Your average EVO 4G buyer might not even know what Android 2.2 is." (But his geek friend does and will tell him).
...Waiting six months for an update is a pain and kinda insulting, especially when your are on oldest version and everyone else is enjoying the new hotness.
Having 2.1 vs 2.2 is not as infuriating, however, if it takes a certain company 6 months to provide the newest update, you will always be one step behind everyone else.
I don't want to be that person.
@One Love On the other side of the pond, iPhone users have to wait a full year for each update.
@MarcusMaximus If you think that's bad, look how long WinMo fans have had to wait!
http://www.instantrimshot.com
@MarcusMaximus thats not the same thing, you wait a year for the next major release but it will work on the previous gen hardware from day one.
with android when looking at which phone to buy you have no security of it ever receiving the current build.
@MarcusMaximus
But ALL the users get the update, as long as the hardware supports it. And its immediately available to all. Hell I am still using my 1st gen Touch, but have the latest OS. When 4 comes out, I will get that also. Not like I need Multitasking on it. (Actually, I will probably get a new 4G iphone, as my very first 2nd phone, as I need a BB for work)
Yeah maybe a little darker green for the links. Other than that though good read! I like this engadget alt. It gives us all a little different perspective. I guess hardcore gadget people like the editors (and devoted readers) all want to have the latest desert from Google but the average user bought their phone to perform certain functions and if it performs them they are happy. They might not know about or even care about the new features that we crave for.
I think we can use the example of Windows Mobile 5/6 which became quite fragmented. But that took a few years to happen.
Android has the potential to become fragmented more quickly because of the sheer amount of devices, what seems to be monthly OS updates, and the increasing number of custom UI's (HTC, Moto, LG, Dell, Samsung, etc). Its getting to be very complex!
There really is not much of an issue with 2.1 to 2.2 because mostly its just feature upgrades and speed boosts. No real frag issues. So if you get 2.2, great, but if not, you can still use the same software and enjoy the same experience as 2.1. Where android has an issue is between 1.5 and 2.1. That was a big jump with a whole new system and they need to get people off 1.5. Thats where the frag issues exist
You are not mentioning anything about Apps. The problem is not if Froyo doesn't run on latest device. Apps who will require 2.2 to take advantage of latest APIs won't run on that device.