UPDATE: At first this was going to be just a call to fix the updating process, but I've realized is not just the updates Google needs to take control of.
Now is the time to address the fragmentation issue that's starting to plague the platform, before there are hundred of handsets and the whole thing spins out of control. I believe we've seen enough evidence that the updating process through the carriers doesn't work, many phones are left behind and the whole thing is a mess, today we're already talking about the next update (2.5 Froyo?) while there are phones out there stuck on 1.5, the fragmentation is only going to get worse as we move on. Imagine when 3.0 gets here, and we have hundreds of handsets with 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.5, 2.7, 3.0 some with Sense UI, MotoBLUR, etc. It's going to be hell for developers and even more confusing for consumers, driving everybody away from the platform. You guys need to take control of this at least for the Google Experience phones. I'm not sure if Google updating the handsets directly would bring legal issues with the carriers/manufacturers, if it would, please enlighten me. So how do we fix this? I'm pretty sure you guys have already thought about this and I wouldn't be surprised if a solution was coming soon, since it''s such an obvious problem. However, here's my two cents, the solution is very simple, a desktop application for syncing/updating/ media playback/android market/amazon mp3, lets call it Android HQ or Android Home for the sake of argument. The updates would be available to consumers as soon as they're released, instead of months, years, or never depending on carriers. This way most users would've the latest version as well as the developers would have the latest SDK, developers would be able to take advantage of the new APIs each updates bring and innovate faster, instead of spending time supporting older versions. Android HQ would also address the next two biggest problems with the platform, they're: media ecosystem and media syncing/backing. Also, the Android Market badly needs a desktop client. The fragmentation issue is the biggest obstacle the platform is facing today and it will most likely decide its success, I've sensed a couple of times that Google stance on these issues is to let manufactures/ carriers make the decisions on a phone to phone basis (multi-touch anyone?) but that won't work, it'll eventually slow the momentum we have now and kill the platform (WinMo?) Google needs to have a more hands-on approach to Android if it wants it succeed. Anyway, the guys/gals in the Android Team want the platform to succeed as much as me, I'm sure they've given this a lot of thought, and a solution is probably on the works.
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