I think it's Pass or Fail. They say momentum is there. ..So Android should Pass. But either it will be very popular or not popular at all.
Your points are nicely thought out. Though I disagree with a few. Right now Android is late, when the IPhone is taking off. That's not a fatal error because there are billions of potential sales. My biggest concern is the Documentation, which is Everything! It only takes one paragraph to hinder Adoption. Also the Ecosystem of sharing elements in different Apps. If Android fails it will be because there was something missing there. The Economic Crisis I think can and will actually propel Android because it will make people more mobile. Android is simply geared to be the most influential software ever created! - Juan T. On Mar 7, 2:15 pm, sm1 <[email protected]> wrote: > We've had Android long enough to do a preliminary evaluation. > > History: > > 1) Nov. 2007: Android formally announced; SDK available. > > 2) Oct. 2008: G1 available to clients of T-Mobile US, and in a few > other countries sometime after that; Android source code released; > Market opened for free apps; > > 3) Late 2008: Dev Phone 1 available to purchase from Google anywhere, > by registered developers. > > 4) Feb. 2009: Priced apps available to G1 owners, but in the US only > at first. > > We are now in March 2009, here are the plus and minuses: > > +/- Android Developer Challenge #1 came and went; many developers were > barred for obscure reasons (e.g., residents of Italy and Quebec). > > + Google and other OHA members are delivering on their commitments; no > vaporware so far. > > + Java language at the 1.5 level (this is one big plus for us). > > + The VM, Dalvik, appears to be OK; robust and efficient. > > + Current SDK acceptable; many bugs of early versions have been > corrected. > > +/- Documentation is improving; although still incomplete and > incorrect in places; official tutorials missing. > > +/- Support and bug correction are somewhat slow; at least there is an > issue tracker to use but updates are infrequent. > > + The first Android OTA update took place very well, without > significant incidents. > > + The Market is easy to use by developers and consumers, and generally > very robust. > > +/- The Market comments and ratings were occasionally abused by > miscreants, and at times this has reached abnormally high levels; > Google seems to be starting to address the problem; there now is a > spam option for comments. > > +/- On the Market, the list of supported developer countries is > supposed to be increasing gradually, starting with the US and UK. > > +/- Market-recognized localization is initially limited to English and > German, but supposed to expand gradually. > > - Security is currently somewhat poor because apps can be copied by > basic hacking using a rooted G1 (but not by using a regular G1); > priced and copy-protected apps on the Market are not visible from a > Dev Phone 1 device, thus limiting developers; developers need to > obfuscate their code and use encryption for certain texts (as on many > platforms); developers need to scour the net for illegal copies of > their apps because illegally copied apps could be offered overtly or > covertly for free or for a price by black hats on other locations. > > + The word Android seems to be the most popular public name used to > represent this set of technologies, as opposed to G1, Google phone, > OHA, HTC, etc. > > + The public seems to be starting to consider the OS of a mobile > device when making a selection/acquisition; which seems to be a new > consumer behavior. > > + The availability of inexpensive, easy to acquire and to install > applications is now well established as a new competitive advantage > for mobile devices. > > + Android is a set of well designed and implemented technologies, even > in their first versions, with important improvements occurring at a > relatively fast pace. > > + The openness of Android technologies has benefits for everyone and > is an exciting experiment that we fully support and will strive to > help succeed and benefit from. > > In conclusion, Google and OHA get an A, or in Android terminology, a > 4.5 star rating. In a year or two, we expect it to get a full 5 star > rating. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
