Google declined to comment on a report from Engadget that it was mulling a move to make applications and components normally integrated on Android smartphones available through Android Market for users to download at their leisure. Android has come under scrutiny because there are so many versions released in just a few short years. While a Google spokesperson said Google would not comment on unreleased products, Forrester Research Charles Golvin told eWEEK if Google did decouple applications in this vein it would be a tacit acknowledgment Android has become fragmented.
If Google is really planning on rolling out a version of Android that mitigates the gross fragmentation issue among smartphones based on that operating system, the company is keeping it to itself. Google declined to comment on a report from Engadget that it was mulling a move to make applications and components normally integrated on Android smartphones available through Android Market for users to download at their leisure. Android, while praised for being open source, has weathered criticism because there are have been a handful of versions of the platform released in just a few short years. Consumers can go to Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile stores and Google's own Webstore to find devices based on four Android OS versions, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1. Choice is good in any free market. However, building applications and hardware without uniform interoperability is a risky venture. While Apple controls everything on its iPhone, Android's open source provenance lends itself to decisions based on several criteria, including hardware manufacturer, carrier, region and customized software. Resource Library: The fragmentation issue surfaced with Google's advent of some applications. Google received plenty grief over releasing applications such as Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, which first worked only on the Motorola Droid, before making it compatible with devices that used Android 1.6, such as Motorola's Cliq and Devour devices. Android phone owners went through a similar period of exasperation earlier this month when Google released Gesture Search first for Android 2.0 or greater devices, then for Android 1.6. If there is a theme, it is one of consistent frustration. Engadget has heard that Google is planning a salve for these wounds, beginning with Android "Froyo" and continuing through "Gingerbread." "We've been given reason to believe that the company will start by decoupling many of Android's standard applications and components from the platform's core and making them downloadable and updatable through the Market, much the same as they've already done with Maps," the gadget blog said March 29. By making applications available through Android Market, users won't have to wait for smartphone makers and carriers to upgrade to push out staggered upgrades to those devices. See the latest debacle over Verizon and Motorola trying to push Android 2.1 to the Droid. While a Google spokesperson said Google would not comment on unreleased products, Forrester Research Charles Golvin told eWEEK if Google did decouple applications in this vein it would be a tacit acknowledgment Android has become fragmented. But it would be a welcome move. Golvin expects Android to blossom significantly in 2010, with smartphones, tablets and set-top boxes saturating the market. However, this growth could be threatened if developers are increasingly frustrated with their inability to tap the complete market with an app without descending into version hell. "That's something that Google would have to address," Golvin said, adding that while developers he had spoken with are comfortable with Android now, they fear the fragmentation may worsen. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Silent-on-Plans-To-Solve-Android-Fragmentation-With-Froyo-115579/ -- Salam, Agus Hamonangan http://groups.google.com/group/id-android Japri: [email protected] -- "Indonesian Android Community [id-android]" Join: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android/subscribe?hl=en-GB Moderator: [email protected] ID Android Developer: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android-dev ID Android Surabaya: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android-sby ID Android on FB: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112207700729 To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
