> If you write an app, is that a solution? Say, you're App is Android > 1.6 (which came out Sep 15, according to > Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#Update_history) > and you lock it down to this version, then neither the Motorola Droid > crowd nor the proud Google Nexus owners will see your app.
But how can you target an application for a platform that does not yet exist, neither in the SDK or as a physical device? With vanilla Java you have the (sometimes theoretical) advantage that you can always run old versions on new stuff, however not without hampering innovation. Btw. the Droid/Milestone is slated to get an OTA update with 2.1 any day now. The biggest issue here is that non-Google-experience devices from OEM's or carriers will be left behind very quickly and there are obviously going to be some battles for the consumer here. > I think the underlying problem is that Google puts out too many > releases in too short a time for developers to keep up - four since > they released Android 1.0 in Oct 2008 (1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1), with three > out of this four in the last four months. Do you really want to > maintain three or four different versions of your app? At the very > least, you need to test them with the new SDK versions. There's marginal difference between 1.5 and 1.6, as well as between 2.0 and 2.1, but yes they are different and unique profiles. Android pretty much spent 2009 growing up. I don't think they will release as many versions this year, the biggest update probably being an introduction of a JIT. > Now Apple has been pretty good about getting all of the iPhones / iPod > Touches to the latest OS versions (even though iPod Touch owners > upgrade much more slowly since they have to pay for the upgrades), and > with their iron grip they just require a certain OS version for > certification (I think they only accepted 3.0 apps starting a couple > of weeks before the 3.0 release last June). Now rumor has it that the > Apple event on Jan 27 will introduce iPhone OS 4.0 which won't be for > first-gen iPhones, so Apple's track record could get tarnished here. Apple has the advantage that they control everything, diversity is almost an oxymoron with Apple. Although they are less likely to be hit by device entropy, with an upcoming tablet and iPhone OS 4.0 as you mention, this is bound to hit Apple too. But at least with Android, it doesn't take 3-4 weeks for a developer to update an application since there's no certification process. /Casper
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