Hi Lenz, On 04/08/10 11:28, lenz wrote: > hi, > > On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 10:07 AM, Dave Lane <[email protected]> wrote: >> stunning performance and latest open source Android Linux goodness. > > this comes up again and again ... and is the main thing to bash the > iPhone. to get the open source version of your latest android you > actually have to wait for your lovely carrier to authorise it and > patch it with what ever restrictions he likes to put in place ... or > you are back to the iPhone version of jail breaking it and flashing it > with your own version of the open source goodness. i don't really see > what i gain from a users perspective. open source for the sake of it? > maybe i miss something though ...
Heh heh. Yeah, most of the handset vendors do somewhat user-hostile things to their phones in the name of "consistency of experience", "supportability", etc. but ultimately it comes down to the fact that, unlike the iPhone, which has a core operating system that is not available for anyone to use or learn about, the Android OS *is* Linux. If you do a few seconds browsing on the web, you'll find that there is a variant of the Android OS for every set of user requirements out there... the average user might never have any interest in changing from the default one provided with the phone (or upgrades pushed out by the provider)... but for those who *do* want to explore, play, develop, the possibilities are huge and exciting. Moreover, the innovations those people develop get rolled back into future versions of Android for everyone's benefit. It may be a rabble and there might be a lot of so-called fragmentation... but Android is moving forward at a blistering rate, and will leave the iPhone in the dust. Guaranteed. The handset providers simply try to take a "best of" collection of Android capabilities to provide their users with a good, stable phone when they buy it. Android has already blown past the iPhone in the US market. RIM's Blackberry is now in its sights. Apple's making a huge profit on the iPhone, and bully for them... but surely the people buying them have to feel stung that they're clearly paying a premium for a phone that's no better (and in some cases not as good) than the less costly, more extensible Android. Cheers, Dave -- Dave Lane, Egressive Ltd [email protected] m +64212298147 p +6439633733 http://egressive.com Free/OpenSourceSoftware: because to share is human Only use Open Standards - w3.org, Drupal powers communities - drupal.org Effusion Group http://effusiongroup.com Software Patents kill innovation -- NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected]
