Android Fragmentation: You Can’t Discuss a Problem if One of the Parties Denies It Exists

I keep expressing concern over the fact that companies that make and sell Android -based phones have trouble keeping up with the pace of Google’s OS updates. I’ve been known to describe the situation–different phones running different versions of Android–as “fragmentation.” Apparently, I’m either confused or cynical. Maybe both!

Over at the  Android Developers Blog, Android Open Source & Compatibility Program Manager Dan Morrill is saying that “Android fragmentation” is nothing but meaningless fearmongering on the part of drama-queen pundits.

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A Slower Android

Google’s Android honcho Andy Rubin says that the company hopes to settle into annual updates to the mobile OS rather than the current two-or-more-a-year schedule. Sounds good to me–at least if it helps phone manufacturers and carriers release handsets that don’t pack Android versions that are two, three, or four updates old…

Lala Goes Bye-Bye

It’s June 1st, and it’s official: Apple has shuttered Lala, the wonderful music service which it bought back in December. Analyzing Apple’s motivations and predicting its actions is usually a horrible mistake, but I would think that the fact Lala went away a week before a Steve Jobs WWDC keynote is not a promising sign–if Apple was prepping to turn Lala into iTunes.com, wouldn’t it want to turn all those Lala subscribers into charter members of the new service rather than telling them their accounts are no more? I could, of course, be wrong–and I hope I am.