Tag Archives | Google Android

Still More on Android Fragmentation

Posted by Harry McCracken on June 7, 2010 at 1:35 am

In an item on his personal blog, Dan Morrill, the Google program manager who I thought was insufficiently concerned about Android fragmentation, has followed up on his original post. He mentions my take, and while he says he found it somewhat histrionic, that’s okay–he also says he liked it.

I still think Morrill in particular and Google in general are being too breezy in their dismissal of the complications for consumers stemming from the fact that it’s upgrading Android faster than handset manufacturers can keep up. Morill says that phone buyers are smart enough to understand the concept of “last year’s model.” But we’re not talking about phones from a year ago which have since been replaced by this year’s models–fragmentation, or whatever you want to call it, affects multiple phones released in 2010 which haven’t been replaced by anything.

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

Posted by Harry McCracken on June 1, 2010 at 12:30 pm

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

Posted by Harry McCracken on June 1, 2010 at 10:39 am

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…

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Good News for Android's User Interface?

Posted by Harry McCracken on May 27, 2010 at 1:31 pm

All Things Digital’s John Paczkowksi, is reporting that Matias Duarte, the guy in charge of the user interface of Palm’s WebOS mobile operating system, has left Palm and appears to be headed to Google, presumably to work on Android. WebOS is the only phone OS that’s in the same league as Apple’s iPhone OS when it comes to general usability, so Duarte clearly knows what he’s doing.

I’ve said before that the one Android upgrade I most want isn’t tethering or automated translation or built-in music streaming–it’s an overhaul of the interface that makes the OS, core programs, and third-party apps more consistent, efficient, and enjoyable. If Duarte is charged with making something like that happen, he could work wonders.

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Norton Plans to Go Beyond the PC

Posted by Harry McCracken on May 27, 2010 at 12:40 am

Symantec’s Norton product line has been all but synonymous with utilities designed to fix PC problems since Peter Norton himself wrote some of the first utilities shortly after the IBM PC was released in 1981. Now the company’s announcing a big initiative to bring its software and services to devices other than Windows PCs and Macs–phones, set-top boxes, and just about anything else that connects to the Internet. It’s calling its plans Norton Everywhere, and they involve a variety of new releases.

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Adobe Does a PDF Reader for Android

Posted by Harry McCracken on May 24, 2010 at 11:47 am

More Adobe-Google synergy: Adobe has released a version of its Reader software for Android. iPhone and iPad owners have third-party PDF readers but not an official Adobe one. Adobe does say that fans of other platforms should “stay tuned,” which brings up an interesting question: In the wake of the Flash mess, will Adobe shy away from Apple’s mobile platforms or redouble its efforts to do cool things on them? I’d vote for the latter response…

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What Android Fragmentation Problem?

Posted by Harry McCracken on May 23, 2010 at 11:17 am

At last week’s Google I|O conference, the last session I attended was a “fireside chat” in which Google employees discussed the Android platform with audience members. Someone asked about Android fragmentation–the fact that Android is getting upgrades so frequently that there are phones powered by multiple versions of the OS for sale all at once.

The Android team member who fielded the question spent most of his time rejecting it as a valid subject of debate. He compared the situation to Microsoft releasing multiple versions of Windows in the 1990s. He said that it isn’t fragmentation if (for instance) all Android 1.6 phones are compatible. And he ended by adding that he didn’t even like to use the word “fragmentation.” The one he preferred was “progress.”

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Android vs. iPhone: It's War–and That's Great

Posted by Harry McCracken on May 21, 2010 at 4:41 pm

As I sat in the audience at Google’s I|O conference yesterday morning, I watched Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra and others unveil Android 2.2 “Froyo,” an ambitious upgrade to the company’s mobile OS. Gundotra began the keynote by framing Android as a moral crusade against “a future where one man, one company, one device, one carrier would be our only choice.”

In case anyone couldn’t figure out who the man, company, device, and carrier were, he showed a slide that alluded to Apple’s most famous commercial. Then, for the rest of the Android 2.2 announcement, Gundotra and others punctuated demos of impressive stuff–such as dramatic speed boosts and Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities–with asides about the iPhone and iPad that appeared to be intended to elicit snickers from the audience. Which they did.

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Adobe Cozies Up With Kongregate For Android Flash Gaming

Posted by Jared Newman on May 20, 2010 at 9:00 am

Even if the Android Market never blossoms into a gaming powerhouse, online Flash gaming portals such as Kongregate may fill Android’s void.

I’m not at Google’s I/O conference, but the folks at Kongregate tell me their site will be one of the headliners when Adobe shows off Flash on Android 2.2. Kongregate has already set up a mobile Web site with Android in mind, containing over 100 games optimized for the touch screen. That’s nothing compared to the 28,000 games hosted on Kongregate’s full Web site, but it’s a start.

Kongregate co-founder Jim Greer said eight developers optimized 30 of their own games for the mobile site by reformatting text and icons for the small screen and in some cases adding touch-based substitutes for keyboard input. The remaining 70 games are basic ports of their PC counterparts. None of the games were designed specifically with the smartphone in mind, but that will probably change if Flash 10.1 for Android launches smoothly.

Kongregate’s mobile site is also missing some of the main site’s extra features, such as achievements, community chat and the ability to donate money to developers. There’s no advertising, either. Greer said he’s not worrying about revenue yet, though I’m sure developers who make money on Kongregate will want answers soon.

As for offline play, Greer said he’s looking into possibilities for native apps, but he’s waiting to see what Google does for the Android platform. This led me to ask him the extent of Google’s involvement with Kongregate. As I’ve said before, a strong social glue across all games is one way to boost Android’s status as a gaming platform. Greer clammed up when I pressed further, stuttering for a moment and falling back on “no comment.” It’s my opinion that Google is planning some sort of Android gaming network, but I couldn’t pry anything solid out of Greer.

For now, the important thing is that when Android 2.2 goes over the air, users will immediately have more than 100 free games to play. Steve Jobs is free to deflect the argument by talking about how many games are in the iPhone’s App Store, but it’s just not the same.

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