Android's identity crisis (WP article)

[MrChad]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...sis/2011/11/29/gIQALlM2CO_story.html?hpid=z11

It would be nice to see Google itself take the reins back a little bit, even though that may be a challenge given the climate in the market. Take away partners’ ability to customize the operating system, and Google could lose some of the traction it’s gained.

On the other hand, if the dumbing-down and uglying-up of Android continues, all of the energy and inventiveness Google is pumping into the operating system could fall on deaf ears — while Apple and Microsoft continue to offer premium, consistent experiences.

Do you agree? I think the author makes some good points. Marketing for Android devices has been mostly terrible (the new Samsung Galaxy S2 ads are a notable exception), and despite all the time and money handset manufacturers invest in skins and add-ons to differentiate their products, savvy consumers still clamor for the streamlined Nexus models.

 

[dguy6789]

If Google tried to control more of Android they would almost certainly lose some of the favor of their partners. It's because the OS is a combination of being powerful enough to compete with anything on the market and can be fully customized by the manufacturer and carrier to their specifications that so many manufacturers and carriers are backing it. If Google introduced Android with a "my way or the highway" approach in the first place it may not have succeeded. Apple is an example of a company that succeeded with that methodology, Microsoft is an example of a company that has not(thus far). So it could definitely go either way.

Personally I don't mind a bunch of different Android phones being really different. The sheer number of different phones means there's probably a phone for everyone. If you want a stock Android phone, they are out there.

 

[WelshBloke]

F that! I dont want Google locking down things.

I'm quite capable of getting my phone running the way I want it to.

Mind you doing away with locked bootloaders et al would be nice.

Its interesting that the article suggests that Google should do things Microsoft's way. Marketshare would suggest that would be suicide.

 

[Red Storm]

If people were switching Android phones every month then maybe the manufacturer skins would get confusing, but nobody does this (and those who do - like myself, heh - are not confused) so I don't see the problem.

The same people who think "Droid" means any Android phone are likely the same type of people who think the iPhone 4 has 4G connectivity. They don't know any better, and they probably never will when it comes to tech, doesn't matter whose tech it is.

 

[iahk]

I literally don't see the problem either. you could say that android is where its at today due to the way things have been handled. if it's marketshare was declining then yeah, this could be a problem.

as it is right now, Google is the only player out there that is giving you an option. want android the way Google wants you to experience it? get a nexus device. don't care? you have plenty of other devices to choose from.

 

[VashHT]

If people were switching Android phones every month then maybe the manufacturer skins would get confusing, but nobody does this (and those who do - like myself, heh - are not confused) so I don't see the problem.

The same people who think "Droid" means any Android phone are likely the same type of people who think the iPhone 4 has 4G connectivity. They don't know any better, and they probably never will when it comes to tech, doesn't matter whose tech it is.

I've had people tell me the opposite too, that Droid doesn't mean that they are running android, they thought it was a totally separate thing.

 

[ElFenix]

i thought google was trying to exert more control over hardware requirements and UI implementations with 3 and 4?

 

[Mopetar]

i thought google was trying to exert more control over hardware requirements and UI implementations with 3 and 4?

It doesn't matter if they do. Companies like Barnes % Noble and Amazon have shown that they don't care about the Android branding, Google apps, or the Android Marketplace. They'll either roll their own or do without. As credible alternatives to these continue to arise, it's feasible for more and more companies to tell Google to piss off if they don't like Google's terms.

The only thing that Google can really do to stop this is withhold the source, but that just creates a different set of problems. At best they can provide these partners with early access to the newest versions of the OS, but that doesn't completely solve the problem. When something is truly open, there's no way for any one company to completely control it.

 

[Oyeve]

If I wanted a device/os/company telling me how to use my device and "rein me in" I would get an iphone or a blackberry.

 

[Mopetar]

If I wanted a device/os/company telling me how to use my device and "rein me in" I would get an iphone or a blackberry.

Is having to install CM or any other ROM really all that different than jailbreaking your iPhone?

Having Android ROMs certainly makes it a lot easier to customize a phone or if nothing else tinker with it, but when a lot of the Android phones being sold come locked down and full of crap ware that can't be removed, the practical experience isn't much different than having an iPhone or Blackberry.

 

[MrChad]

Is having to install CM or any other ROM really all that different than jailbreaking your iPhone?

Having Android ROMs certainly makes it a lot easier to customize a phone or if nothing else tinker with it, but when a lot of the Android phones being sold come locked down and full of crap ware that can't be removed, the practical experience isn't much different than having an iPhone or Blackberry.

Agreed. I'm more than capable of rooting my phone and installing a custom ROM, but I'd prefer getting a more "stock" experience out-of-the-box without all that nonsense.

 

[Midwayman]

I just wish google required its partners to make a vanilla install of android available, or all carrier and manufacturer customizations uninstallable.

I'm fine they offering customization. I just don't think people should have to root to de-crapify their phone.

 

[WelshBloke]

I just wish google required its partners to make a vanilla install of android available, or all carrier and manufacturer customizations uninstallable.

I'm fine they offering customization. I just don't think people should have to root to de-crapify their phone.

Getting root is not a big deal. Its certainly quicker than flashing a new vanilla ROM.

 

[Oyeve]

Is having to install CM or any other ROM really all that different than jailbreaking your iPhone?

Having Android ROMs certainly makes it a lot easier to customize a phone or if nothing else tinker with it, but when a lot of the Android phones being sold come locked down and full of crap ware that can't be removed, the practical experience isn't much different than having an iPhone or Blackberry.

I find rooting an android device a choice and jailbreaking an ios device a necessity, unless you love being tethered to itunes. OOTB every other platform has drag and drop without rooring/roming/jailbreaking. I dont want another android vs ios thread war but the bottom line is only ios locks you down by default. Yeah, I may root my android devices to get rid of some stupid app that tmobile put in but its still extremely open to do so much more without being rooted. I hope google does not rein it in.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Getting root is not a big deal. Its certainly quicker than flashing a new vanilla ROM.

Problem is, less popular phones get less devs to work on unlocking bootloaders and good ROMs so those phones are stuck with the stupid bloatware.

My old Epic 4G had that problem. Everyone was on the Evo so in the end there were 2 good ROMs for the Epic and all of those were way behind what the Evo got.

 

[WelshBloke]

Problem is, less popular phones get less devs to work on unlocking bootloaders and good ROMs so those phones are stuck with the stupid bloatware.

My old Epic 4G had that problem. Everyone was on the Evo so in the end there were 2 good ROMs for the Epic and all of those were way behind what the Evo got.

Yeah locked bootloaders are the suck.

Still if your the kind of person thats going to need an unlocked bootloader and you buy a phone with a locked one you've only really got one person to blame.

 

[Medu]

More non stories.

Android is about choice even if a lot of it is just skin deep(no pun intended). I might be off the mark but I am not sure the styling of ICS won't be universally loved. To me it seems to be designed for your average 15~35 year old guy. If you don't like vanilla ICS then you can get a Sense/Blur/TouchWiz. If you don't like iOS then you don't like the iPhone and you buy a competitor. Same for WP7. I like it but I know a lot of people that don't.

 

[Anubis]

i do agree that the manufacturers of the phones need to advertise them more, they all collectively do a horrid job of advertising

 

[Doppel]

He does make some good points. The OS is fragmented to hell with a zillion versions on a zillion devices.

 

[smartpatrol]

A lot of people have no idea that there is a difference between "Droid" and "Android". When you tell someone "no, my phone isn't a Droid but it is running Android OS. . . Droid is just a brand name that Verizon uses for some of their phones" they're usually baffled.

The problem is, Motorola doesn't want to sell Android phones, they want to sell Motoblur phones. HTC wants to sell Sense phones. Verizon wants to sell Droids. Amazon and Barnes & Noble don't even want you to know they're running Android at all! Etc etc.

I'm not quite sure how to fix this problem, or whether it even is a serious problem, but IMO Google shouldn't clamp down too hard. Instead, they need to advertise and strengthen the Android brand name.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

I just wish google required its partners to make a vanilla install of android available, or all carrier and manufacturer customizations uninstallable.

I'm fine they offering customization. I just don't think people should have to root to de-crapify their phone.

This is my view as well. It should be more like Windows on PC's. Make the bloatware uninstallable without doing anything crazy.

 

[ITHURTSWHENIP]

This is my view as well. It should be more like Windows on PC's. Make the bloatware uninstallable without doing anything crazy.

They have. You can disable apps and hide them with ICS

 

[AznAnarchy99]

They have. You can disable apps and hide them with ICS

And that leads to the other problem of paper launches. I will give it up to Apple and their press conferences. They announce and have product in store in a week or two. Google announces around the world and only gives information about 1 carrier and leaves the rest to guessing?

 

[the DRIZZLE]

They have. You can disable apps and hide them with ICS

Yeah but not all carrier mods are apps. They can make all kinds of irreversible changes to the OS itself. They shouldn't be allowed to do that.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Author of the article calls it a weakness, I see it as a strength, it has evolved exactly as intended.

Android is and likely always will be fragmented, but the manufacturers know that if they tweak the OS too much, it will lose it's appeal, so it just works.