What Kindle Means for Android • Hacker News Board

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#11

Post by guelo » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:00 AM UTC

Fortunately for developers Amazon hasn't forked the OS too much. The APIs for the latest release are the ICS APIs which is OK since most devs will still be targeting Froyo or Gingerbread for another year or so. The only problem is if you use some of the Google APIs, mainly Maps, in which case you'll have to get clever, either with reflection or your build system, to include Amazon's maps in your app.

If Amazon ever tries to do a major fork at the API level we'll be in trouble, but they have shown no sign of that as of yet.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#12

Post by esolyt » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:03 AM UTC

Yes. Google lost control of an operating system which they consciously decided to release as open source and free software.

Somehow, I don't think they were trying hard to retain control of the OS.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#13

Post by css771 » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:04 AM UTC

Mythbusters wrote: post #2

The way android is used by Amazon is essentially how apple used unix core to get the basics right when creating a new software platform. A smart move obviously. What surprises me is how none of the big android players have not seen an opportunity here and created their own experience on top of it. That is the easiest way to differentiate yourself from the myriad of other cheap android device makers. Im sure there is…

Because being sucessful on mobile is about creating the entire experience. If any other manufacturer created their own platform on Android, they wouldn't have the Google apps licensed to them, and consequently wouldn't look as attractive to consumers. Gmail, Google Maps, thousands of apps on Google Play, all these are valuable assets that consumers wouldn't be willing to give up.

Amazon is in a better position than most but they haven't yet created a general purpose device. All their tablets are a window to purchase more Amazon stuff. If they could create an entire ecosystem with a proper device to back it up, they could probably up-end Google. But slowly, Android on tablets is taking off now. I mean, Google recently released stats for number of tablets activated daily, which they hadn't done until now. Maybe that's because Google feels Android tablets are finally making a dent in the marketplace.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#14

Post by Mythbusters » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:06 AM UTC

guelo wrote: post #4

Mythbusters wrote: post #2

The way android is used by Amazon is essentially how apple used unix core to get the basics right when creating a new software platform. A smart move obviously. What surprises me is how none of the big android players have not seen an opportunity here and created their own experience on top of it. That is the easiest way to differentiate yourself from the myriad of other cheap android device makers. Im sure there is…

> What surprises me is how none of the big android players have not seen an opportunity here I guess you haven't heard of HTC Sense, Motoblur, Samsung's Touchwiz, etc. and how users mostly hate them. Savvy users seem to prefer taking Amazon's Android Kindles and installing vanilla Androids on them.

Are these savvy users the majority of the kindle users? Sense and Motoblur are but very thin skins on android. Nothing like a end to end experience that Amazon has developed. No wonder majority of people hate these quick hacks.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#15

Post by Mythbusters » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:08 AM UTC

guelo wrote: post #11

Fortunately for developers Amazon hasn't forked the OS too much. The APIs for the latest release are the ICS APIs which is OK since most devs will still be targeting Froyo or Gingerbread for another year or so. The only problem is if you use some of the Google APIs, mainly Maps, in which case you'll have to get clever, either with reflection or your build system, to include Amazon's maps in your app. If Amazon ever t…

There is a reason they haven't forked because there is a value in the ecosystem. What they have done is that the have starved Google of the revenue it makes out of android and that is where the opportunity is for major device makers which I don't get how they not see it.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#16

Post by chj » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:20 AM UTC

esolyt wrote: post #12

Yes. Google lost control of an operating system which they consciously decided to release as open source and free software. Somehow, I don't think they were trying hard to retain control of the OS.

they're trying very hard these days:

http://marketingland.com/google-acer-android-aliyun-21631

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#17

Post by ippisl » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:21 AM UTC

Mythbusters wrote: post #2

The way android is used by Amazon is essentially how apple used unix core to get the basics right when creating a new software platform. A smart move obviously. What surprises me is how none of the big android players have not seen an opportunity here and created their own experience on top of it. That is the easiest way to differentiate yourself from the myriad of other cheap android device makers. Im sure there is…

Amazon's differentiation is price and a content ecosystems together with a great marketing channel, not the UI. Nothing that fits the model of the device makers.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#18

Post by Mythbusters » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:23 AM UTC

zmmmmm wrote: post #10

It's kind of amusing to me how every now and then someone proclaims that Google has "lost control" of Android and how this must be some kind of crisis and portends a looming disaster. Then we will have a series of people proclaiming how Android is not really open and what a farce Google's pretense of openness is, and what fools we were to ever believe that Google intended to make an open source operating system. Freq…

Actually I think Google's openness is a quasi. Otherwise you wouldn't see them blocking the acer phone.

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#19

Post by michaelpinto » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:30 AM UTC

But didn't Google block Acer pretty recently? I understand that Acer was part of an industry group, but if Google is delivering a stream of improvements to Android can't they just lock up future updates?

Re: What Kindle Means for Android

#20

Post by michaelpinto » Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 1:35 AM UTC

Mythbusters wrote: post #2

The way android is used by Amazon is essentially how apple used unix core to get the basics right when creating a new software platform. A smart move obviously. What surprises me is how none of the big android players have not seen an opportunity here and created their own experience on top of it. That is the easiest way to differentiate yourself from the myriad of other cheap android device makers. Im sure there is…

You're sort of right, but not 100%: It wasn't Apple that added a Unix core to anything -- it was really Steve Jobs at NeXT who did that, and then Apple just happened to buy NeXT.