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Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

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Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#191

Post by AlexV »

I compare Google's Android ecosystem to a restaurant: I ate once and received wonderful food and service. I go there again next week and the food is cold and the service is rude.

Android's inconsistency is as big problem for Google as it is to the restaurant - if it's inconsistent, I stop going.

I own several Android devices, with the SGS2 being the latest. If it is going to be inconsistent with the update & timing as the rest of them - next time I'm going to the competition, whoever it might be.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#192

Post by ConstantineXVI »

mdwrigh2 wrote: post #177
ConstantineXVI wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newer (late 2010+) phones have finally learned to start putting a reasonable amount of onboard NAND, so app storage isn't near the problem it used to be. The "disable" feature sounds like it also `chmod -x`'s the app in question so it can't start, not just hide away the icon. The one bit I'm worried about is if carriers are going to be able to comment out the feature (and the data controls, which I'm far more concern…

I suspect they will not be able to remove the feature as long as it's an official Android phone. My initial guess is that this will be added to CTS, or at least the list of requirements for things that work on Android.

Thus far, Google has shown a remarkable lack of backbone when it comes to the carriers. They're free to kill/restrict tethering, block non-Market apps, disable SIP support, not to mention the non-removable bloatware situation that motivated the app-disable feature in the first place. I'm not yet convinced they're willing to say 'no' to the telcos.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#193

Post by jameshart »

airlineuser wrote: post #153
ceejayoz wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you don't need new APIs or features in a particular version of Android, sure.

Do you have any specific APIs or features in mind? I think most app devs look at the installed base numbers and choose to support 2.1+ or 2.2+. I can't think of any APIs in 2.3 or 3.0 (or even 4.0) that are so wonderful that they are worth cutting off such a large part of the potential customer base.

So in that case, what about customers who DO buy new devices? Your argument suggests that developers won't build software to target the new capabilities their devices have. In which case the manufacturers' refusal to keep their old devices up to date is actually undermining their ability to sell new hardware ("Why should I buy a new android phone; all the software is written to target my existing two year old model")

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#194

Post by DrJokepu »

billjings wrote: post #87
SandB0x wrote: post #83

There's a major point that can be added to the Why Don’t Android Phones Get Updated? section: Third party skins and interfaces. HTC's Sense, Motorola's Motoblur and co can only introduce an engineering overhead and delays in upgrading. I would much rather they concentrated on making awsome hardware and leaving the UI to Google, rather than attempting to differentiate themselves in this way.

If I were Motorola or Samsung, though, there's no way I'd do that. Without differentiation, you're selling a commodity product. If you're selling a commodity, there are no margins. I agree with you that it would be better for the Android ecosystem if they would, though.

It don't disagree with the rest of your comment but it's not true that there are no margins if you're selling commodity. An awful lot of money can be made by selling commodity. Just ooh at Lakshmi Mittal.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#195

Post by cpeterso »

gcb wrote: post #162
d_r wrote: post #6

The current situation is somewhat unfair to the indiscrete / non-tech-savvy consumer since they might buy an Android phone without understanding the differences from the iOS ecosystem. At least several of my friends did. "They're about the same right? And this one was $30 cheaper!" And I genuinely feel bad every time this happens. Note that I of course have no gripes with Android OS/concept itself -- it's a good cont…

i don't buy this 'a good contender for iOS'. they are different leagues. The people that consider an android or ios as equals and decide on device color or price won't even know what this table is about. history is repeating. iOS is a IBM mainframe. with it's golden cuffs. Android is the radio shack PC. with it's "require soldering". i give that android is still in it's infancy. and that the availability of OSes are…

Android == "Dude, you're gettin' a Dell!"

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#196

Post by cpeterso »

jameshart wrote: post #193
airlineuser wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any specific APIs or features in mind? I think most app devs look at the installed base numbers and choose to support 2.1+ or 2.2+. I can't think of any APIs in 2.3 or 3.0 (or even 4.0) that are so wonderful that they are worth cutting off such a large part of the potential customer base.

So in that case, what about customers who DO buy new devices? Your argument suggests that developers won't build software to target the new capabilities their devices have. In which case the manufacturers' refusal to keep their old devices up to date is actually undermining their ability to sell new hardware ("Why should I buy a new android phone; all the software is written to target my existing two year old model")

Developers can write apps that are backwards compatible, yet still support new OS or hardware features when available.

Also, some developers will write dedicated apps that make full use of new OS or hardware features (like fancy camera apps).

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#197

Post by marze »

d_r wrote: post #6

The current situation is somewhat unfair to the indiscrete / non-tech-savvy consumer since they might buy an Android phone without understanding the differences from the iOS ecosystem. At least several of my friends did. "They're about the same right? And this one was $30 cheaper!" And I genuinely feel bad every time this happens. Note that I of course have no gripes with Android OS/concept itself -- it's a good cont…

Apple doesn't pander.

They don't try to sell product by giving large commissions to the sales people. If you walk into an AT&T store, the sales associates won't recommend an iPhone.

Apple gets smart customers who understand the advantages of what they are buying, not customers who were duped into buying something because some clueless sales associate got a huge commission for selling it to them.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#198

Post by drivebyacct2 »

kalleboo wrote: post #59

How many PC users are still using XP, a 10 year old OS? If the version of the OS you have still works, it still works. The real issue here is security updates. Google need a way to update core OS component that aren't affected by the manufacturer's UI skinning.

Most people don't know this, but Google actually retains the ability to hotfix core security issues without the manufacturers. This has happened with devices when a weakness was found in how passwords were transmitted for sync. Also, manufacturers push out security updates from different teams than their Sense/Blur/etc teams.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#199

Post by drivebyacct2 »

ricw wrote: post #33

It's funny that these kind of long-term "features" don't get taken into consideration for any of the phone reviews. Its probably one of the most important features of a phone. I'm currently torn apart between buying an iPhone 4s and the galaxy nexus, but given that I can expect the iphone to be supported and updated instantly and regulary for a long time, and not with any of the android phones (less than 2 years for…

Nexus phones and "other Android" phones are almost entirely different breeds. That's the sad thing, people use Sense or Blur devices and get a bad taste in their mouthes when the pure Android experience is often more pleasant and consistent.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#200

Post by drivebyacct2 »

ericd wrote: post #118
jellicle wrote: post #116

Apples and oranges. An actually useful version of this graph would compare the Google phones to the Apple phones, and then in a separate table, compare the support for OS updates for other parties using the operating system (Apple would have no entries in that second chart, of course, but that's their choice). In the first hypothetical chart, I believe Google's support for Google phones compares acceptably well with…

Semantics. What matters to consumers is whether their phones get the new features, not who wins this pissing match.

It is an issue of Semantics. Buying a Sense ridden phone from HTC and buying a Nexus from Google mean two entirely different things about the consistency of the phone and the timeliness of the software updates.
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