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ZDNet: The dirty little secret about Google Android
After all the work Apple did to get AT&T to relinquish device control for the iPhone and all the great efforts Google made to get the FCC and the U.S. telecoms to agree to open access rules as part of the 700 MHz auction, Android is taking all of those gains and handing the power back to the telecoms.
The article nails it, but I'd like to point out the only reason Android's problems are "secret" is because there should be more articles like this in the tech press, but there aren't. Android has many issues.
Even in this article, in the comments, you've got Google supporters defending the fragmented state of Android, going so far as to deny it's fragmentation, choosing instead the euphemism "choice", and of course blasting Apple. Don't like crapware? Vote with your wallet. Great, except the top Android phones come with crapware. Well, then use root authority to delete hem. Right, because that's what I want do with my "smart" phone.
Android supporters talk like Windows users do about anti-virus. It's not bad, it's just the way it is, so quit complaining and do it. Besides, any platform that doesn't work this way must be "wrong." Or "a toy." Or "closed."
Android Weakness On Display: Motorola's 2.1 and 2.2 Froyo updates
Let’s start off with Android updates for Moto’s smartphones available in the US. Here’s the list of devices, and the expected updates…
As the fragmentation of Android phones continues, I wonder about those who bought Android because they thought it was a good phone that would get better with updates.
Oops.
Let's see what U.S. Motorola Android users can expect in terms of updates (international users fare no better):
Motorola Droid X – Android 2.2 Froyo update to start in “late summer” (as previously rumored)
The X is only a month old but shipped with the old 2.1 version of Android. It could get 2.2 in a month, and if so will finally be on the current version.
Motorola Droid – Android 2.2 update “currently rolling out in phases”
The original Droid gets 2.2 before the X, though it's still rolling out now. Like the X, the phone will then be current.
Is it that it takes so long to test devices for the current version, or that so little emphasis is placed on updating? That the latter is likely is shown by the updates below, which will not even make the phones current.
Motorola Cliq and Cliq XT – Android 2.1 updates “planned for late Q3/early Q4” (no Froyo, huh?)
No current version for these, but they can update to the old 2.1 version in another month. Or two. These phones are only nine and six months old, respectively. There's at least 15 months left on a 24-month contract but they're already outdated.
Motorola Backflip – Android 2.1 should be available in Q3
Just like the Cliqs. Released only five months ago but won't get the current Android version.
Motorola Devour – no plans for an Android 2.1 update, sadly
The Devour is only six months old, yet "devour" is exactly what Motorola did to the phone's chance of getting even the old 2.1 version. Maybe Devour users should've bought a Backflip or Cliq instead—they wouldn't be as badly outdated—but how were they to know?
Let's summarize:
- By "late summer" two recent phones should finally be current.
- By "early Q4" three recent phones should get an old version.
- One recent phone will get diddly-squat.
That's bad news any way you look at it. And don't think it's just Motorola, others are being just as stingy with Android updates.
This major weakness of the Android platform is usually glossed over (not by me). Rather than articles that critique Android's partners for weak update support—or for not pushing the platform forward—it's mentioned in passing, if at all, before discussing how nice 2.2 is. They don't mention that running the current version of Android is the equivalent of a private club to which the vast majority of its users will never be invited.
Google and Verizon: "Cable Operators Can Suck It. We Rule."
Sixth, we both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless
They buried it at number six of seven points, but there it is. Wired should do as we suggest, but wireless doesn't have to because we haven't built our empire yet. Wow.
This takes balls, but Google and Verizon probably figure tech blogs will simply publish the spoon-fed press releases, then shrug it off and write another Apple or AT&T horror story. The sad part is, they may be right.
Perhaps the most important stat from Validas's wireless smartphone bill analysis
But, more than 4 percent of VZW Smartphones consume more than 2 gigabytes per month, as opposed to just 1.6 percent of iPhones.
That's it right there.
Remember when AT&T introduced their data caps? The highest cap was set at 2GB, and there was outrage. AT&T said only 2% of their customers use more than that each month, but few believed them. Well, it's just 1.6%.
I dropped two iPhones on our family plan to the $15 200MB cap, and mine to the $25 2GB cap. That's $35 a month saved with no decrease in activity on our part.
The caps work, and they save you money. Lots to complain about AT&T for, but not everything they do is evil. This one's putting money in my pocket, and would do the same for 98.4% of you.
In The Face Of Android's Success, Perhaps Its Best Phone Dies
Google warned potential customers last week that it was close to discontinuing the Nexus One, and this Android OS smartphone didn't last much longer -- Google has sold its last unit.
Against the backdrop of recent reports about impressive Android sales, perhaps the platform's best phone, the Nexus One, has been discontinued.
Though released a few months ago, the Nexus One's specs are still impressive. A 1GHz processor, 800 x 480 AMOLED screen, 5MP camera, etc. It was certainly not canceled for being out of date. But I'm not interested in phones just for spec geeks—the sum of the parts is what matters—it's the non-geek areas where the phone is more impressive than its flashier peers.
While many Android phones are getting bigger, the Nexus One is a relatively compact, smooth phone that fits well in the hand. The design is low-key, and in my opinion looks better for it.
And then there's the distribution. The phone was sold direct, either unlocked or with a contract for T-Mobile or AT&T, and was unencumbered by any of the carrier or manufacturer add-ons we see creeping into the Android world.
In comparison to many new Android phones, the Nexus One:
- Did not include third-party carrier or manufacturer "crapware"
- Did not include a third-party UI, such that another Android user may not even recognize it
- Represented a "clean" Android install
- Can install the latest Android release (2.2)
That last point is interesting. Android phones released even in the last month (e.g., DroidX, Galaxy) are running Android 2.1. The addition of third-party UIs, software, and carrier requirements make testing an OS release more time-consuming. These phones will likely be certified for 2.2 at some point, but by then that release may be old news. Nexus One's "clean" nature made new release certification a relatively speedy affair.
I don't think the Nexus One cancelation had anything to do with design, hardware or software. Rather, I think it was a victim of its own distribution. Buying online with little chance to touch/feel the phone hurt it. Out of sight, out of mind. It was also a victim of Google being wholly unprepared to deal with client support issues. The decent buzz it had at the beginning was soon crushed by bad buzz about support.
I wish Google had done a Nexus Two, but I understand why they did not. Google's interest in Android is to get it in as many hands as possible and sell ads. In Google's eyes, a Nexus Two would provide no advantages to them or their ad buyers over any other new Android phone. The fragmentation of varying UIs, services, and other add-ons doesn't need to concern them. Sheer volume and ads, that's their business model. I'm not knocking the model (it's very successful), but it's in keeping with it that they not waste resources on another Nexus.
Pity, though. I think Google inadvertently showed everyone the best way to make an Android phone.
AT&T Needs A Map For That
Meanwhile, somewhere in Michigan, an iPhone owner is invited to the AT&T store a mile from my California home.
Deat AT&T: I'm one of your happy customers, no sense in trying to piss me off
I just received the above email from AT&T regarding my iPhone 4.
This is odd. You see, my order was taken at an AT&T Store the first day pre-orders were allowed. I received confirmation the next day, and a tracking number a couple of days after that. The device was delivered right on schedule June 24th, and getting it activated (a "swap" with another phone on our family plan) was easy as well.In short, AT&T rocked for me through the whole process. Sending me an email now saying I'm not going to receive the phone I've already had for six days is not going to bring me down. Confuse me, yes, but bring me down, no.
Unlike iOS, Android Users Play Upgrade Roulette: Maybe you get it, maybe you don't
Some of the cause for the updates is likely to be HTC, which only said 2010 phones would be updated. As such, the only HTC phones on Sprint to carry Android 2.2 are likely to be the Evo 4G and possibly the Legend. Samsung hasn't explained any of its plans for the Moment, but the company has developed a pattern of declining to upgrade phones beyond one revision.
Only phones from 2010? Only one revision? Wow. That's some harsh upgrade terms right there. And don't think other hardware manufacturers and carriers will think any different.
For all the good press Android 2.2 has received, little has been written about the tiny percentage of phones that are actually going to run it. The vaunted Evo doesn't have it yet. Even unreleased phones like the DroidX will debut with 2.1.
Notice that there isn't just one upgrade villain. Various manufacturers and carriers will have their own rules about what's happening. Too bad for the user who wants to upgrade but realizes the decision is not his.
Still, this is what Google wrought by design. Their goal is to get as many "Androids" out there as possible. Version consistency is not a priority because they all display Google's mobile ads, which is the entire point of Android in the first place.
Though disappointed by this, I'm not surprised. I've compared the Android distribution philosophy to Windows Mobile before, and this is more proof of it.
Sure, Android is better than WinMo, but saying you run "Android"—unless you're a geek—doesn't tell us much because of the many hardware/software iterations. Typical users will be running the original version that came on the phone two years later when they buy a new one because upgrading was too much trouble, or they didn't know they could, or it wasn't an option. The more Android devices sell, the more this will be true. The carriers and manufacturers are too busy with the latest spec sheet-based offering (10 megapixels, anyone?) to worry about the user who bought one three months ago.
Compare this to the iPhone. Much is made of Apple's yearly iOS introductions, with critics claiming it's all hype or they're just catching up. I disagree, but none of that matters. What matters is that every year iPhone owners get an upgrade that significantly improves their existing phone and it costs them nothing. They just plug into iTunes and click Install. Further, only with iOS 4 has Apple finally dropped a device. But that original iPhone is three years old, and was already "made new" twice; we're not talking about an HTC phone bought seven months ago.
The reason iPhone owners watch Apple's new iOS announcements closely is because they know their phone can upgrade to it. Meanwhile, Android users excited by 2.2 a month ago are still waiting, most likely to be disappointed.
AT&T To Allow Phone Number Swapping For iPhone 4 Without A Store Visit?
However, if the number you used to order your device is NOT the number you intend to use with your iPhone 4, follow these simple steps when your device arrives and an ATT representative will help you activate.
I bought my iPhone 4 using an eligible number on our family plan with the intent of swapping it to my number after activation. The eligible member of the family would end up with my 3GS; I'd get the 4.
AT&T has no problem with this. In fact, it's written in the purchase receipt and confirmation email that if you plan to swap phones you just have to bring both of them into a store after the new one is activated.
However, today we got a text message from AT&T linking to the above page. It seems AT&T has set it up so that phone swapping can be done over the phone, there's no need for a store visit. Cool!
Will this work? I never know if AT&T's ideas, even the good ones, will get implemented right. Obviously, I'll follow the procedure and see what happens. Worst case scenario is I go to the store and wait in line like I'd already planned to. Doing it over the phone would sure be nice, though.
Verizon iPhone in September? I Still Doubt It
I wrote about this a few months ago, and still believe the same. If the rumors of a CDMA iPhone are even true, it seems most likely it would be for international use.
