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18 Android Phones, In 3 Flavors, By Year's End
Hugh Pickens writes "Andy Rubin, senior director for Mobile Platforms for Google, has announced that by the end of the year there will be 18 to 20 phones using the Android OS made by 8 or 9 different manufacturers. Google will offer three different versions of Android OS: a completely free and generic flavor with no pre-loaded Google applications; a slightly customized version that comes pre-loaded with Google apps like Gmail and Google Calendar; and a completely 'Google-fied' Android OS bearing all sorts of Google branding and integration with Google's services. Will Park reports that the expectation is that 12 to 14 of the upcoming Android phones will use the slightly-customized version of Google's Android OS requiring the manufacturer to agree to a distribution deal with Google that would allow the handsets to come pre-installed with Google-ware. The remaining 5 or 6 Android phones will come to market completely decked out with 'The Google Experience' and a Google logo on the phone. This third option provides risk and reward opportunities because the openness of the store could be a hit with consumers, but could also lead to poorly constructed or offensive applications that could give Google a taint. When it comes to apps, Rubin says: 'We want to abide by the law, but not rule with an open fist.'" Yes, it seems he really said "open fist," though he probably meant "iron fist."
I have a better idea, how about providing a native programming interface so we can squeeze some
performance out of the devices. I worked on porting some iPhone stuff to the G1 until I realized just
how bad the performance is using the java api.
Got Code?
I am the person who wrote the post to which you are responding. This post is -1 redundant for common sense and does not apply to mobile developers or non-Americans.
The short answer is - for a 2-year contract anybody here can get a free phone which does everything they need it to and much more. I'll be damned if I pay hundreds of dollars for overhyped and crippled pieces of shit. If I wanted to program for its own sake then I'd stick to the desktop where there exist scores of platforms and resources without the limitations of mobile and possibly having to learn that faggy objective-C.
Wooooo, I could write yet another contact manager or map application for platforms which already have tons of 'em. Wooooo, my phone is bigger and better than yours because my penis is small. Wooooo, I'm such a stimulation-hungry dweeb that I post Slashdot from my phone but can't wait to get home and do it on my real computer.
As for your Apple comment, how dare you insult me. I am a heterosexual male!
I've had an iPhone for nearly a year now and I've recently gotten my hands on an Android device.
Android has an amateurish summer project feel to it when compared to the polished iPhone OS. You can argue the technical merits of an open platform and hackability till you are blue in the face. It doesn't change the fact that Android is like the Linux desktop experience compared to the Windows or Mac desktop experience - it's an experience only a geek could love simply because he's willing to overlook the warts and horrendous usability because he can tinker.
Most people don't care about the underpinnings of the device. They want it to work well, be easy to use and be shiny. The Android OS offers none of that.
The big difference between Apple of today and the Apple that lost against Microsoft is price. Apple's handheld devices are very aggressively priced and it is Apple that is setting the price for the entire market.
Android does not have the merits and it does not have the price advantage to compete.
Unless google starts drastically improving it, Android is as good as dead.
It's no different from other companies Google bought and then let rot. As much as people dislike Symbian it completely pwns the Android POS.
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glass, fuck google in the ass