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Eric Schmidt Doesn't Think Android Is Fragmented

Posted by samzenpus on from the trial-seperation dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Eric Schmidt took issue with the idea that the Android mobile operating system is fragmented, arguing that it's a differentiation between devices rather than a fragmentation. The difference, as he explains it, is that differentiation means manufacturers have a choice, they're going to compete on their view of innovation, and try to convince consumers that their innovation is better than somebody elses whereas fragmentation is quite the opposite. Not surprisingly, some company analysts beg to differ, pointing out the ever increasing incompatibilities between OS and apps across different Android devices and other problems with Android."

10 of 431 comments (clear)

  1. Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by bonch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Manufacturers competing on their "view of innovation"--which apparently means junkware like TouchWiz--is precisely what is fragmenting the platform. Schmidt seems to believe that by reframing it with a feel-good word like innovation, he can successfully claim that it's somehow the opposite of fragmentation. The differentiation and and in-fighting between manufacturers and devices is the fragmentation. Nothing he stated refutes the claim that the platform is fragmented; he's just describing the fragmentation in a different way.

    NPD now says that iOS has officially closed the gap with Android in U.S. marketshare since the release of the iPhone 4S, so these issues are having a real effect on the platform. According to NPD's report, 150 Android handsets can't beat three old iPhone models. What's happening here is that Android phones catered to techies and budget buyers, but with the iPhone 3GS now free on contract, Apple now has budget buyers covered--and there are way more of them than there are techies.

    1. Re:Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by SJHillman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I paid $160 for my LG Optimus Slider from Virgin Mobile. For my use, the only thing that works poorly on it compared to an iPhone is NetFlix, which tends to have choppy video. However, it has a physical keyboard, which more than makes up for not being able to watch tiny movies in my opinion. I also find the Android interface to be somewhat more intuitive than IOS (at least in most cases). Also, everything I can't do on my Android phone, I can do on my $180 Nook Color. So for $340, I can do everything I would want with an iPhone and a whole lot more. Having it split between two devices is actually more convenient for me as I take the phone with me everywhere but I rarely use the Nook (mostly for Netflix and books) outside of home.

    2. Re:Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The fact though is that Google provides the tools for developers to handle the variations in screen size and such and in practice developers don't seem to be having too much trouble with the fragmentation issue.

      I'm just finishing up my first Android app. It's a simple app, yet several times I've already needed to use reflection to dig around in undocumented APIs or roll my own version of a class included in the framework because of differences between the API versions. I have also found that it is difficult to add functionality to framework classes because Google makes many of the methods either private or final.

    3. Re:Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      I dumped my Android for an iPhone 4S. And I'm not looking back.

      I got tired of looking through the comments of various games and apps, trying to decipher if it would work with my phone. Especially with games, comments were full of things like "doesn't work on Motorola Droid X2", "a little choppy on my Incredible", "AWESOME on my EVO 4G"... etc.

    4. Re:Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by nahdude812 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The target demographic for smartphones is geekier than the average public. Most geeks have smartphones, for example. Teenagers and young adults regularly defy the traditional concept of "too geeky" or requiring too much effort for the "average" person, and these same are also among the prime candidates for smart phones.

      Nonetheless, "fragmentation" is a marketing term being bandied about by Apple apologists. It's an excuse to justify a technology monoculture that Apple has established in some corners of the market. Technology monoculture has invariably led to technology stagnation.

      Rather than "fragmentation" being a bad thing, what's actually going on is "innovation," and that's a good thing. People didn't talk about desktop fragmentation in the PC era, people don't talk about console fragmentation when you need specialized controllers to interact with many of today's games.

      This is survival of the fittest. My wife is a complete non-geek. She traded out her iPhone for Android and is eager to ditch her iPad. The sole reason being that she wants to consume content which requires Flash. She's not interested in assertions that her life would be better if only websites would ditch Flash, she's interested that her technology can't do the task she wants it to.

      Technology monoculture is the real problem here. iOS suffers from it, while Android doesn't. Android should wear this term with a badge of pride; they are currently steadfastly half way between steps 2 and 3 (out of 4) in Gandhi's famous quote about winning. They were ignored (Android 1.x era), they were laughed at ("fragmentation"), now they're being fought (Apple v. Samsung for example). Only one more step to go.

      --
      Slay a dragon... over lunch!
    5. Re:Eric Schmidt, master of non-answers by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm just finishing up my first Android app. It's a simple app, yet several times I've already needed to use reflection to dig around in undocumented APIs or roll my own version of a class included in the framework because of differences between the API versions. I have also found that it is difficult to add functionality to framework classes because Google makes many of the methods either private or final.

      Good luck with that app. Yes, unfortunately many Java developers think that good encapsulation means making a lot of stuff private or final. Actually what it often means is that the code is not fit for re-use, you end up re-writing code to do the same stuff that in a more open way and use that. IMHO if you are a Java developer that automatically defaults to private and final methods, forces the use of singletons or factories instead of trying to make POJO JavaBeans which can then be used as singletons (or as ordinary objects, as the need arises) then you ought to consider yourself an orthodox developer that is probably not like by anyone forced to re-use your code.

      Part of the problem is the attempt of Java library writers to try and protect the user from themselves. I used to do this but after using so many other libraries over the years I now think this is misguided. Now I try and make POJOs and POJO services whereever I can and make sure I properly Javadoc what needs to happen and also check the preconditions and arguments of all method calls. IMHO I find that in later stages of a project I have access to all sorts of information I need, rather than having to continually go back and publish formerly private methods due to inflexible and closed interfaces. A little bit of encapsulation is good (avoid non-final public members for sure) but that does not mean encapsulating yourself into a straightjacket is good either

      Sorry for getting a bit off-topic there, but I hear your pain with the currently 'orthodox' way that Google close their framework off. If there are any Java devs reading out there - keep it POJO if you can and unless you have an extremely good reason for using a private method you should make it public (which also helps unit testing too). And ffs write *meaningful* Javadoc about what can and can't cause usage of the class to fail (eg. preconditions, what argument values are invalid etc).

  2. Android reduces fragmentation by danbob999 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As I said in a previous discussion, Android reduces fragmentation.

    The main fragmentation that interest developers is the one between platforms, not within a platform. If Apple and RIM both switched to Android, it would be much easier to develop for mobile devices. They add a lot of fragmentation by continuing to push their proprietary platform. Google actually removes fragmentation by giving away for free an OS that anyone can use. There would be much more fragmentation in the mobile world if HTC, Motorola, Sony, Samsung and LG all pushed their own OS like Apple and RIM are doing.

  3. Re:Just playing with words by hedwards · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Except that Google provides developers with tools for managing that and I'm sure that there's a list of safe features to use as well. The typical people making a big deal out of fragmentation are Apple Fanbois that can't imagine how an OS could exist where all devices aren't identical.

    I haven't personally found that I wanted to use an App that wasn't available for my particular handset but was for other Android handsets. I doubt very much that I'm alone, at least when it comes to folks that waited until the market got really going good.

  4. fragmentation not a problem by khipu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Most apps work fine across all common Android versions; the only ones that don't are those that require functionality that just wasn't available on earlier devices. Most of the so-called "fragmentation" is things like manufacturer-specific apps and launchers. Those do exactly what Google says they do: they allow manufacturers to differentiate themselves from one another. That may not be a good thing (I prefer "pure" Android), but it isn't a problem.

    I think a lot of the complaints from developers about fragmentation is complaints from iOS developers, who are used to an unusually rigid level of constraints across devices and have developed bad coding practices (like hard-coding coordinates and layouts etc.) because of it.

  5. Re:It's not the apps, it's the OS by brainzach · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Windows machines are heavily fragmented between Windows 7 XP and Vista. It will just get worst when Windows 8 comes out.

    The problem isn't fragmentation. It is the lack of OS updates.