In the world of tech, simplicity is key.
Steve Jobs apparently got it right when he figured THAT out. If you notice, from the iPad to the iPhone, and even to the Mac, an Apple product is meant to be operated by anyone from age 5 to 85.
It's not only the simplicity of navigation that Steve Jobs capitalized on. Apparently, he also realized that if a consumer were left with very few choices, it's easier to make a quick purchase.
That seems to be the reason why there is only one iPad and only one iPhone.
Apple can certainly make, say, an iPhone S, iPhone T, iPhone U, iPhone V, just like Samsung does with its Galaxy line. Samsung Galaxy isn't just one phone. There's Galaxy S, Galaxy Pro, and other mind-bending variants of the line.
This, then, is one concern that Android pundits are chewing on, at the moment. Some are saying that there are too many Android phones to choose from; this implies that with too many handsets being churned out by the different companies, there may be a lack of quality control for the platform, as well as too many incompatibilities between devices.
Another concern is that there are too many Android flavors out in the wild by now. And since it's open-source, anyone who can download the OS can very well modify and "fork" it as they please. Yet another problem of diversity is the issue of updating the OS. According to ZDNet, it seems that "Too many cooks [spoil the broth]."
Android is working towards putting standards on the devices that may carry the platform. However, with the new developments in the Android arena, from Amazon Kindle going into producing Android-based tablets, to Baidu planning on taking Android and modifying it to a point where it's no longer recognizable as Android, among other developments, cohesion for the Android seems to be a wish that may never be fulfilled.
Meanwhile, let's comfort ourselves that a new Android Market will be released soon.
It started out as a dream hatched on a beach in the Cayman Islands.
Danger, Inc. had agreed with CEO Andrew E. Rubin that the company needed a new direction, and thus, a new leader. So what do you do when the company you helped build from the ground up fires you? You go clear your head in the Cayman Islands. It was there, on its beach, that the idea for an open-source operating system for mobile phones, came upon him.
Upon his return to Silicon Valley, Andy Rubin was on the lookout for investors who would be willing to provide venture capital for the new idea and the new company he was about to start. As he pitched it through his different prospects, he struck the mother lode when Google cofounder Larry Page not only loved the idea, he also bought Andy Rubin's new company.
What started out as a dream on a beach now translated into a 200-megabyte software made up of 11 million lines of code that now has a consumer base of at least 59% of the smartphone market share, with 550,000 new devices being activated every day, as of June 2011. More people are making their first smartphone an Android phone, and with the Android OS' seamless integration with all things Google, it's not hard to understand why.
One major draw of the Android is that its main kernel is based on Linux. Linux was the first user-friendly open-source operating system, and it has been known for its security and resistance to malware. Thus, unlike the Nokia Symbian platform, it will not be as vulnerable to mobile device malware. For those who have had horror stories of mistakenly downloading malware through bluetooth and seeing their smartphones be bricked thanks to that, this feature comes as a relief.
The second major draw is that the Android is not an operating system created for mobile phones; rather, it is an operating system created to power mobile phones and make them into handheld computers capable of surfing the Internet. Thus, the Android is all about multi-tasking and keeping a user connected to his online life.
And the third, and probably most important draw for the Android is its seamless integration with all things Google. More and more users have jumped on to Google because of its security and the applications and services it offers. With almost everything from bookmark managers to readers and even word processors and spreadsheets available as online apps from Google, there's no wonder why people are going on Google more and more.
From the OEMs' perspective, the major draw of the Android is that it is Open Source: free, and free for them to customize. This allows them to create devices without the need to develop their own platforms from the ground up, and therefore sell their devices at prices that consumers won't be able to resist.
The Android revolutionized how the Internet is accessed by the road warrior. More than that, they made the smartphone available to the Average Joe -- or Juan. An experience similar to the iPhone's iOS, at half, or even a third of the iPhone's price tag. With such pluses that are advantageous to everyone from the OEM to the consumer alike, you'd wonder why Andy Rubin didn't dream of this sooner.
Resources:
Ever wonder why the Android is named after such sinful goodies as "Cupcake," "Donut," "Eclair," "Froyo" (FROzen YOgurt), "Gingerbread," and currently, "Honeycomb"? Simple. It's in alphabetical order, just in desserts.
There's just something about avant-garde tech companies and their passion for all things unusual. Think Apple and its series of Operating System versions named after Big Cats (Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion). And now, Apple-contender Google is following suit with an even quirkier series of OS version names.
The rumors are out: the next Android version will be named "Ice Cream Sandwich."
CNN Tech's John D. Sutter thought it'd be "Icee," but wethinks it was too corny for Google. Ice Cream Sandwich will not only make pundits, consumers, and even Google employees salivate with hunger, it also promises to set a new standard and direction for the mobile device platform.
Speaking of direction, one major concern for Andrew Rubin and his team was how the Android platform is fully customizable, the tweaks the OEM's developed on their OS may create icompatibilities between devices. Another concern was how the Android as a platform may degrade in quality thanks to differences between the companies' customization. Thus, there is a need for better quality control and compatibility standards.
Ice Cream Sandwich seeks to take steps in that direction, creating not only a set of compatibility requirements for companies to adhere to, but also to pose a formidable threat to the iPad and the iOS with its new features. After the big strides made by the Android from Froyo to Honeycomb, the Ice Cream Sandwich's new offerings is something we all have to see.
-"Ice Cream Sandwich" First Heard On Plurk.
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