Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures - Jessamyn West
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Google defends its demands regarding Android
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has defended its request to see more information about handset developers' plans for Android.
On 1 April Google announced that it would start clamping down on device manufacturers and mobile operators over their plans to support Android smartphones. While the announcement date might have not have inspired seriousness, Google's message to the phone makers was serious - buck up and support the users. Now Google's VP of engineering, Andy Rubin, has defended the firm's actions.
In Google's first announcement it revealed that device makers and operators will have to divulge plans for Rubin to approve if they want early access to the latest versions of Android. Some commenters believed that this meant Google is moving away from its open source culture of spreading the love equally and placing restrictions on Android. It's a statement that has resulted in Rubin saying, "device makers are free to modify Android to customize any range of features for Android devices".
Rubin tried to allay fears that Android might be going the way of Apple's IOS by saying, "Our approach remains unchanged, there are no lock-downs or restrictions against customizing UIs. There are not, and never have been, any efforts to standardize the platform on any single chipset architecture." He added, "We continue to be an open source platform and will continue releasing source code when it is ready."
The idea behind Google's proposed clamp down on device manufacturers and mobile operators is to decrease the level of Android version fragmentation that exists. Many Android devices are stuck on deprecated versions of the operating system, leaving users with an Android experience that might not be what they expected. It also creates problems for developers who have to make allowances for features that might not be available on devices running older versions of Android.
On the point of fragmentation, Rubin re-iterated that Google always had a plan to deal with it, though one would have to say that it hasn't been particularly successful so far. "Our 'anti-fragmentation' program has been in place since Android 1.0 and remains a priority for us to provide a great user experience for consumers and a consistent platform for developers," said Rubin.
Google is right to take some affirmative action against handset manufacturers and mobile operators, most of whom have shown wanton disregard for pushing Android updates out in a timely manner. While a firmer hand from Google might bend the rules of the original Android ethos a bit, it's clear that the current situation with users being left stranded by device manufacturers can't continue. µ
Tags: Google
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for fAndroids to discover that Googles definition of open is strikingly similar if not equivalent to the one being used in the Cupertino area :)
There are lots of people stuck with abandoned early androids . Its a ploy to get people to buy new phones and will be at odds with googles we want everyone to benefit from the latest versions tack .
That said theres a massive amount of custom roms out there for so many phones . I recently got given an old G1 to play with and was very surprised how well it ran a custom rom compared to stock .
My Galaxy S stayed on stock for about as long as it took to fully charge and has been running various incarnations of Darky's Rom ever since.
The manufacturers will drag their heels but the mod community doesnt . If your phone doesnt get updated go find a Rom for it that is . Easy to flash and the jobs done .
Having some experience in these things, it's difficult to swallow the excuses put forth by Google for its actions. They don't add up, and while the actions by themselves are bad, covering up the true motivations with made up excuses is worse, and apt to turn off a good many key people from Android.
Naturally nobody should be surprised by this. Afterall, Google is the company that wants to own every bit of information about every person on planet earth. Expecting a real commitment to open source, openness and actually doing what they said they would do, is simply too good to be true.
Or perhaps this is the corporate version of don't-be-evil, and Rubin felt that Apple, Microsoft and Nokia deserved a break. I certainly can't think of a better way to make every Android hardware and software developer question Google's commitment to the fundamentals that have made Android the strong platform that it is.
In any case the don't-be-evil-company has yet again shown that its slogan seems to have originated from a propaganda shop and not from a true corporate commitment.
Maybe MS should announce that windows has always been open source, and that they will release the code 'when it is ready' and of course 'when it is secure and bugfree' :D
this is just a load of old .......fromGoooooGLe
This is a welcome change. Not just Samsung, but almost all device manufacturers have been terribly late in updating the devices to latest versions of Android. It took more than 1yr for Sony Ericsson to update their X10 from v1.6 to 2.2!
After waiting for 6 months for Samsung to update the Galaxy S phones, I'm glad to see Google at least fire a warning shot at Samsung. I have the Epic version, great phone, terrible support from Samsung !
Google I love you. You can't do no wrong. I am ready to bend over for you!