Google plans to ease the Android update problem
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 29th Jun 2012 20:50 UTC, submitted by fran
Google "Google is making another attempt to fix the Android update problem at the Google I/O conference. The plan is to give smartphone, tablet and chip manufacturers earlier opportunities to adapt their current and new hardware to forthcoming Android versions. Google said that it hopes that this will allow users to receive their updates faster. To achieve this, Android executive Hugo Barra announced a 'Platform Development Kit'." I have my doubts.
E-mail Print r 1   31 Comment(s) http://osne.ws/k5z
Thread beginning with comment 524713
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Right move but way too late.
by dsmogor on Sun 1st Jul 2012 21:38 UTC
dsmogor
Member since:
2005-09-01

They mustn't treat their platform seriously not to announce such a deal in 1.6 times.
This action will be as effective as retirement bills to country budget: only in next generation.
Android is still growing, but how long?

Reply Score: 2

And more is needed.
by dsmogor on Sun 1st Jul 2012 21:45 in reply to "Right move but way too late."
dsmogor Member since:
2005-09-01

Google should accept the fact that skins do and will exist and instead of producing useless gimmicks such as face unlock, focus on working out stable api to support both OEM and carrier customization while making the core *separately* upgradeable. Effect: stable, easily upgradeable products.
They are not consumer product company and should focus on what makes Android strong (app api, core services, google apps) while fixing stuff where it's weak (UI performance, modularity).

As for HW variances, they should work with both OEMS and carriers to cluster the whole hw zoo into several manageable chunks (say, around soc baseline platforms) that function identically on lowest level, and push exactly the same kernels to carrier validation for each of them. The point is, it's really not a carrier job to validate, say a camera, LCD or accelerometer so why should it increase overall phone variation?

Edited 2012-07-01 21:53 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2