GSlusher

Android and Apple: Smartphones Require Smart Strategy

"Anyone can make an Android handset ..."

That's a negative feature, in that every manufacturer can make a substantially different Android handset with a MODIFIED OS and with different versions of the OS that may or may not be upgradeable. On top of that, they vary in buttons, hardware features, radios, etc. That makes it had for developers to ensure that their software will work on all Android handsets. What works on a Motorola handset may not work the same on a HTC handset. (What works on one HTC handset may not even work the same on another HTC handset.)

This was the situation in the PC world until Microsoft essentially imposed standard hardware requirements--I think that it was with Windows 95. In PC gaming those many years ago, a game developer would have to worry about different video cards as well as different processors.

Daniel Eran Dilger of Roughly Drafted had written extensively about the problem with Android's fragmentation.

Apples to Apples: Will History Repeat Itself as Android Gains on the iPhone?

Some things to ponder:

1. What will happen when a Droid user is on a call with her boss or a very important client and need to check something on the company's web site. As I understand it, she will have to terminate the call in order to get the information, as Verizon's CDMA network cannot handle voice and data simultaneously. Will her boss be pleased? Will the client stick with her? In both cases, her own choice led to the difficulty. (The one person I know who bought a Pre is ready to ditch it and get another phone--probably an iPhone--for this very reason.)

2. What will happen when the first virus strikes Android phones? "Open source" could equate to "virus heaven." Combine that with little or no control of applications and there may be a major disaster just waiting to happen. It could make the problems with the Sidekick look benign.

3. What will happen if the Android phones start crashing because of poorly-designed apps, as well as malware? The Treo was plagued by "problem" applications that could crash the phone, even if they weren't "viruses." ("Multitasking" in the sense that Android uses it could make the probability of crashing higher.)

4. One reason that Verizon seems to have the "better" network may be that they don't have to support the data load that ATT does. Will their system stand up to a much greater data load?