Muhammad Farrukh Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 (edited) One of the most prominent advantages to Android is all of the different flavors it comes in. With the help of old versions and custom interfaces from the handful of partner manufacturers, entering the world of Android is like walking into a Ben & Jerry's. Choices stretch far and wide and chances are, if you have any liking for the little green robot at all, there is one particular flavor that suits your needs more than all the others.But it's these very custom interfaces and varying software versions that add to the mounding issue of fragmentation. Instead of just taking Google's source code for the latest version of Android and plugging in the necessary drivers to get the software working on their specific hardware, they take a little lot of extra time to tweak the software in their own way. In custom interfaces like Sense UI, TouchWiz and Motorola Applications Platform, nearly no inch of interface goes unchanged. This is, admittedly, a time-consuming process and largely played a part in the formation of the Android Update Alliance. In an effort to not talk about fragmentation any more than I have to, Google has taken action since Gingerbread was released and now all customization plans must first be approved by Andy Rubin himself before the manufacturer can get official Google support on their device. If they do not abide by Google's guidelines, their devices will not have access to Google's Android Market, Maps, and other services that really make Android ... well, Android. We also know that Google endgame is to reduce the need for customizations as much as possible. Of course, OEMs aren't going to give up that easily. The custom interfaces, albeit not my favorite and undeniably cause for some of the worst glitches and bugs on Android handsets to date, are also part of what makes Android what it is today. The software is, after all, open source and manufacturers should be able to make some changes. So where is middle ground? Source and more: PhoneDog Edited November 12, 2011 by SHoTTa35 Edited - added source link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H. Veteran Posted November 12, 2011 Veteran Share Posted November 12, 2011 I guess you formatted this time. :cool: We don't allow full copy of a sources story so that way the source could generate a bit a revenue too. Oh and also Android Forum! :angry: Moved to Android As for the post, i hope they'll finally drop the UI itself and do like what apps have been able to do and provide skins and widgets instead so we can just get those benefits without the needing all that. The reason Android OEMs take so long to come out with updates is because of said UI that they've embedded into the OS. In plentyof cases you can't even turn it off (yes you can however replace launchers - but what about framework stuff). If apps like Beautiful Widgets can do basically most of Sense stuff then HTC should still be able to do the same. Then there's plenty of launchers - hell HTC could release Sense as a launcher in the market and therefore they could update it more often as well. Same goes for TouchWiz. Seems Motorola has dropped MotoBlur :x - Thank heavens! :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muhammad Farrukh Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 I guess you formatted this time. :cool: We don't allow full copy of a sources story so that way the source could generate a bit a revenue too. Oh and also Android Forum! :angry: Moved to Android :D Sorry about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts