Fragmentation

Android is hella-fragmented.   There are some 300 android phones, on 30 carriers.   I bet if one person were to multiply it out there would be some 1500 variations of Android world wide.   If you narrow this down to the US only, it's probably more around 75 different phones.

There are two reasons this matters:

   1) an app developer needs to make sure his app works on each phone.  Samsung and HTC run a "skin" over stock android, which can affect the way the OS runs.   Also, different screen size and resolutions can cause troubles with user interfaces in games.   This can cause app developers to only develop apps for a few popular phones, leaving out all the rest.    Case in point, the Infuse 4g is a GREAT phone with a 4.5" screen, but there were a number of games not available because the screen size was so unique.

  2) Once a company modifies stock android, they are responsible for updating it.   This has led to some EPIC failures with the EPIC 4g, which is over a year old and has not received an update to the latest OS that was released 9 months ago.

  3) Netflix is the prime example of an app developer with problems.   They initially released the app for 4 phones, then it was 7 phones, then 10 phones.    4 months later the app is available for 84% of the android phones.

There is a simple solution to fragmentation for those that worry about it.   

   

    Always buy a Google Nexus Series phone.

Problems solved.   The android SDK (software development kit) is the software used to make apps.   The Nexus series phones are 100% compatible with the Android SDK.    Motorola and Samsung have their own "add-ons" to the stock SDK, which make them fragmented.

Now let me rip on iOS for a few paragraphs.

iOS is fragmented as well, they just don't let you or the media know that.  

Where is iOS 4.3 for verizon?  - Old news but it counts.

Lets take another example, when Apple released iOS 4 for all their devices - iphone 3g missing features

More missing features

iOS upgrades also make older devices unusable.

I would be willing to bet $10 that Netflix works on a higher percentage of Android devices than iPhones 

App fragmentation.  "Infinity Blade" is not available for your iphone 3g.   

I have a friend with an ipod touch  (4th generation) that says she has "force closes all the time, much more than her Infuse w/ android"

In summary, Apple SAYS that all their devices run the same basic OS version (iOS 4).   However, stripping features and rendering devices slow as hell counts as fragmentation in my book.  This is yet another way how Apple does not care about the consumer, they only care about profits.   Does a tabbed browser REALLY take THAT MUCH extra CPU power for an iPhone 3gs?  Why can't an iPhone 3g have a custom home-screen wallpaper?   Its simple... Apple wants you to buy a new device.  *more on this later

I would rather have an iOS version that works on my older device, than a new iOS version that renders my device unusable.