Android(s) are coming…
There’s a great (albeit lengthy) post on Gizmodo about Android, although the title may be a little overstated:
[Android] 2.0 is more than that: it’s proof that Android is finally going to take over the world
As a digression, it’s fascinating to see how a technological innovation can re-shape language: the former meaning of android is now relegated off the first page of search results on Google, which led me to try ‘androids‘ as an alternative:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biBHJvGx3s8&hl=en&fs=1&]
The article from Scientific American about this date with a robot can be downloaded here; I find it intriguing partly because I began my career as a roboticist and cyberneticist.
Although it may overstate the case, because we are just in the earliest stages of a fierce contest amongst at least five credible competing app phone platforms, the post from Gizmodo does summarize well much of what provides the impetus for Android and why Android 2.0 is so important:
it’s “the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices.”
Android 2.0 means the handsets aren’t just interesting anymore; they’re truly buyable
In addition to everything else Android has going on, timing is on its side. Windows Mobile is limping along with two broken legs…
…as far as most consumers are concerned, anything Windows Mobile can do, Android can do better
The Palm Pre, polished and beautiful as it is, can’t keep up with Android’s exploding app inventory, multiplying hardware partners and rock-star ability to draw talent
Android 2.0, along with Palm’s WebOS and Apple’s iPhone OS, are the main reasons the BlackBerry OS feels so clunky and old
Let’s take a quick look at each of the other major contenders:
- the iPhone is the current leader, and critically works well across not just app phones, but through iTunes across other platforms such as personal computers and TV
- although RIM’s BlackBerry has been the long-time leader in the enterprise, it is not doing as well in the consumer marketplace, particularly outside North America, and its software platform (RTE, APIs and SDK) looks increasingly clunky in comparison to iPhone and Android
- Nokia is investing heavily in the transition to Qt and Maemo – the big question is really can it get there fast enough
- Microsoft’s most recent release of 6.5 was late and lacked usability, and despite some good things being said about it 7 is still some way off, eroding support for it
- while WebOS is technically elegant, the Pre’s implementation is slow, Palm lacks distribution and was really late with its SDK – it will be extraordinarily difficult for Palm to overcome these handicaps and establish itself as a credible competitor in the face of the likes of Apple, Google, Nokia, Microsoft and RIM
Android’s a strong contender, but it’s by no means yet certain that it will rule the world. In fact, one of the real possibilities is that rather than reaching a tipping point, a few of these will co-exist over the medium- or even long-term.
[...] improving Android devices (such as the Droid and Droid Eris) and a robust application ecosystem. As my colleague Michael noted earlier in the week, elements of the Blackberry experience are starting to seem clunky by comparison. But Blackberry [...]