Android fragmentation affects Angry Birds

[darktanone]

Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, agrees with Steve Jobs on Android fragmentation. Says it's definitely a BIG problem. So far Steve Jobs thoughts on Android, Rim and 7" tablets at the recent Apple financial call, have been mostly correct. What are your thoughts? Here's the link: AppleInsider | Angry Birds maker apologizes for Android fragmentation issues

 

[Johnly]

Thanks for posting that. Good read. Though there is nothing new in the article, and after reading it, it makes me proud to own a droid by motorola. I am of the same camp, while jobs calls it fragmentation, we call it choice. Apple, and their affiliates need to make their case stronger, and release phenomenal handsets if they want to stay and play. Trying to highlight androids weaknesses from their own facade, without mentioning their very own, and real weaknesses doesn't gain them any ground. Yes, love my open androids, even if developers are challenged a little while google works outh the growing pains. Angry birds just sold for 20 million. Good for tweet deck standing in and saying developing for android is not daunting at all. The the more apple tries to exploit others while over looking the needs of their own costumers, seems a bit counter intuitive. PS I like, and own apple products, but for them to have such arrogance, that the the rest of the world suffers by not using their products, and write articles implying that development on android is however flawed they want to bend your perception; well, it isn't true. Bottom line, you can a good experiance on both platforms. I bet jobs couldn't step down one and say that!

 

[mikejs78]

That article is misleading. The creator of Angry Birds wasn't talking about so-called fragmentation, but about old hardware. For example, would Angry Birds run well on an original iPhone? They are making a lite version primarily because a lot of people still are on older devices. It is not fragmentation but natural growth of any platform. The article spins this into the Angry Birds creators complaining, when they were doing no such thing.

I guess iPhone fans now have to twist words and make up stuff in order to make their case.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[gabbott]

So does this means that the windows OS is fragmented because it runs on various hardware, some hardwaree more powerful than other?

 

[mikejs78]

So does this means that the windows OS is fragmented because it runs on various hardware, some hardwaree more powerful than other?

Of course! Don't you realize that anything that is not APPLE is inferior to those perfect products created by APPLE? We cannot question the wisdom of The Steve. All hail, great and mighty APPLE!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Joey the Squid]

I'm a brand new Android user coming from iPhone land and here's my take on the fragmentation thing. When I think choice, I think hardware selection. So I always assumed the main "Android fragmentation" gripe was that an old, underpowered device can't run the latest stuff. In my mind that's a silly complaint since with a wide variety of devices you will get a wide variety of capabilities.

However I had no idea that "fragmentation" also extended into brand new devices of equal capabilities. My Evo and my Archos 70 have two different launchers with incompatible widgets. Likewise the base apps (contact, web browser, etc.) are different. The interfaces are even different. They also can't run the same apps.

In my mind this is definitely fragmentation, or something close to it. That two new devices would be running different launchers, different widgets and even different OS versions is very, very disappointing. Again, I'm a new user so I may have a skewed opinion here but first impressions can be everything.

All that said, this has made my entire family's move to Android a mixed bag. They now feel compelled to all buy the same exact phone so we've got a similar experience and that sort of defeats the purpose of choice in the first place.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

I think it is somewhere in the middle of fragmentation and choice. My thing is that Android is superior because of that exact reason; it's a double edged sword. You get a choice of hardware configurations, software enhancements, launchers, etc. That being said, there are times when that can be a hassle, especially in Joey's case where certain apps will not run on some devices.

However, you have to keep in mind that it's much rarer than you might think. In general, the vast majority of Android devices are completely capable of running all of the same apps. Games are a little different, and I don't really consider some devices inability to play some of the games in the Marketplace a dealbreaker when it comes to the whole fragmentation issue. I'm simply talking regular apps. And in that case, 99% of devices are capable of running 99% of regular marketplace apps.

Widgets and such...ehh, I'm indifferent. Beautiful Widgets has been more than enough for me, and I don't know any Android smartphones off the top of my head that are incapable of running it. Granted that is just one instance, and obviously depending on which phone you have (MotoBlur, TouchWiz, Sense, etc) you will have a different array of widgets and such to choose from. That again isn't fragmentation in my mind, it's choice.

 

[gabbott]

It is true there is some fragmentation, it depends if you look at that as a positive or a negative. Yes, older hardware is going to be limited. But when it comes to new sets that have different launchers and such, well, android is an open platform and on one hand gives the user choice.

And if one launcher doesnt work for one person on a particular handset, there are alternatives that are available.

Apple has its place, and the walled garden approach is an option, but would we want every other OS to follow suit therefore limiting choice?

Of course apple will spin it in a negative light, it is their competition. But doesnt mean that fragmentation is necessarily a bad thing. But yes, there can be some downsides to it.


One more thing to add, apple's model is really the only way to avoid fragmentation if you think about it. That is fine if you want one model to pick from. For some people, that works.

 

[BlackPrince310]

I just don't like when carriers release a truly powerful phone, but it is hindered immensely by it's software. The Vibrant and myTouch 4G are both examples. The MT4G has 786MB of RAM but at any given time I'll only have 150MB left over, so all these obscure pre-installed applications are hindering my performance and battery life. We all know the situation of the Galaxy S devices so I won't get into that lol.

 

[levelm]

I'm Sicilian so I think of it like this: Android is like my grandmothers sauce recipe. It's EPIC but how come when my Aunt or Uncle make it it doesn't taste the same? It's because some of my family members insist on adding or removing ingredients to fit their needs or in a futile attempt to make it better. They have every right to do what they want with it and while to me none of their modifications of the recipe can match the "OMFGness" of the original to them it does (well it doesn't but they're to thick headed to admit it). You see what I'm sayin'?

Android is Android. It's not fragmented.


BTW, HEY ROVIO! IT'S YOUR BS ADS AFFECTING ANGRY BIRDS, NOT ANDROID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Johnly]

I'm Sicilian so I think of it like this: Android is like my grandmothers sauce recipe. It's EPIC but how come when my Aunt or Uncle make it it doesn't taste the same? It's because some of my family members insist on adding or removing ingredients to fit their needs or in a futile attempt to make it better. They have every right to do what they want with it and while to me none of their modifications of the recipe can match the "OMFGness" of the original to them it does (well it doesn't but they're to thick headed to admit it). You see what I'm sayin'?

Android is Android. It's not fragmented.


BTW, HEY ROVIO! IT'S YOUR BS ADS AFFECTING ANGRY BIRDS, NOT ANDROID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are so correct. Jobbs coined the term, you know better, good for you sir.

 

[ChrisS#AC]

Totaly agree !
Nicely put.