Google IO : Android Announcements

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/android-momentum-mobile-and-more-at.html

by amnigos • 15 years ago

52 15 15 years ago

googleblog.blogspot.com

kenjackson• 15 years ago

So what all is Ice Cream Sandwich about? It's simply bringing Honeycomb to the phone? It seems like a long time to move working code to a smaller form factor (and with QHD, similar resolutions).

orangecat• 15 years ago

All indications are that Honeycomb was a rush job in an ill-advised attempt to beat the iPad 2 to market. There's probably a large amount of refactoring needed to support phones, and of course there will be new functionality as well.

glhaynes• 15 years ago

I wonder how it'll work with regard to the "phones have the four hardware buttons, tablets don't" thing.

Also: in the Apple world, many apps look/work very differently between their iPhone and iPad versions. Can anybody say anything about what guidance is given as far as when an Android app should "switch"? In other words: suppose I make an app that runs great on my 3.5" phone, then I make a more tablety version of the app that runs great on my 10" tablet... which version should run on a 5" or 7" screen?

nextparadigms• 15 years ago

New UI, new app framework, all those Android at home API's (I think, if they're not in Honeycomb 3.1 already).

Maascamp• 15 years ago

"To start, we're jointly announcing that new devices from participating partners..." (Verizon, HTC, Samsung, Sprint, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Motorola and AT&T) "...will receive the latest Android platform upgrades for 18 months after the device is first released, as long as the hardware allows."

That to me is the most significant of all the announcements listed.

wccrawford• 15 years ago

Sadly, it doesn't say they'll receive timely releases.

At least Google is listening and doing something about it, though.

montagg• 15 years ago

They need to do more. Not having to think about updates at all on iOS devices is absolutely huge for adoption. My mom doesn't care about "Gingerbread" or "Honeycomb." She just wants something that she understands and won't confuse her later. Right now, the only mobile platform that will handle that elegantly is iOS.

Google still has a long way to go if this is all they've got to announce.

joshes• 15 years ago

It is still a tad vague to me. "As long as the hardware allows" seems like it provides some wiggle room for carriers to squirm out of any responsibilities to honor this.

Additionally, it only says that the devices will receive the latest upgrades for 18 months after the device is first released, which is problematic in many regards. If you get a phone the day it releases and are forced into a two year contract (which you almost certainly will be if you are going with a carrier), then for the final six months, or 25%, of that contract period, the carrier is not required to allow for you to receive Android upgrades. That instantly devalues your device. And what if you get a new device, but not until six months after its release? Well, then your carrier is only required to permit the upgrades for the first year; the last year is back to same old, same old.

And it says nothing about how timely the upgrades are. As it currently reads, all it guarantees is that for a year and a half after the device is released, carriers must eventually allow your device to upgrade to the latest version of Android. It is not a long enough time to cover an entire contract period and it has a little clause that is open to interpretation by all parties involved.

Edit: I'm writing this from the perspective of an American consumer. I do not know anything about the way that carriers and their mobile contracts work elsewhere.

bad_user• 15 years ago

Phone makers are slow to release upgrades because it takes resources to test and modify new Android releases (many of them are modifying the UI for a differentiated experience).

I don't see any reason why the likes of Samsung, Motorola, HTC would go through the trouble of releasing an update just for a couple of customers, ignoring the rest.

Google IO : Android Announcements

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