RANT/TECH
31. That's how many apps I have on my phone that I did not put there, do not want, and cannot remove. Does anyone else see the problem here, or am I the crazy one? Android was supposed to be the great liberator of the smart phone world. Cast off the shackles of the walled garden, enter a world where whatever app you choose can frolic freely across the raw power of the latest and greatest hardware the world has to offer. Instead I find myself with a dual core 1.2 Ghz beast with 1GB of RAM that at any given time has around 280ish megs. of memory free, all the rest is being gobbled up by the ungodly amount of bloat-ware on my phone. So my phone chugs along, and I can only dream of a slick smooth experience that some fruit based devices enjoy.
Ice cream Sandwich. It was supposed to be the grand unifier, pulling together tablets and smart phones, one OS to rule them all! I remember when Google announced like it was yesterday....err wait that was six months ago! Look at all these awesome devices running the latest most advanced software Google has to offer.....*We hear crickets chirping, some guy in the back clears his throat and coughs uncomfortably. Finally a meek voice raises from the crowd, "the Galaxy Nexus has ICS."*
Yes, yes it does random guy. In fact, after doing some research a quick Google, it turns out approx. 2% of all android devices are running ICS. TWO!? 2!? TEEEEoooow??! Really? Some of the largest electronics manufacturers on the planet bring their considerable resources to bear on this issue and after six months we have 2%? Some kid in his parents basement posting on the XDA forums have done better numbers than that.
So, what the hell is going on here? Two things really, and they are as follows:
-Carriers are ruining what android was supposed to be.
-OEM's are also ruining what android was supposed to be.
"It takes time to set up properly to set up ICS on our devices, we here at Samsung/HTC/LG/Sony/Motorola want to make sure that our users have the very best experience they can possibly have on our devices."
This may need some translation:
"It takes time to figure out how to jam a metric shit-ton of useless bloated crap-ware on our devices, let alone the grossly over inflated skins that really set us apart annoy the hell out of everyone. After all that is done, we need to get carriers to sign off on this garbage for their network. Then we start the process all over again, as the carrier commences to jam all their bloated crap onto the phone as well. By the time this update finally gets to the end user Google will be launching the next version of android and we start the whole dance again!"
Not to mention, if everyone drags their heels long enough, there is a not insignificant number of people that will get tired of waiting and just say, fuck it, I'll just get a new phone. Hurray for disposable technology! You really gotta walk that fine line, dangling the carrot just close enough that your customers don't wander off over the wall in in to the orchard, if you catch my drift.
All that being said, I still love the idea of android, I have one on my desk right now. That romance is quickly fading though, and I feel that android is slowing failing me like the iphone did before it. (Yes I used an iphone for 2 years.) If it does, where do we go from there? Blackberry? In your dreams. I guess there is always that plucky young start up, Mirco....Mircosomething? Can't think of the name off the top of my head, I'm sure it will come to me. At any rate, I stare into my crystal ball and I see a huge number...that number is "8." We'll save that discussion for another time.
-Jer
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