Does Its Open Source Nature Weaken Android for Google?
June 4, 2012
Though Dan Graziano still feels the open source choice helped Android get where it is, he suspects open source may soon be the death of the operating system. Specifically, all the manufacturer add-ons and inconsistencies between versions leave users with a sour taste. The writer shares his views in BGR’s “Being Open Could Close the Door on Android.” He asserts:
“I understand that vendors need to distinguish their devices from the competition, but forcing customers to use a clunky, battery-wasting skin is not the answer. I wouldn’t be so against Android skins if the manufacturers allowed the average user to remove them completely, and I mean without the need to root a device.”
Yeah, me too. While he’s at it, Graziano notes that carriers are not helping the situation:
“Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint — they all do it, some more than others — pre-install apps on their devices. This ‘bloatware’ often cannot be uninstalled and is found on just about every Android device, including my ‘pure Google’ Galaxy Nexus. To make matters worse, carriers and vendors sometimes enter into exclusive partnerships to offer services on certain devices.”
The most egregious exclusive services deal, according to the write up, was Verizon swapping out the default option for a number of Google services to Microsoft‘s Bing. That just adds insult to injury.
I won’t mention here the pun Graziano uses for cheap knockoff tablets; see the piece if curious. His point, though, is that closing Android would knock those useless things off the shelves.
Since Google seems determined to plow ahead with its Motorola Mobility acquisition despite China’s insistence that Android remain open for at least another five years, it would seem the OS will not become closed and licensed for some time. Can Android survive five more years of manufacturer and carrier tampering?
Cynthia Murrell, June 4, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
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