Android: No Fragmentation, You Haters

August 7, 2015

I posted a story in Beyond Search a couple of years ago called “Google Asserts No Android Fragmentation.” One of the readers of that story posted this comment on April 12, 2012. I don’t know Mr. Juliano, and I assume he is, like any other reader of Beyond Search, a person on superior intellect and insightful analyses. He wrote (an I leave his post uncorrected since one doesn’t fiddle with an expert’s statements):

There is no such thing as fragmentation on Android. I bought an android phone and it came with whatever OS version it came with (I have no idea what version it is) nor do I care what version it is. All I care is that it works. Compared to Apple, it does circles around iOS. “fragmentation” only seems to matter to developers (i personally believe this is just made up by apple shills to try to discredit android since it has overtaken iOS devices world wide).

I thought of this post when I read “One Look at This Ridiculous Diagram Tells You Why the Android Business Is Such a Disaster Right Now.” I assume that this Business Insider article was written by an individual lacking the discernment of Mr. Juliano. Let me show you a tiny version of the “diagram.”

image

The point is that there are lots and lots of different colors in the chart. I particularly like the motif of the lower right hand quadrant.

The write up states:

That [the fragmentation visualization] is a ridiculous number of different Android devices. (Apple, by comparison, has about four different iPhones for sale at any one time.) Nobody needs that level of choice.

The write up references brand fragmentation. Plus the article includes a quote to note:

Android companies need to concentrate on making one or two really excellent phones and tablets and let the devil take the hindmost. Because the current strategy ‚ throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks — is obviously failing.

We have, therefore, an honest difference of opinion. On one side, we have the informed Beyond Search reader. On the other, we have the Business Insider write up.

I will leave it to you to figure out whether Google has fumbled the Android ball. Like the Google European Community market dominance legal matter, perhaps the Google is demonstrating that it may have some issues with its mobile “strategery”.

Stephen E Arnold, August 7, 2015

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