GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

Oh, the shame! Here’s a picture that handily illustrates the biggest problem Android faces: fragmentation. Not only are the phone makers modding the interfaces willy-nilly, and carriers adding in unremovable crapware, but even the hardware buttons can’t seem to stay in the same order. Here’s a photo-illustration by Flickr user Andrew Wood showing the embarrassment of variations:

(Eagle-eyed readers will note that the Droid 2 image is wrong, and should actually match the Droid Pro, not the original Droid).

Even Google can’t seem to make up its mind. You’d think that the canonical Google designs would show some consistency, but as you can see, the Nexuses 1 and S swap around the home and search buttons.

Now, you might point out that most people don’t care. Most people are used to big changes from handset to handset, and most people don’t even know that they have an Android phone they just have a Droid phone or a Galaxy phone. And you’d be right: people are used to putting up with a lot of crap when it comes to cellphones. What this really tells us is that the designers don’t care, and that Android is thought of by the phone-makers as little more than a free way to make their hardware boxes actually do something. It may be a great OS, but that doesn’t mean the phone makers don’t hate you.

I’ll leave you with this fantastic comment from Geoff Douglas, on the Flickr page for this photograph: “Mobile phones should frustrate people. They always have. Google are ensuring this fine tradition remains alive and well.”

Android Button Comparison [Flickr via ]

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What is Microsoft’s official line on Windows 7 Phone software updates? Will they be taken care of by Microsoft itself, the way Apple takes care of iOS devices? Or will the carriers and handset makers engage in a free-for-all, confusing the customer and using updates as leverage to force you to upgrade your handset, like Android? Ed Bott of ZDNEt asked Microsoft, and the answer is clear and unambiguous:

Microsoft will push Windows Phone 7 software updates to end users and all Windows Phone 7 devices will be eligible for updates.

Good news all round, unless you’re a cellphone carrier. This fits in with the whole new Win7Phone approach, which sets minimum hardware specs for handset makers and keeps a tight leash on pre-installed carrier bloatware.

What is distinctly odd is that some roles seem to have switched. Android is now the equivalent to desktop Windows, riddled with fragmented OS versions, uncountable hardware options and all the associated crapware and malware its “open” platform brings. Apple now seems to be selling its non-Mac hardware cheaper than anyone else can manage, and Microsoft, despite its insistence on using the Windows name for a non-windowing phone OS, has grown a pair and is now pushing the hardware makers around.

What next? Non-bearded consumers buying an easy-to-use Linux distribution?

Microsoft is in the driver’s seat for Windows Phone updates [ZDNet]

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A stream of new Android smartphones have helped the Google designed operating system gain market share while rivals such as Apple and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion lost points, according to the latest mobile subscriber report from analytics company comScore.

Among smartphone platforms, Android OS grew to 17 percent share between May and July from 12 percent at the end of April. During the same period, RIM and Apple lost about 1.3 percent share.

The good news for RIM, though, is that it continues to lead among smartphone platforms with 39.9 percent market share, while Apple is firmly in the second place with 23.8 percent share. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile accounted for 11.8 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.9 percent.

Androids growth has been powered by a slew of new handsets that have launched in the last few months. HTC’s EVO 4G debuted on Sprint in June. A few weeks later, Motorola introduced its second generation Droid and Droid X on the Verizon Wireless network. Meanwhile, Samsung launched its Galaxy S range of smartphones. Last month, Samsung said it has shipped more than one million Galaxy S phones in 45 days since the devices hit retail stores in mid-July.

More than 20 Android phones are available in the U.S. currently.

Despite losing share to Google Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow, says comScore.

Among all mobile handset manufacturers–including both smartphones and feature phones–Samsung ranked at the the top with 23.1 percent market share in the U.S. At the end of July, 234 million Americans used mobile devices. Of these, 53.4 million people have smartphones, up 11 percent from the end of April, says comScore.

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Motorola’s Droid is the most popular phone among Android users, followed by HTC Hero, while Google’s Nexus One ranks tenth on the list, according to a monthly metrics report from mobile advertising firm AdMob. AdMob has ranked the top ten Android smartphones by market share.

The data is based on 12.7 million Android phones in the AdMob network in May. It’s also why the HTC Evo, released in the first week of June, is missing from the mix.

About 21 percent Android users have the Droid, while 16 percent users own the HTC Hero. Just 2 percent of Android phone users have Google’s Nexus One phone, says AdMob.

Motorola launched the Droid in November 2009 and made it available exclusively on Verizon Wireless. And despite the gaggle of Android phones launched every month, the Droid has been holding strong.

The only Android phone that could challenge the Droid’s position is the HTC Evo, which is available exclusively on Sprint. It will be interesting to see if the Evo can beat the Droid, though Sprint has a smaller marketing budget and fewer subscribers than Verizon.

Here’s a chart that shows the popularity of different Android smarpthones.

About 67 percent of Android users are in North America while China is the second largest market for Android with 13 percent of Android users coming from the country, says AdMob.

Combined HTC and Motorola have 83 percent share among Android devices. Since the Android OS debuted in 2008, the two companies have been on a roll, churning out phones faster than consumers can keep up with.

Last week, Motorola introduced its eleventh Android phone, the Droid X. It was also a big month for HTC, whose Evo phone is the first and only 4G device available currently.

Data: AdMob

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