Otaku Gadgets

Google has been running completely rampant all over the tech industry of late. In their quest to bring everything you do on your computer online, they have released their latest creation – the Chrome OS. It is still in development but it is really amazing what they have done so far. And in the middle of all this, it is easy to momentarily forget about the lovable green robot – the Android.

If Chrome OS is the future of netbooks, smartbooks and then desktops, then Android is definitely the future of all but few smartphones. The Chrome OS might fail to deliver but Android has already taken a strong hold over the smartphone market in general and over the tech community to be specific. Everyone who understands what the Android is, sees limitless potential for innovative handheld devices. This is the only current platform that can fully compete with the sophistication of the iPhone – the phone that started it all. And it is an open platform, which means anyone can taker it up and innovate over it.

As Android continues to grow, it is going to become much larger in terms of market share and number of handsets. Analysts have predicted that the platform might go #2 on the smartphone OS list as early as 2012. Given the rate at which we are seeing new handsets coming out, it just might happen. And it will thus surpass the iPhone and will sit right under the waning Symbian. Are we looking at the era of the Android?

If one were to rule by sheer numbers, Android would win hands down very soon. Its greatest weakness, its multiplicity, is also its greatest strength. The fact that it is no longer restricted to smartphones gives it great impetus to move forward. But nothing is perfect. Even this drags out problems with it and this time the third-party developers are suffering.

Since Google imposes very little restriction on how the OS will be implemented, individual handset makers tend to create their own customized calls and codes. Even though it is based on the core Android OS, a lot of things vary and change. Some features are removed, some are added, etc. This means that app devs now have tackle most new android phones individually and create custom code for them. Google makes it compulsory for phone makers to put up their ROMs for the developers but in the end the devs are spending precious time fixing their existing apps instead of working on new ones.

So even though the Android has made it to myriad devices – from smartbooks to MIDs and touchscreen tablets – it hasn’t helped the apps much. And most of the non-phone devices cannot take advantage of the apps on the marketplace, mainly because of the widely carrying screen sizes and components.

So it is no wonder that these devices have not become all that popular in recent times. So what would it take to make a great mobile OS go beyond its current state? It would take some rethinking into how to make all these devices play nice together. May be all of them is a bit too much to ask at this point but making the phone makers follow some more rules would probably make things nicer for everyone involved.

Because at this rate, Android is treading the path down that threatens to divide the platform into irreconcilable fragments. So Google should really nip this problem at the bud before it snowballs into bigger compatibility issues. You know that if you let someone take the ball and run with it, you will have no control over where they are going. Put them on a longish leash and you will still be able to draw the line somewhere.

Android’s another advantage so far has probably been its perceived openness. As opposed to the iPhone, Google tries to give you a benevolent smile and tell you that you will be welcomed to the Marketplace with free doughnuts as long as your app does not try to do something naughty. Apple’s secrecy, iron fist control and lack of transparency are actually making developers leave in frustration at the moment. For these devs, the obvious next target would be the Android if they intend to continue developing for a major mobile platform.

The Linux base is also a perceived advantage. A lot of the devs already know Linux, so Android’s learning curve becomes easier for them and has a bit of familiarity to it. Also, Google’s fast development cycle is fast pushing the platform upwards and making it more compelling.

The promise that Android holds has not gone unnoticed by companies and one by one they have succumbed to it. We now have almost all major companies making Android phones. Some have made a complete switch over. Earlier, some companies were routinely ignored despite their great hardware because of their lack luster software. Now that they are relieved of having to worry about the software, they can finally do what they have always done well – make hardware. As a result, we have a lot of new phones from existing companies who are betting their future on Android. After all, they have no choice but to adapt now that the iPhone is here.

Thus, the Android is slowly but surely dividing the smartphone market neatly into two sides. Other leaders like BlackBerry and Windows Mobile have failed to impress with their latest offerings. The latter is actually so embarrassing that HTC has gone to great lengths to hide most of the OS in their HD2 with their custom Sense UI.

The statistics confirm the fact the Android is continually on the rise. It has been rising steadily through the last few quarters. Its current projected growth looks quite impressive and if it stays on track, we could be looking at a ubiquity of Android devices in the near future.

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