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I wouldn't call it a problem; it's an artifact of a completely different ecosystem. If it wasn't an open platform, and was all built by only one company, it wo

I wouldn't call it a problem; it's an artifact of a completely different ecosystem. If it wasn't an open platform, and was all built by only one company, it wouldn't have been announced until just before it was shipped. I'm sure some people are frustrated by it, but following "publish early and often", and all that goes with it, is how open source works.

SandB0x 16y ago
What's frustrating is that pretty much every Android phone is sold with a "with Google" stamp on the back, and that this basically means fuck all. It should mean "this is an Android phone that is built with Google's blessing and with Google's support, so lean back and don't worry".
- lwhi 16y ago
  I recently bought an HTC Desire - there's no "with Google" stamp. I don't think your statement is correct.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    Indeed. The "with Google" mark carries meaning; it means you are getting AOSP (the consistent version of Android that is actually usable), instead of the handset's bastardized version of Android. (HTC Nonsense, Moto-durrr, etc.)
    - buro9 16y ago
      Unless you're in the UK where Vodafone have delayed the OTA update so that they can fiddle with it first. It turns out that the Google mark really is meaningless. Myself and most of my friends who I recommended the Nexus One to on the basis of first updates and vanilla software, we are now all running CM6.
    - SandB0x 16y ago
      This isn't quite true. For example, the fairly new HTC Droid Incredible has Sense and the "with Google" stamp. Also the Motorola Droid X. Maybe it's not the majority of phones then, but my point still stands that the stamp is fairly meaningless.
- IgorPartola 16y ago
  Do you use Linux? Every Linux distro comes with a Linux kernel. Yet none of the distros are supported by the kernel team. It's a different task. In OSS world there is a concept of upstream, where cool newstuff happens and the package maintainers who pack the released software. The two almost never happen together. If you care to go into business of testing and delivering Android OS for every single phone out there - go ahead. You might even make $$ off of it. But in the mean time the official maintainers are the manufacturers and they are nit going to all agree on when to release the next update - it is a competitive advantage to them to keep the current OS + all the ads and proprietary features running as long as possible.

SandB0x 16y ago

What's frustrating is that pretty much every Android phone is sold with a "with Google" stamp on the back, and that this basically means fuck all. It should mean "this is an Android phone that is built with Google's blessing and with Google's support, so lean back and don't worry".

lwhi 16y ago
I recently bought an HTC Desire - there's no "with Google" stamp. I don't think your statement is correct.
- jrockway 16y ago
  Indeed. The "with Google" mark carries meaning; it means you are getting AOSP (the consistent version of Android that is actually usable), instead of the handset's bastardized version of Android. (HTC Nonsense, Moto-durrr, etc.)
  - buro9 16y ago
    Unless you're in the UK where Vodafone have delayed the OTA update so that they can fiddle with it first. It turns out that the Google mark really is meaningless. Myself and most of my friends who I recommended the Nexus One to on the basis of first updates and vanilla software, we are now all running CM6.
  - SandB0x 16y ago
    This isn't quite true. For example, the fairly new HTC Droid Incredible has Sense and the "with Google" stamp. Also the Motorola Droid X. Maybe it's not the majority of phones then, but my point still stands that the stamp is fairly meaningless.
IgorPartola 16y ago
Do you use Linux? Every Linux distro comes with a Linux kernel. Yet none of the distros are supported by the kernel team. It's a different task. In OSS world there is a concept of upstream, where cool newstuff happens and the package maintainers who pack the released software. The two almost never happen together. If you care to go into business of testing and delivering Android OS for every single phone out there - go ahead. You might even make $$ off of it. But in the mean time the official maintainers are the manufacturers and they are nit going to all agree on when to release the next update - it is a competitive advantage to them to keep the current OS + all the ads and proprietary features running as long as possible.