Confused about the Android OS

[Reply]

@qazwart

Google is changing the way Android is handled in release 3.0. In this release, there is a reference platform and certification testing. This was done to help unify the Android platform where even things such as button layout differ from phone to phone. It will also mean that newer Android releases will be compatible with older phones that fit the reference platform.

Google is trying to keep this reference platform for loose enough to prevent Android phones turning into cheap commodity clones, but strong enough to keep the platform more unified. It is a similar strategy that Microsoft does on its WP7 phones.

Awesome. Do you have a link that discusses this in more detail?

[CaveMike]

@qazwart

Android has no such reference platform. Android is compiled to each device and each manufacturer designs the underlying layer that talks to its hardware. Thus, every time Google comes out with a new Android release, it may or may not work on the various Android devices that are out there.

I disagree that backwards-incompatibility is due to a lack of a reference platform. If a new Android OS doesn’t work on an existing phone it is most likely because the a device driver interface changed or a deprecated application interface was removed. These are software interfaces and aren’t spelled out in a reference platform anyway. Support for old processors, buses, and core devices is maintained and backwards-compatible.

The reason Windows does not (usually) have this issue is because they include backwards-compatibility for common peripherals and software as a requirement. Google does not. Instead they rely on the manufactures to resolve conflicts – something that is possible because the OS is open-source.

In any case, Google does have a reference design for each release. From what I have read, this will continue with Android 3.0, but it is not something new to 3.0.

[AlsoNamedBort]

@Fubaya

I think it depends on what “out of date” means when you’re talking about phones. I’ve been using the Nexus One since it came out and gone through 2-3 updates and none of the updates have given me anything I really cared about.

There’s only been one major update for the Nexus so far (from 2.1 to 2.2), which I noticed a huge speed improvement. The other two were more minor bug fixes and tweaks.

[ripopgome]

BTW, I got a Nexus S today and it’s completely badass. Highly recommended. I switched from iPhone a while back and have not regretted it one bit (and I am, pretty much an Apple fanboy – all Mac at home, etc.)

[mittu]

@ripopgome

BTW, I got a Nexus S today and it’s completely badass. Highly recommended. I switched from iPhone a while back and have not regretted it one bit (and I am, pretty much an Apple fanboy – all Mac at home, etc.)

What is it that you prefer, out of interest?