Fragmentation Isn’t That Bad, Until You See It

Android is constantly accused of being a fragmented platform, but how bad is it? The image above is a fraction of Hong Kong developer Animoca’s 400+ arsenal of Android development devices. The developer has over 70 million downloads on Android under its belt, and it needs to be assured that everything will be compatible. That’s right, every single one of their apps is tested on over 400 different Android devices.

Animoca mostly targets the Asian market, and one of its biggest concerns is the number of devices coming out a China. Most of these devices are low-end, and there are so many that it’s hard to keep up. What do you think of the Android app development process? Should Google do something to simplify it?

via TechCrunch

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donalmc 5 pts

You say fragmentation, I say multiple channels to sell your wares.

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AndroidMentor 5 pts

Go Android...Choice...Choice...Choice!!

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Kevniv 6 pts

Well I guess Google did something correct with Android. I call it choice.

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mbcls 18 pts

This is so stupid! why don't you blame microsoft also! There's win98, winXp, Vista, win7, and soon win8!

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SkyPira 30 pts

@mbcls no, this isn't stupid. The fact is that a lot of android devices aren't updated to the newest version, and that creates separation between devices running different software versions. Almost any windows machine can be upgraded, as long as your pc isn't ancient and you have the opportunity to buy a software package.

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kufusoto 5 pts

 Pira  mbcls see thats just it, phones are like computers if the hardware doesnt match up with the needs of the android version, then its unable it run so there for it is a good thing because companies can make a range or devices at different cost

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Lawless_1 6 pts

 mbcls Because if I want Windows 8 on my Windows 7 PC all I have to do is pay $80-$100 dollars to update it when Windows 8 is released and that is my options. I don't have to go and spend the full MSRP of my PC again to get it. People that paid 500-600 for the G2X are now faced with having to spend  that money all over for a HTC One S if they want the newest OS.

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mbcls 18 pts

 Lawless_1 Because most people have a Wireless Contract!  the MOST you wait is 2 years!  does new hardwares also come with that Win8 upgrade?  i have 3 lines, line 3 is available for upgrade!   IF i want to upgrade to the latest OS, i just upgrade to HTC ONE for only 150$ which comes with latest android 4.0 and new hardware like dual core cpu!

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Lawless_1 6 pts

 mbcls Dual core is not a new technology quad core is. HTC is selling a bunch of bull with this One series in the US. The only 4G network  that the One X can truly run on is T-mobile but they got the watered down One S that has a dual core anyway. Then they try pulling the wool over the US consumers by saying only the One Series can run sense 4...... even though the One V has a weaker processor than the Sensation which is only able to run 3.6. Everyone is buying soon to be outdated hardware with the One series in the US. And just so you know the minimum requirements on Win8 are the same as Win7 and my 2 year old Win7 that was top of the line when I got is still close to top of the line now with i9 quad core 3.6GHz chip and  8GB DDR3 RAM all I have to do is invest 1/10 of the price of a new PC and I am set.... in 2 years lets see you do that on your One X...... which at that time will be as dead as the HTC Desire series is today.

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androids ghost 10 pts

 Lawless_1  mbcls zzActually be careful with assumptions. Just because something is quad core doesn't mean it is faster. For that matter there are a lot of variables that determine speed that most customers won't understand in the first place. A dual core processor can outperform a quad core processor easily if it preforms more instructions per clock cycle. For a while, single core processors in computers were better than dual core processors simply because most software wasn't designed to handle dual core processors.. Then even after computers were optimized for dual cores, that didn't guarantee optimization for quad core processors.There are still many, many instances where dual cores will simply out perform quad cores both in benchmarks and real world performance. Truth be told, quad core processors in many ways are more about scamming customers.. selling them hardware that they will never see a serious benefit from.

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androids ghost 10 pts

Seems like a bit of a pointless stab and android TBH :/If we didn't want fragmentation we'd all have iphones. 

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whipmanjak 12 pts

What does it matter if the Android operating system is "fragmented"? It is an open source operating system, so that is bound to happen! Is that a bad thing? It may be a challenge to developers, but the consumers are able to choose from a vast array of devices that all have their own merits; this is part of why I and so many others love Android. I do not hate Apple's iOS,  I just simply prefer Android. I could go on for a while about this.....but yeah, Android is awesome and I hope it gets even BIGGER 

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