I had no idea that Android was so heavily fragmented until I read this article on Ars Technica. There are close to 4,000 Android ROMs in circulation. It is pure insanity.
One developer can do business with nearly 4,000 distinct Android ROMs, according to data posted by the creators of OpenSignalMaps on Tuesday. While the Android platform provides a lot of flexibility to consumers, OpenSignalMaps’ data drives home the point that the small army of device variations can be staggering. Market developers can miss out on a lot by not supporting less popular or older devices.
How are you supposed to keep up with that as a developer? This fragmentation has multiple effects on application development. Developers have to worry about the infinite amount of screen resolutions their users could be running on and have a small army of test devices if they really want to put an app through proper testing.
I’m not really sure why anyone would choose that over iOS development. The alternative to Android is 2 devices, 4 resolutions, and a multitude of users who will actually pay for your app.
I think Alan Kay summed it up very nicely:
People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.
Android is no different than all the other “smartphones” of the past. When you let all the carriers “customize” these ROMs it makes it harder for the developer to produce solid applications and lends to a horrible user experience. The walled garden of iOS preserves that experience for the user. After all, isn’t that the most important thing anyway?
Lunch time after a long run. (Taken with Instagram at No Name Pub)
Cash.
Taken with Instagram at Marlins Park
