Android least fragmented it has been... for now anyways

[rockymtnhigh]

Gingerbread and Froyo Installed on 85% of Android Devices

Android 2.3 or Gingerbread is installed on 54.9% of all Android devices, while Android 2.2 or Froyo is installed on another 30.4% of all Android devices, which makes Android perhaps the least fragmented it’s ever been.

According to the latest data from Android Developers, out of all the older and now obsolete Android versions only Android 2.1 or Eclair has a significant market share – 8.5%, while earlier versions have less than 2% put together.

Of course, this almost ideal situation – given how badly the Android platform has been fragmented at certain points in the past – won’t last long. The newer versions – Android 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.0 are looming behind the corner, and most upcoming Android devices run or at least support one of these.

 

[Rey]

this is the one negative about android. not as polished as iOS on some devices. and i do realize the different carriers share the blame on this issue. some phones work great while others don't with the same os.

 

[Hall]

I read someone's opinion on why HTC is unlocking the bootloader for all of their phones (slowly) and that is that they won't have to listen to users complain about being stuck on older s/w releases. They can unlock and update it themselves, using unofficial ROMs, of course. HTC also doesn't have to worry about making the ERIS, for example, run on ICS.

Problem is, just unlocking the bootloader using their method doesn't allow custom ROMs (??), or so I've read. If they went a step further though, the logic above ^^ could make sense though.

 

[Hall]

Where's a breakdown on iOS fragmentation ? It does happen.... My niece was running iOS 2.x on her 2nd-generation iPod Touch. Apple wanted $$ to update it to 3.x. Or, my wife and son's 2g/3g iPod Touch are stuck at iOS 3.1.3.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Where's a breakdown on iOS fragmentation ? It does happen.... My niece was running iOS 2.x on her 2nd-generation iPod Touch. Apple wanted $$ to update it to 3.x. Or, my wife and son's 2g/3g iPod Touch are stuck at iOS 3.1.3.

The article is about Android. Sorry it did not provide data on old ipod touches.

 

[John Kotches]

Hall:

Once you unlock the bootloader you open the door to custom everything.

The first step most take from there is to install a custom recovery solution like clockwork mod or twrp. from there you can load any compatible rom.

on my evo 4g it was fairly simple to do all of this.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[rockymtnhigh]

this is the one negative about android. not as polished as iOS on some devices. and i do realize the different carriers share the blame on this issue. some phones work great while others don't with the same os.

I'd argue the carriers share ALMOST all of the blame. Vanilla Android is generally very nice. Its the craptastic skins they put on top that ruin it for me, and create so much difference from phone to phone.

 

[meStevo]

Some of the changes they're making to 4+ should make developers and potentially carriers happy. - Android’s New Holo Theme Should Help Manufacturers Update Phones Faster, is a Requirement for Android Market Access – Droid Life

In Android 4.0, Holo is different. We’ve made the inclusion of the unmodified Holo theme family a compatibility requirement for devices running Android 4.0 and forward. If the device has Android Market it will have the Holo themes as they were originally designed.


This standardization goes for all of the public Holo widget styles as well. The Widget.Holo styles will be stable from device to device, safe for use as parent styles for incremental customizations within your app.

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Formally separating these theme families will also make future merges easier for manufacturers updating to a new platform version, helping more devices update more quickly. Google’s Nexus devices alias DeviceDefault to the unmodified Holo themes.