By In a recent conversation with The New York Times, Andy Rubin,vice president of engineering at Google, waxed philosophical on the open nature of Android, its position in the smartphone market, and Steve Jobs’ recent digs at the platform. He also name-dropped Froyo and confirmed that Flash 10.1 would be fully supported in the upcoming update to Android OS.
Of Jobs’ statement that “folks who want porn can buy an Android phone,” Rubin said, “I don’t really have a rationale for that. It’s a different style of interacting with the public and the media.” Of course, he was quick to liken the closed nature of Android’s competitors (naming none specifically) to the tight-lipped and totalitarian regime of North Korea. He also chided that if someone were to lose an Android prototype at the bar, he would welcome the leak with open arms. “With openness comes less secrets.”
Rubin went so far as to state that he is “confident” that Android phones will outsell the likes of Apple and RIM…eventually. He didn’t have an exact timeframe in mind.
Concerning the future of Android and its state of fragmentation, Rubin compared the process to the desktop computer market, saying that it is just part of a devices lifespan to eventually become outdated, with many devices on the market constantly pushing the upper limits of what an OS can do.
Speaking of updates, Rubin confirmed what was already obvious by stating that Android 2.2 will implement full Flash support. If you like deductive reasoning, Adobe says Flash will be available before the end of the first half of the year, Google says Android 2.2 will have full Flash, we can jump to the conclusion, then, that we may see Android 2.2 very soon. Of course, I’m not the biggest fan of jumping to conclusions.
Andy Rubin had much more to say, so I highly recommend heading over to the NYT website and reading the full story.
[via New York Times Blog]
Of course he would welcome the “leak” of a lost Android prototype, because no one would care. It isn’t a “leak” if it isn’t a secret in the first place, and the media doesn’t salivate over press packages.
At any rate, I’m not sure that simply outselling iPhones is a good target. Apple loves being the popular underdog. Just look at the PC and Mac market for comparison. One doesn’t need to “outsell” to win the hearts and minds of users and developers.
Rather than outselling Apple, Google should focus on Android’s areas in need of improvement, specifically the market and on creating more iconic devices, rather than just throwing a thousand half-baked Android devices out the door and hoping the public leaps at them. It seems to me that smartphone manufacturers are stumbling over themsleves to steal a piece of the pie from Apple, and this hodge-podge of largely generic devices may degrade the value of Android rather than improve it. I already have difficult remembering the differences between the handful of HTC devices out there, thereby making them (mostly) pretty boring to me, but we all know what a Droid and what an iPhone looks like.
first
Well if nothing else did it this did…. Now we’ll have the market full of kids saying “Gotta haz Froyo”…”When iz Froyo”.
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And of course we adults will be pissed at any delay as well lol. I do hope they are working with partners to make their updates easier for this release.
“Rubin compared the process to the desktop computer market, saying that it is just part of a devices lifespan to eventually become outdated, with many devices on the market constantly pushing the upper limits of what an OS can do.”
This means tough shit to anyone who bought a G1 two years ago or even a MyTouch only 7 months ago. Thanks Google & HTC. Money well spent.
eventually become outdated… but what does he have to say about phones that are outdated even before coming out?…
@Phil, the 2nd part of your post is an absolute must. If they don’t get the device manufacturers and the carriers on board with Froyo from the get-go, it is unlikely to fix any fragmentation issues. Lets hope they do it right.
@SIZZLER…
The problem with G1 and mytouch .. si that they can’t handle a lot of the 2.1 capabilities ..
If they’re so into openness, I don’t suppose they could tell us exactly what’s in the new version of the OS or when they will announce it. Maybe leave a USB key with the Foyo source code in a bar in San Jose? How about a key with a Powerpoint slideshow of their feature roadmap for the next year-and-a-half left in a Denny’s? We’ll even accept it written on the back of a cocktail napkin.
Love it. I do disagree with his comment on the Fragmentation and comparing it to PC’s. The problem isn’t outdated platforms (G1, Hero), because we the customers aren’t responsible for our OS updates like we would be when a new version of Windows comes out. With Windows or Mac OS, once it’s out, we go to the store and 99/100 times, our computer supports it. With Android, you have to wait for Google, HTC or whomever made your phone, and your carrier to get the new OS to your device, usually MONTHS if not a whole year later. THAT is the problem.
iPhone has that down, with immediate updates available to all that can use them. I would kill to have an Android device for 2 years that is immediately updated (Nexus One?). Don’t worry about it becoming out of date, because I’ll already be on to the next great phone by the time that happens. I just want my updates FAST!
…and every single Android device out there can run 2.1. They’re not out of date at all. My Hero runs 2.1 as fast as lightening. Pish Posh! Keep us users happy and we’ll in return keep your company’s investors happy!
@chad +1
Well to anyone that says a Hero or G1 can’t run 2.1 you are in for a shock. The latest 2.1 ROM w/ Espresso, which is found on the MyTouch Slide has been ported to the G1 and it runs fast as hell. So to the nay sayers there is no such thing as an outdated device only out dated and lazy factory developers. If it were up to the independent devs and Google EVERYTHING would be on 2.1 right now and eagerly awaiting 2.2
@Yuri Andropov … wouldn’t it be more appropriate if instead of a bar or Denny’s, the Froyo source code were left at, say, Red Mango? (Pinkberry will work just as well.)
@josh….u have so,e valid points but u realize google dosent make the hardware right…they make an OS …oh and @james….take that first shit to elementary school lunch line bro….seriously,,,,u weren’t even first retard
well, i’m just a stupid Italian man but life experience has tought me to wait and see. I will wait for Froyo, then i will buy my super hero Android!
If you want fast update, just take the Nexus one. That’s the main reason he is better than the Desire.
I still don’t get all the frustration and anger about these updates. Do people not know what OS is on their device when they buy it? Did the manufacturer trick you into believing it had a later version than it did? Did the device work as advertised when you bought it? Does it still work as advertised today? Did you get a “guarantee” from the manufacturer when you purchased the device that it would be upgraded to each and every future OS version in perpetuity?
I knew exactly what OS version was on my device the day I bought it, and it is still working just fine, just like it did the first time I turned it on. That is what I chose to buy, and that is what I got. And although I’d appreciate the manufacturer giving me an upgrade eventually, if they don’t, it doesn’t mean my phone is somehow useless or broken when some other phone comes out with a newer OS. I figure if I “have to have” the latest OS all of the time “right now”, I’d better be prepared to spend a lot of money buying a new phone every six months.
Otherwise, you can always just go and buy the latest iPhone and be completely satisfied all of the time. ;-)
spoken like a true lawyer… and now back to our regular programming.
I agree with what twrock (above) said. Some of these comments slamming Google and manufacturers for updates on phones are leaning towards ridiculous and retarded!
People stop complaining get an motorola cliq or droid if you want 2.1 os and 2.2 os! Ugh
And if you like htc get an nexus one,desire,legend or an htc evo4g.
Way too much whining about updates. If you don’t like the OS on the phone, then don’t buy it. Vote with your wallet. If you like iphones, then buy an iphone. Android phones are not iphones. If you like apple telling you what you can and can not have, then buy an iphone. There are plenty of people working on updates to the older android phones even if the manufactures are not fast with updates. Most people have no idea what the new OS will give them, but they just like to have the newest OS. Most iphone users are just about the status not about actual functionality. That mentality has pass through to these whining posts about updates for android phones. any PC gamer will know that you have to update your pcs every few years just to keep up with the newest games. same thing here. Android doesn’t cripple functionality to achieve usability with the hardware like the iphone does.
This fragmentation will kill android.
He is the man, andy rubin = and-roid
well i will be holding on my current phone til one that is up to date on par with the N1 spec wise and with a keyboard is released on tmo (not the mytouch slide). I perfer the vanilla android without all the sense UI and blur on top it just makes for a cleaner and less bogged down update process. Hardware wise there has been so many improvements with the phones as well as the network speeds that this summer and fall should be allot of fun with some of the new choices coming out.
I agree with what twrock (above) said. Some of these comments slamming Google and manufacturers for updates on phones are leaning towards ridiculous and retarded!
Yes you can find many phones with android on it. That is what makes this OS so great. You can find the phone that you like. I played with many of them befor I got my Moto Droid. Google has made a great OS and it is up to you to choose what phone you want. I love pizza but I would not be happy if I could ony buy one type of pizza. You people need to stop complaining about having to buy a new phone. It you had an iphone you would have to get the new one every few years to have the perks of the new OS they put out. No matter what phone you get you will end up getting a new one evry couple years. That is why most of the providers let you get a new one every couple years at the discount price.
Thanks for the information, android 2.2 will support flash in web