android fragmentation

Way down in the fine print about Apple's upcoming iOS 6, you'll find a little note that says new features like Flyover and turn-by-turn directions are only available on the iPhone 4S, or the iPad 2 or higher.

A note immediately below that says Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S or third-generation iPad.

Since the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2 are all actively for sale and still being marketed by Apple, I have to wonder: is Apple on the road to fragmenting the iOS experience? Could there come a future when not only do … Read more

Open Signal Maps is a nifty free Android app and Web site that crowdsources where the strongest and weakest cell signals are. But along the way, it's also managed to amass a ton of data about what kind of Android devices are out there in the wild and they pulled it all together into some visualizations that dramatically show the extent of Android fragmentation.

OSM started logging the Android devices that download the app six months ago and created the above visualization -- the interactive version on the site is a little more informative -- from a sample size … Read more

A new galaxy nexus, a new samsung tab and do you really answer your phone in the bathroom? all that and more on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly for February 1st, 2012. I'm Justin Eckhouse alongside Antuan Goodwin and Jaymar Cabebe. Today we say goodbye to Antuan Goodwin who will be leaving the podcast to focus on Car Tech. We will miss you Antuan.

NEWS:

-Android Users Most Likely to Use Phones While in the Bathroom… Read more

The dizzying pace of Google Android OS upgrades may leave many consumers scratching their heads in confusion and others pulling out their hair in frustration.

The first smarpthone sporting the new Ice Cream Sandwich software, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, hit the market today in the U.K. The hotly anticipated device will be available in other markets around the world by the end of the month.

The biggest selling point of the new smartphone is the software: Ice Cream Sandwich. This new OS not only redesigns the Android user interface and provides one release of software for both tablets and … Read more

Is Google strong-arming the Android world by bullying handset manufacturers and un-open-sourcing the mobile operating system?

Andy Rubin belatedly got around to denying that accusation, made last week in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek story, dismissing it as FUD in a blog post. "I think I'm having a Gene Amdahl moment," Rubin said, referring to the famed computer designer's term for the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM used to undermine his mainframe business.

Specifically, Rubin said Google remains "committed to fostering the development of an open platform for the mobile industry and beyond." He denied … Read more

Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile has released a new version of its popular game that comes with a Super Bowl tie-in and tackles the thorny issue of Android fragmentation.

Version 1.5.1 of the bird-flinging game for Google Android and Apple iOS devices apparently comes with an element to promote an upcoming "Rio" version of the game due to arrive in March. "Watch the Super Bowl XLV, and keep your eyes peeled during the fourth quarter: spot the Rio commercial and you might see a little something to find something special in Angry Birds," Rovio … Read more