What is wrong with Android?
Fraser Speirs - developer of FlickrExport and Darkslide, working with schools and companies to introduce modern technologies
I recently spoke at a conference near Cardiff, and I was asked a question. I love getting questions. What question? This:
When I answered, I realized that I had never expressed my complaints about Android. I want to clarify from the very beginning, I will talk about "what is wrong with Android in terms of long-term use in school." You can bet that all this by and large does not matter. I believe that I should take care of such things. I ask these questions about each platform.
')
It seems to me that a few things in Android are really not in order (in terms of long-term supply).
I will not talk about fragmentation among devices. I'm talking about the fragmentation of operating system versions.
Recently, there have been several presentations and articles on how quickly new versions of Android and iOS get a significant share of the devices available in the world.
Currently, iOS 5 is installed on most i-devices. For comparison, various versions of Android 2.x still dominate the global market for Android devices. Pxldot recently published an amazing comparison (with numbers!) Of iOS and Android distribution .
That is the main problem. Google is constantly improving the insides of the Android OS, but most users cannot get these updates in a timely manner. I'm not talking about such "visual" things as a new calendar design or whistles for the Home screen.
I'm talking about the API. It really matters. A little later, I will talk about some places where it plays an important role, but this is mainly important, since the API defines the freedom of action of third-party developers.
The Android platform is now running at low speed, because Google, device manufacturers and mobile operators cannot, are not going to, or simply are lazy to leave with the Android 2.x API. Android 4 already has a more powerful and perfect API, and in the future it will only improve, but developers cannot take advantage of this, since almost no one uses the new version of the platform.
For example, Google recently released Chrome for Android - by all accounts, a great mobile browser. Unfortunately, it requires Android 4 and only 1% of devices are able to meet these requirements.
This means that iOS apps are not only better than Android apps today, they are getting better significantly faster, because Apple is constantly improving the API, making more and more new features available on devices already in the hands of users.
Android does not have a backup system “for all occasions”. This is not true in the last resort, as there is an API for backing up to cloud storage , but its documentation is full of reservations:
Therefore, the question "Does Android support backup?" Is incorrect. You need to ask, "Does the Android version installed on the Motorola Xoom back up if I bought it from operator X?". You will have to check this for each device, and the widest choice of devices is always proclaimed the strength of Android! Enjoy!
For me, it already sounds like a ban on the use of Android in schools. You deliver a mobile device that is used as a real computer; students take exams on it. So take care of the safety and security of their data!
The world of mobile devices is developing very fast. The update cycle of devices and their operating systems is one year. In a situation with schools, the adaptation of any technology is a matter of several years.
Updates for iOS you get "first hand." Apple provides updates for all devices throughout the support period. At the moment, this period is 3 or more years for devices on iOS: iOS 5 can be installed on iPhone 3GS (2009), third generation iPod touch (2009) and all iPads.
The situation with Android is diametrically opposite. A well-known infographics about the update of Android-backgrounds from Michael DeGusta does not show a rosy picture. This statistic does not take into account Android tablets, but I judge the platform by its past, and not by the promises of a brighter future.
This is important for several reasons. First, if I sign a two-three-year contract for hundreds of devices, I have to imagine how they will be maintained throughout this period. Imagine that iOS 3.2 is still on our iPads.
The second reason is security. Let's dwell on it in more detail.
Android has security issues. Roughly speaking, they fall into two categories: vulnerabilities and malware. Any platform has vulnerabilities - the same iOS jailbreak is based on them - but there is no talk of malware.
One of the promoted strengths of the Android platform is the ability to download the application from anywhere and install it on your phone. No guards and bars on the windows! This is worth striving for!
I see it as follows: if you want this opportunity, you will really use it. If you want to install applications from all over the Internet, you better be sure that your operating system is protected with the latest updates. With Android you will not have such confidence.
This is one of those cases where Google’s inability to update the operating system on all devices can actually lead to bad consequences.
In 2011, I spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This was the first "release" of Android-tablets. What I found out for myself - now anyone can make a tablet. You can install there browser, email client and diary. Almost all tablets are porting applications whose business model lies in the fact that they are everywhere: Kindle, Evernote, Netflix, Facebook and many others.
My question (and it is still relevant today) is: where is iMovie, GarageBand, Keynote, OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, Soulver, Flipboard, iThoughts, Noteshelf, Collabracam, The Elements, Brushes and ArtRage replacement?
I'm not saying that these applications cannot be written for Android, but I say that they have not yet been written for Android.
Our one and a half year experience of using the iPad in education has shown that it is suitable for something more than surfing the web and reading mail. The Internet, of course, is important, but the greatest success was achieved with the use of these powerful creative programs.
I used a Mac when it was not yet fashionable. I do not believe (but I do not argue) that the absolute number of applications determines the significance of the platform. Under the Mac, there is often only one or two programs for a category, but almost always there is a good program among them.
I just do not see the grandeur, vastness and depth that is in the App Store, in counterparts for Android.
Many schools often work with intermediaries, and not with retail chains. More and more often I see the so-called “learning tablets”. Usually this device is from a Chinese OEM supplier with an old version of Android, a self-written shell and a non-boring wallpaper. I already have a headache from them.
All my experience of communicating with educational software vendors shows that they very weakly interact with the manufacturers of the downstream platform. And when something breaks - the supplier and manufacturer begin to poke at each other with their fingers in search of the culprit.
When a new version of Android comes out, users have to wait while the supplier port their changes to it. This problem is faced by users of Android backgrounds from Motorola, HTC, and other OEMs, which even then speak of suppliers for educational institutions whose capabilities are incomparably less.
These are the claims I have for Android. When I decided to start this program ( learning in schools using tablets - translator's note ), there were no tablets for Android except Dell Streak 5. Streak 5 came with Android 1.6, received an update to 2.2 at the end of 2010 and was withdrawn from support in August 2011 For comparison, iPad 1 came out with iOS 3.2, updated to iOS 4 in November 2010, and up to iOS 5 in October 2011. It will receive all the security and functionality updates for the iOS 5.x branch. Even if iOS 6 will not support iPad 1, it will be only at the end of 2012 (the end of the world - translator's note ). These are more than two years of support, updates and security.
At the moment, the Android platform is stalled in the market on the version of Android 2.x. Android 2, despite the many promises of updates, looks “quite good” for most mobile operators and device manufacturers. Even Sony released its flagship Xperia S with Android 2.3 and promised to upgrade it to Android 4 in the second quarter of 2012 (we heard it somewhere).
You either invest in the platform, or buy gadgets. The inconsistency between the rapid development of Android in Google’s labs and what end users get in their hands becomes a real headache. In my opinion, this can be a decisive “no” for schools or any person who is thinking about buying a new device.
I recently spoke at a conference near Cardiff, and I was asked a question. I love getting questions. What question? This:
What is wrong with Android?
When I answered, I realized that I had never expressed my complaints about Android. I want to clarify from the very beginning, I will talk about "what is wrong with Android in terms of long-term use in school." You can bet that all this by and large does not matter. I believe that I should take care of such things. I ask these questions about each platform.
')
It seems to me that a few things in Android are really not in order (in terms of long-term supply).
Fragmentation
I will not talk about fragmentation among devices. I'm talking about the fragmentation of operating system versions.
Recently, there have been several presentations and articles on how quickly new versions of Android and iOS get a significant share of the devices available in the world.
Currently, iOS 5 is installed on most i-devices. For comparison, various versions of Android 2.x still dominate the global market for Android devices. Pxldot recently published an amazing comparison (with numbers!) Of iOS and Android distribution .
That is the main problem. Google is constantly improving the insides of the Android OS, but most users cannot get these updates in a timely manner. I'm not talking about such "visual" things as a new calendar design or whistles for the Home screen.
I'm talking about the API. It really matters. A little later, I will talk about some places where it plays an important role, but this is mainly important, since the API defines the freedom of action of third-party developers.
The Android platform is now running at low speed, because Google, device manufacturers and mobile operators cannot, are not going to, or simply are lazy to leave with the Android 2.x API. Android 4 already has a more powerful and perfect API, and in the future it will only improve, but developers cannot take advantage of this, since almost no one uses the new version of the platform.
For example, Google recently released Chrome for Android - by all accounts, a great mobile browser. Unfortunately, it requires Android 4 and only 1% of devices are able to meet these requirements.
This means that iOS apps are not only better than Android apps today, they are getting better significantly faster, because Apple is constantly improving the API, making more and more new features available on devices already in the hands of users.
Backup and Restore
Android does not have a backup system “for all occasions”. This is not true in the last resort, as there is an API for backing up to cloud storage , but its documentation is full of reservations:
The download mechanism is the client side of the Android backup framework, which is configured by the device manufacturer and the carrier.
Therefore, the question "Does Android support backup?" Is incorrect. You need to ask, "Does the Android version installed on the Motorola Xoom back up if I bought it from operator X?". You will have to check this for each device, and the widest choice of devices is always proclaimed the strength of Android! Enjoy!
It is not guaranteed that the backup will be available on all Android devices. Since cloud storage and download mechanism may vary across devices, Android does not guarantee the security of your data during backup.
For me, it already sounds like a ban on the use of Android in schools. You deliver a mobile device that is used as a real computer; students take exams on it. So take care of the safety and security of their data!
Life cycle support
The world of mobile devices is developing very fast. The update cycle of devices and their operating systems is one year. In a situation with schools, the adaptation of any technology is a matter of several years.
Updates for iOS you get "first hand." Apple provides updates for all devices throughout the support period. At the moment, this period is 3 or more years for devices on iOS: iOS 5 can be installed on iPhone 3GS (2009), third generation iPod touch (2009) and all iPads.
The situation with Android is diametrically opposite. A well-known infographics about the update of Android-backgrounds from Michael DeGusta does not show a rosy picture. This statistic does not take into account Android tablets, but I judge the platform by its past, and not by the promises of a brighter future.
This is important for several reasons. First, if I sign a two-three-year contract for hundreds of devices, I have to imagine how they will be maintained throughout this period. Imagine that iOS 3.2 is still on our iPads.
The second reason is security. Let's dwell on it in more detail.
Security
Android has security issues. Roughly speaking, they fall into two categories: vulnerabilities and malware. Any platform has vulnerabilities - the same iOS jailbreak is based on them - but there is no talk of malware.
One of the promoted strengths of the Android platform is the ability to download the application from anywhere and install it on your phone. No guards and bars on the windows! This is worth striving for!
I see it as follows: if you want this opportunity, you will really use it. If you want to install applications from all over the Internet, you better be sure that your operating system is protected with the latest updates. With Android you will not have such confidence.
This is one of those cases where Google’s inability to update the operating system on all devices can actually lead to bad consequences.
Applications
In 2011, I spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This was the first "release" of Android-tablets. What I found out for myself - now anyone can make a tablet. You can install there browser, email client and diary. Almost all tablets are porting applications whose business model lies in the fact that they are everywhere: Kindle, Evernote, Netflix, Facebook and many others.
My question (and it is still relevant today) is: where is iMovie, GarageBand, Keynote, OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, Soulver, Flipboard, iThoughts, Noteshelf, Collabracam, The Elements, Brushes and ArtRage replacement?
I'm not saying that these applications cannot be written for Android, but I say that they have not yet been written for Android.
Our one and a half year experience of using the iPad in education has shown that it is suitable for something more than surfing the web and reading mail. The Internet, of course, is important, but the greatest success was achieved with the use of these powerful creative programs.
I used a Mac when it was not yet fashionable. I do not believe (but I do not argue) that the absolute number of applications determines the significance of the platform. Under the Mac, there is often only one or two programs for a category, but almost always there is a good program among them.
I just do not see the grandeur, vastness and depth that is in the App Store, in counterparts for Android.
Supplier Intervention
Many schools often work with intermediaries, and not with retail chains. More and more often I see the so-called “learning tablets”. Usually this device is from a Chinese OEM supplier with an old version of Android, a self-written shell and a non-boring wallpaper. I already have a headache from them.
All my experience of communicating with educational software vendors shows that they very weakly interact with the manufacturers of the downstream platform. And when something breaks - the supplier and manufacturer begin to poke at each other with their fingers in search of the culprit.
When a new version of Android comes out, users have to wait while the supplier port their changes to it. This problem is faced by users of Android backgrounds from Motorola, HTC, and other OEMs, which even then speak of suppliers for educational institutions whose capabilities are incomparably less.
Results
These are the claims I have for Android. When I decided to start this program ( learning in schools using tablets - translator's note ), there were no tablets for Android except Dell Streak 5. Streak 5 came with Android 1.6, received an update to 2.2 at the end of 2010 and was withdrawn from support in August 2011 For comparison, iPad 1 came out with iOS 3.2, updated to iOS 4 in November 2010, and up to iOS 5 in October 2011. It will receive all the security and functionality updates for the iOS 5.x branch. Even if iOS 6 will not support iPad 1, it will be only at the end of 2012 (the end of the world - translator's note ). These are more than two years of support, updates and security.
At the moment, the Android platform is stalled in the market on the version of Android 2.x. Android 2, despite the many promises of updates, looks “quite good” for most mobile operators and device manufacturers. Even Sony released its flagship Xperia S with Android 2.3 and promised to upgrade it to Android 4 in the second quarter of 2012 (we heard it somewhere).
You either invest in the platform, or buy gadgets. The inconsistency between the rapid development of Android in Google’s labs and what end users get in their hands becomes a real headache. In my opinion, this can be a decisive “no” for schools or any person who is thinking about buying a new device.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/139614/
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