Android is pretty distinct from Apple (AAPL), on multiple levels. The operating system, though, is at the center of their differences, with large-scale maintenance becoming an issue for Google (GOOG). Just do a news scan for Android—you’ll find countless articles announcing upcoming, delayed or problematic handset updates, with someone always feeling left out.
Prominent app developer Bump reiterated Android’s OS update issues with some figures released this week, with nearly 90 percent of iOS device owners running the latest version, while less than 1 percent of Android OS users having the most recent 2.3 version installed.
This issue is worsened by Google’s lack of a solution, with a ZDNet article pointing out Android’s flawed update process. The article goes on to note Google’s industry position, saying, “It is competing with all of its partners, rather than stepping in and doing something to help smooth out the whole process.”
RealPlayer update
Another app development team is paying close attention to its Android users as well; RealPlayer has been updated this week, in a major way. A new landscape “Now playing” mode and music playlist support have been added, along with a new home screen widget for navigating your playlists. The app’s interface overall has been improved, with more points of interaction for managing your content.
sigh
We're not comparing apples to apples (no pun intended). Apple builds the hardware and software used to run its devices, so it would only make sense that to save headaches and cost, the architecture of all (iPad, iTouch, iPhone) would be very similar. This negates update and compatibility issues. Google, however, controls the build for only 1 device (Nexus One), which receives updates in a timely manner. All other handset manufacturers are provided with the OS to tweak for their individual units, and it is released once deemed stable. Given that, Google isn't to blame unless they're being stingy releasing the updates to the handset manu., which has been rumored.
I remember the update debacle Sprint had w/the Evo 4G that was bricking phones when the update tried to push twice. The update had to be pulled, tweaked, and redelivered. All b/c Sprint was trying to serve the instant gratification that its users craved. Other cell companies paid attention to this, so they're releasing updates with a lot less temerity.
As an Android user, I'd rather wait a bit for a stable update, as opposed to getting something that may or may not cause issues. It's not like my phone isn't currently working as it should.