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Android sucks in the US, it’s much better in the EU

Hopefully I have your attention. If you own an iOS device, I envy you (in a sense) but the truth is, the Android ecosystem isn’t fragmented because of manufacturers, it’s fragmented because of carriers. The honest truth is, that the update process for your android smartphone is delayed by a single part, the carrier. This includes Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile (although the latter may change with their new un-carrier plans). iPhones, iPods, and iPads have all had the benefit of apple pushing updates directly to them, but even with Google pushing updates to Android, the biggest issue isn’t Manufactures scrambling after a Google I/O to get an update out, it’s a carrier looking to force an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) through a QA (Quality Assurance) process, I’m looking at you Verizon.

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The fact of the matter is we’re not looking at feature phones anymore where the quality of the phone reflects on the network, consumers understand that these devices are like computers and they pick the devices that appeal to them. You don’t own the entire chain anymore carriers. America will eventually see the benefit of Unlocking their devices and moving to any carrier they please. I’ sorry to say but eventually cell phone carriers will eventually be pipes… pipes for pornography and gambling, perhaps even a series of tubes. If you own an iOS device, I envy you, if you own an Android device, don’t blame Samsung, Motorola, HTC, etc. for delaying an Android OS update to you device (unless you own a tablet), blame the carriers. If anything, I think the T-Mobile Un-Carrier movement is noble, they’re not winning the carrier race by any means and they’re seeking to change the face of the battlefield by eliminating the SIM/CDMA battlefield entirely. We should not be judges by the merits of our devices but by the SIM cards that we choose.

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Google does just as well as iOS, releasing an update every 6 months-1 year, but the fact is the chain of delay starts with the manufactures and ends with the carriers. If CyanogenMod has taught me anything it’s that device updates aren’t limited by hardware anymore (Google is too smart for that), it’s that if a carrier can offer a Samsung Galaxy S2 and a Galaxy S3 at the same time, which one do you think will get an update first? The one that customers had already purchased, or the one that customers will purchase in order to lock in another 2-year contract*

*Full Disclosure, I’m locked into a contract with one of the Four major carriers.

 

About The Author

My name is Andrew Nichols, I work with mobile technology and Information Security. I enjoy playing video games, learning about electronics, and dressing up as a robot.

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