All that is gold does not necessarily have to shine. Android has been touted as one of the next big platforms that would topple the iPhone from its throne. However, this does not seem to be the situation for Android. The latest issue currently facing the platform is the number of software versions on phones. With a large number of versions available for the Android platform, many applications are not necessarily compatible with older or later versions of the operating system. Added to this, the various vendors offering different phones with numerous variations of hardware components means that most developers have nightmares developing code for each individual phone rather than a universal app.

The inherent problem with this situation is that cross-platform independence, regardless of hardware, is an ideal utopia that developers want but can never achieve. Similar to the BlackBerry situation where migrating apps from other platforms is a nightmare, it can happen but not without a significant fight.

From a smaller developer’s point of view, Android is a difficult platform to work on. The amount of resources and time required to code a single application is significant for a small business; the need to re-code for various versions of hardware and software is not conducive to building a customer base. Variations in hardware and software not only affect the overall compatibility of the app, but also reflect poorly on the build quality of the app. As a result, customers naturally distrust the platform when they experience poor app quality and interaction. Developers are then forced to write quick and dirty patches to fix problems, which is inherently dangerous and shoddy programming.

Google needs to approach this issue carefully. There are a number of low powered phones running Android version 1.5 to extremely high end powerful phones with the latest version of 2.0 available. The inability of versions to run backwards or forwards compatibility means that apps available on either version will only run on versions that are exactly the same as theirs.

The iPhone countered this by launching new phones along with the compulsion to use the iTunes interface to make sure the phone’s software was up to date. As draconian and controlling as it sounds, Apple has achieved great success with the iPhone because they have managed to control the entire experience of using the iPhone. Because customers only know one experience, Apple can easily do damage control when malicious or software threats emerge.

Emulators would be the next logical step to ensure that applications run on all platforms and hardware, however, the very nature of an emulator is to provide something similar to the real experience. There is always a cost to using an emulator; it may never truly reflect how apps interact with the phone’s hardware and software. As a result, developers still don’t know how to deal with variations.

Google needs to provide some means of standardizing the software available across hardware or provide some kind of interface that will at least help users and developers diagnose problems with their Android compatible phones. The logical assumption would be a web-based interface that allows users to download from a central location similar to iTunes. The Android Marketplace has the potential to become at this point, however it would need to be seamlessly designed and integrated with all hardware. With the specialized technology that Google has recently acquired, it would make sense for the Marketplace to receive a facelift that provides an interface for phones to stay up to date through Google.

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