Critics of Google's
The fragmentation debate is getting plenty of fuel right now. On one hand, the latest and greatest Android version, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich, is finally arriving on many of the best-selling devices. But then, Google is expected to introduce the next version at next week's Google I/O conference. Diversity is going up and down all at once..
What's an Android user -- not to mention Google investors -- to do?
Some skepticism is clearly warranted. Ice Cream Sandwich was introduced in October 2011, and had reached only 7% of Android handsets as of June 1 -- seven months later. The rate of adoption is hardly impressive:
Source: Google's Android developer site.
See that little sliver at the bottom, marked Android 4.0.3? That's Ice Cream Sandwich. Almost everyone is stuck on older, inferior software. By contrast, Apple
But when it rains, it pours. In the past few days, Samsung released Ice Cream Sandwich updates for its popular Galaxy S2 series. Verizon
So app developers have to account for a myriad of hardware and software combinations you'd never see in the Apple world, but judging from sales figures, consumers seem to appreciate the wide variety of choices more than they're perplexed by the variety. The blessings outweigh the curses.
That said, no gadget in the mobile revolution outsells the iPhone in a head-to-head comparison. Our chief tech analyst here at the Fool believes that Apple can enjoy that advantage for years to come, and has penned an in-depth report to explain his reasoning. To see whether you agree with his logic, get your copy of that premium report right now.