Clarified Android 3 leak says specs are just recommendations
updated 11:05 am EDT, Fri July 2, 2010
Next Android may not have fixed hardware spec
A clarification of possible Android 3.0 info suggests Google may not be enforcing as strict a hardware and software split as thought. Following claims by Google's Android Open Source lead Dan Morrill that the info was made up, Eldar Murtazin has explained that the 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 3.5-inch display are simply recommended, rather than necessary. Separately, Unwired View also corrected its translation and said Android 2.1 and 2.2 were just more likely to be used for lower-end phones than before.
Google is still thought to be looking at a major interface update for future OS releases, but it's unclear whether this would happen with 3.0, an interim 2.x build, or even a later release. Google has lately changed its version codenames, such as moving Eclair from 2.0 to 2.1, so it's unclear whether the publicly acknowledged Gingerbread is 3.0 or another version entirely.
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Joined: Apr 2001
Of course it's all just "Recommendations"!
Android is an open source project. ANYONE can take the source code and do ANYTHING they want to it. Port it to an iPhone? Why not? Put it on your 5 year old Motorola RAZR? Well, good luck, but if you can, you're more than welcome to.
So if you want to use a slower processor and lower resolution screen for your 3.0 Android phone, go right ahead cause Google can't stop you. If you want to mess with the UI and put your own "Blur" or "Sense" interface on it, go right ahead because no one can stop you.
Heck, Google doesn't even officially own the Android source code.
I use and participate in many open source projects. They work great as long as you have strong leadership who knows where they're going and a group of dedicated users who are all on board.
The problem with Android is that Google's leadership has been awful and the participants are now competing against each other. Google has done way too many releases and has weak project plans. Manufacturers have discovered that a phone they've spent months building becomes obsolete sometimes days after its initial release and upgrading to the next revision will take another six months worth of effort. Manufacturers are constantly struggling to keep their phones up to date with the latest OS. How many Android phones are still sold with the old 1.6 version still on it?
Google is attempting to make things better by improving the UI to a state where you don't need to write your own interface and by creating a "reference platform" model that will guarantee easy updating for Android much the way the iPhone and Windows PCs do (and much the way Microsoft envisioned Windows 7 Phone will).
Of course, if you just bought your Droid Incredible and find out in October that your phone is now obsolete because it doesn't match the new "reference model" and can no longer receive OS updates, you might be a bit pissed. And, if you're a manufacturer like HTC or Motorola who like to customize their interface to make it distinct from other rivals, you might be a bit upset too.
The problem for Google is that it no longer controls the Android platform. The big player on the block is now Verizon and Verizon is demanding some changes in the way Android works. Verizon has their Droid line and they're the ones who pushed for the "reference platform" in Android 3.0. Verizon wants to be able to get Droid phones from a whole line of manufacturers, and wants them to be more or less interchangeable. Verizon also wants to open its own app store for Android in its VCast marketplace, and if they're successful, they may simply shut down access to the Android Marketplace and third party apps on the web. After all, Apple's "walled garden" App Store has been quite successful no matter what the various gear heads think.