How is the Android OS running?

An Android developers site has posted the make up of the Android consumer base.
It suggests that the Nexus One, which is the smartphone running Froyo 2.2, has only 3% of the market share. However the Nexus One is about to be discontinued.
By far most users are on Android 2.1 making up 55.5% of the market, followed by 22.1% on version 1.6 and 18.9% on 1.5.
XA tiny fraction (0.3%) of OS systems are running on obsolete versions according to the data which was collected over a period of two weeks at the beginning of July.
There is also a table of how many versions the various API's are compatible with. Versions 1.5 and 1.6 are compatible with most APIs while the 2.1 share is growing.


The site states: "Notice that the platform versions are stacked on top of each other with the oldest active version at the top.
"This format indicates the total percent of active devices that are compatible with a given version of Android.
"For example, if you develop your application for the version that is at the very top of the chart, then your application is compatible with 100% of active devices (and all future versions), because all Android APIs are forward compatible."
However this can lead to a problem of fragmentation as picked up in a Guardian article. This is because old versions of the Android OS can't run applications that target more recent versions.
The Guardian says that we don't really know how the Android OS is running because Google won't tell us. Available data on Android market transactions would make the whole picture that much clearer.

The End of the Nexus One Android Smartphone?

Various publications have picked up the decision of the search giant to kill its own progeny – the Nexus One.
The Nexus One was one of the first Android smartphones that were released. Crave, the gadget blog from CNET UK wrote in tragic terms about the discontinuation of the Android Nexus One: “Google is taking the Nexus One out into the woods and putting a bullet through the back of its touch screen.”
They called the Nexus One a blog experiment in online sales of smartphones and said that the Vodafone Nexus One would surely be the last of a dying breed. Why had Google not taken a lesson from Apple in terms of marketing a smartphone? The Nexus One has sadly become just another casualty of ever moving technology.
The online portal for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper focused on the company closing of the online store. Google CEO Eric Schmidt told the Telegraph that the idea of moving the phone platform hardware business forward was so successful that Google did not have to do a second one.
Now that the last shipment of Nexus One has been received they will no longer need to be sold online. The Nexus One blog also said that the web store had remained a niche market.
Meanwhile the Mobile Business Briefing said that Google was ‘keen’ to attract developers to the Android based device.’ It added that Google was quick to deny that poor sales were responsible for the closure of the online Nexus One sales portal.

Nexus One Android 2.2 Froyo Update

Below is a really useful video for users of the Nexus One Android smartphone. They can now access the Android 2.2 Froyo, which is the latest software update. Its main advantage is increased speed (5 times faster) over a range of different features including web browsing. It also gives you access to portable Wi-Fi hotspots. Android 2.2 Froyo will also allow certain mobiles to share their Wi-Fi connection with up to eight other devices.
Jealous? Well the Android 2.2 upgrade should be available to other users including the HTC smartphone soon.
An HTC spokesperson said: "We are working hard in conjunction with our partners to update the HTC Sense experience on Froyo and get it to our customers ASAP. We expect to release updates for 2010 models including the Legend, Wildfire and Desire smartphones in the third quarter of 2010."