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Google - c'mon man!

L

lessit

Well-Known Member
I'm all in with Google smartphones so don't interpret this as some troll post BUT, it's time for Google to grow up! Sure, the release oriented lawn ornaments and dessert names were cute at first but now they seem to have taken on some importance to them, and shouldn't. Google has a huge market cap and role in the tech industry and they need to show a serious side.
Start with laying out the release future of Android. Stick with the release numbers only, disclose the upcoming features and projected timeline. Quit trying to duplicate Apple's "buzz" by keeping things super secret. It works for them because they are in a closed eco-system but the openess of Android spawns a huge diversity in related technologies and users. Commitments would anchor the Android environment.
 
lessit said:
I'm all in with Google smartphones so don't interpret this as some troll post BUT, it's time for Google to grow up! Sure, the release oriented lawn ornaments and dessert names were cute at first but now they seem to have taken on some importance to them, and shouldn't. Google has a huge market cap and role in the tech industry and they need to show a serious side.
Start with laying out the release future of Android. Stick with the release numbers only, disclose the upcoming features and projected timeline. Quit trying to duplicate Apple's "buzz" by keeping things super secret. It works for them because they are in a closed eco-system but the openess of Android spawns a huge diversity in related technologies and users. Commitments would anchor the Android environment.
Click to expand...

I question the openness you and many others talk of. Open is development of projects like Ubuntu and many others related that have daily builds. android is only open after its finished.
 
Yeah - too much exposure of the roadmap hurts everyone. Roadmaps are just the plan, and no plan survives engagement with the enemy (chaos and never-ending change in the tech field).

If you look at the release names (Donut, Cupcake, Eclair, Gingerbread), it's a shorthand phonetics code that non-Nato types can remember, otherwise they'd be Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet ... aka, C, D, E, F, G, H...

The numbers are logically assigned when the final decision is made to be either a minor or major revision change.

This all reduces market angst by not overpromising vaporware too soon, and probably saves them a bundle in their corporate liability insurance rates.

It's just business, really.
 
I don't much care for Google's roadmap anywhere near as much as my phone's manufacturer's commitment to Android's releases.

Google will always be releasing new Android updates.

It's the phone maker's commitment to keep my phone updated, that's the key for me and many others.
 
lessit said:
I'm all in with Google smartphones so don't interpret this as some troll post BUT, it's time for Google to grow up! Sure, the release oriented lawn ornaments and dessert names were cute at first but now they seem to have taken on some importance to them, and shouldn't. Google has a huge market cap and role in the tech industry and they need to show a serious side.
Start with laying out the release future of Android. Stick with the release numbers only, disclose the upcoming features and projected timeline. Quit trying to duplicate Apple's "buzz" by keeping things super secret. It works for them because they are in a closed eco-system but the openess of Android spawns a huge diversity in related technologies and users. Commitments would anchor the Android environment.
Click to expand...

Huh? :(:confused::(
 
Google + Serious?

Which parallel universe do you live in? Are we talking about the same giant search engine company whose artist put hidden triforce symbol in its logo?
 
silly... silly... what they do with names and number and identification have nothing to do with market acceptance. they are the creators.. once done.. they release it.. for open-source use.

Programming is not easy to put on a time table... unless they put a very very exaggerated time table.. 1 update per year would be a safe bet. I personally would hate that.
 
lessit said:
I'm all in with Google smartphones so don't interpret this as some troll post BUT, it's time for Google to grow up! Sure, the release oriented lawn ornaments and dessert names were cute at first but now they seem to have taken on some importance to them, and shouldn't. Google has a huge market cap and role in the tech industry and they need to show a serious side.
Click to expand...
I don't really understand how they do business is an issue. The point is Google works. They are a multi-billion dollar company and are respected. I've never heard of this as an issue before.

:/ IT companies I know are very 'relax' and cater to their engineers/IT employees so that they can work under 'free reigh' without pressure from work politics. I.e. there's no dress code, they have relax/entertainment/zen rooms to make their employees happy.

Start with laying out the release future of Android. Stick with the release numbers only, disclose the upcoming features and projected timeline.
Click to expand...
*points up* What Dan said.

Quit trying to duplicate Apple's "buzz" by keeping things super secret. It works for them because they are in a closed eco-system but the openess of Android spawns a huge diversity in related technologies and users. Commitments would anchor the Android environment.
Click to expand...

All companies try to get people interested in their products and create 'buzz' so that more people are interested in what they have to say. Apple does it quite well but don't let that fool you that they and only they do that. Why do companies have PR and make announcements. Good examples are carriers, before they release a phone, they do leaks get people interested and make a 'big' annoucement of the device being released.

m4tic said:
I question the openness you and many others talk of. Open is development of projects like Ubuntu and many others related that have daily builds. android is only open after its finished.
Click to expand...
I'll just put this in layman term. Android is open in the sense that Google creates the Android platform/version and it releases the Android SDK for anyone/everyone to use. Thus the openess of Android. The OEM uses the Android OS and put them on their phones. They can alter/change it to how they see fit. That's why we have the UI Sense, TouchWiz, etc.
 
Branding for successful companies is very important. The OS codenames are all a part of google's branding campaign. I think it's very smart because it's a nice way to relate things that people like in the real world with their products.
 
lessit said:
I'm all in with Google smartphones so don't interpret this as some troll post BUT, it's time for Google to grow up! Sure, the release oriented lawn ornaments and dessert names were cute at first but now they seem to have taken on some importance to them, and shouldn't. Google has a huge market cap and role in the tech industry and they need to show a serious side.
Click to expand...
I don't see what the project names have to do with this. It's typical for any development projects. Google just selected dessert themed names. Seems pointless to me to think that this says anything about their seriousness. They've been serious or else Android would have stagnated over the years and wouldn't be a serious competitor to Apple's popular product. Sounds to me like it's just a random windmill that you're tilting at.

Google isn't going to change their corporate culture. It's because of it, not in spite of it, that Google has been successful. Quite a few of the personal projects have moved on to become Google products. As posted above, I don't see the point in "fixing" what isn't broken.

AndroidSPCS said:
Why change what's worked so well for them? There is no reason to.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I'd like to see the OP post something that's actually broken. The project names are irrelevant.

lessit said:
Commitments would anchor the Android environment.
Click to expand...
Can you cite where Google has failed to deliver or added delays? It's really the OEM's and carriers that are the concern from what I've seen.
 

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OK, good, I'm the only one with the opinion that Google could do a much better job manageing their public release schcedule. I can defend that.

My belief is that if Google were to cut down on the release variants and provide better direction the fragmentation would (will) be less of a problem. If carriers knew there would only be one or two releases a year they'd be more likely to implement them. Right now there is a continual stream of 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 3.0. Some have code names, some have changed, others don't. Stuck in between these are carrier and hardware maintenance releases that get confused with Google releases.

The problem I'm pointing out is that Android's installed base is now substantial and it's much harder to manage a large base. I think Google, manufacturers and carriers need to be more public and definitive with their plans. Apple isn't as burdoned because they control most of their own ecosystem. What works for Apple is probably different than what woks for Google.
 
Well what works for a hardware maker, Apple, doesn't work for a software maker, Google.

I agree with you, the situation needs improving. I disagree that this is at Google's feet. Handset makers, yes.
 
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