[Discuss] Android hardware fragmentation

[richard.pieri at gmail.com (Rich Pieri)]

There has been discussion about fragmentation of the Android operating
system across carriers but not much about the hardware. I mention this
in light of the recent discussion about Ouya. And here's the problem:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/117962666888533781522/posts/MRnnvs3oFUF

None of the first generation Snapdragon devices, including Nexus One
and HTC Incredible, will be getting the ICS-based CyanogenMod 9. Pieces
like the video decoding APIs in ICS don't exist for these devices. The
hardware is entirely capable of supporting the APIs; it's simply that
Google never published the libraries, maybe never even wrote them.

So, what does this have to do with Ouya? Everything. Android isn't just
an operating system. It's a hardware specifications list, a list that
changes every time Google publishes a new version of the OS.
Historically, only a few Android devices are capable of running the
next major version from what shipped stock and none run two versions
up. Not even Google's own hardware goes two major versions up.

Again, what does this have to do with Ouya? Everything. Two years from
now it won't get the latest version of Android. Two years from now it
won't get to play the latest and greatest for games in Google's store,
not because the hardware isn't capable but because there won't be a
working set of API libraries for it.

Thoughts? Am I completely wack? Does Ouya face bigger problems than
competition from Nintendo and Microsoft?

-- 
Rich P.