Samsung Amps Up Its Multi-Window Android Upgrade 229
DeviceGuru writes "New multiwindow, multitasking features in Samsung's recent Jellybean update to the Galaxy Note 10.1 have pushed the user interface of Android tablets into new territory, adding MS Windows-like capabilities that are sure to delight many users — and aggravate others. Although some observers have warned of the dangers of forking Android, Samsung's efforts to extend Android and its ecosystem can be defended as being consistent with Google's master plan for the Android system, most of which is released under ASLv2. And remember: unlike Apple, Android device makers, and the wireless carriers who offer Android smartphones to their customers, need ways to differentiate their products."
Like it or not, Samsung is Android (Score:5, Insightful)
Well really there are three Androids now:
1) Amazon
2) Samsung
3) Everyone else
Samsung by grabbing so much market share of Android sales, now how the power to drive Android in a direction it wants to go.
Its not a bad or a good thing; it's just what is. If I were doing Android development supporting Samsung extensions would seem to be a pretty good idea.
Re:UX & Customization (Score:5, Insightful)
It is only a race to the bottom because with current carrier subsidies nobody expects their phone to last more than a year or two anyway. If the hardware companies want to compete on hardware quality/price, they need to stand up to the carriers. If they do not, it is their own fault.
You got a point but it is a MESS right now (Score:5, Insightful)
I am seriously starting to dislike Android. When it runs, it is fine BUT if you want to upgrade (coming from a DOS, Unix, Linux and Windows background) FORGET about it. It is gigantic fucking mess where you are totally at the mercy of the manufacturer as to whether your model gets an upgrade. Cyanogenmod isn't an answer either, it is FAR from a generic Android that just "works". If Android was Linux you would have distro's that ONLY ran on ONE model of Dell and then had 1 year after release small niggling bugs like the monitor not yet working...
Now I grew up with Unix, Dos, Windows and Linux. I am no stranger to having to hunt for drivers and have to deal with weird configurations and installing stuff in just the right order. But with ALL the above, you at least have the OPTION to do so.
With Android? No drivers, no configs, no nothing. Either you spend ages learning how to cook a release to tweak it or you just don't. The debug options to are shockingly bad even compared to Windows. It would be a LOT better if there was just a default install you could do and install drivers that Google required each company to make available for install if they want to use Android.
But they didn't and you suddenly realize just how fucking open the Windows platform is by comparison, just how complete Linux is.
I am either going to stick with Nexus devices in the future or hope an alternative emerges because I am NOT going to be stuck with a device that is not going to be updated by Samsung ever again.
You don't have to differentiate with screen/case etc. JUST FUCKING UPDATE YOUR FUCKING DEVICE! That will make you fucking unique in Android land. The first company that manages to release a device that can ALWAYS run the latest Android version will leave ALL the other companies in the dust.
Re:Oh, good. (Score:4, Insightful)
The feature is nevertheless something that Android sorely needs if it wants to expand from plain tablets to Win8-style convertibles and laptops. Samsung did it because Google did not. I don't know how well Samsung APIs are designed; if they're good enough, Google should just take them and merge them into the main Android branch, and be done with it. If not, they should design something of their own, but do it now, before we have half a dozen incompatible windowing systems.
Carrier crippleware (Score:4, Insightful)
And remember: unlike Apple, Android device makers, and the wireless carriers who offer Android smartphones to their customers, need ways to differentiate their products.
No they fucking well do not.
Only in the USA would this be regarded as a virtue or a requirement. I don't want to have to choose between crippled-version-of-Android-1, crippled-version-of-Android-2, crippled-version-of-Android-3, etc when what I want is a decent device knowing that the system will be the same no matter which device I choose.
The last thing on earth we need is wireless carriers and telcos who bugger around with the OS because they think their ghastly sucky software is sooooo terribly important.
Oh, wait, we already have them...