What is wrong with Android

I recently purchased an HTC Magic, my first device running Android, Google's Linux-based mobile operating system. Although there are a lot of things I like about Android, I also quickly realized that there are also a lot of things that either require urgent improvement or are going wrong altogether. Below is my not-so-small list of Android issues. A lot of them are related to the Android market because it is in my opinion the part of Android that requires the most urgent efforts.

The Android Market must be available internationally

Currently the paid apps are only available to a very few countries outside of the US, and the market itself is not available at all in many places. Google must urgently set up a worldwide market for free apps and bring paid apps to at least as many countries as the iPhone app store (currently they are FAR behind). The problem is that even in Brussels (which is one of the 2 capitals of the European Union, the second largest developed economy after the US) I can not purchase a paid application on the Android market. This makes the Android ecosystem look bad when compared to the iPhone and iPod Touch which do not face such issues. My only option is to install an alternative market like Slideme, but for most people finding the alternative market and installing client on their phone is a daunting task.

Create a computer interface for Android

The second issue is that they should really provide a computer based interface for the Android Market and for music management. It can be a website, an application or even a Songbird plug-in, but it is just not convenient for many people to browse the apps on their phone small screen and to manage their music by "mounting" the SD card. This would also allow Google to create a better front end for application promotion and maybe even to create an Open Source section in the market.

Force manufacturer to clearly state if the Android market is enabled

Another major problem with the Android Market is that some device manufacturers or operators do not include the market on their handsets or devices. This is very problematic because the main reason most people want to buy an Android device is to be able to install third party applications and games (otherwise they would buy a much cheaper feature phone). Google should reserve the term "Android" to devices that actually include the Android market and have devices that just use Android as an OS called "Android Lite" or "Android Powered". Currently when you buy an Android device you don't know what you will be able to run unless you scour the web for reviews.

Do not rely on OTA upgrades

Although OTA (Over The Air) upgrades of Android may be an acceptable solution in the US, it is not the case internationally. Some countries (like Belgium, where I live) require by law that the handset selling business is separate from the mobile operator business. This means that the operator that sells an Android handset has to sell it equally to user of all mobile networks, not only its own. This means that OTA upgrades are not possible because they would have to convince that other operators to upgrade also the devices on their network. Even in other countries, to allow an OTA upgrade to be deployed not only must the handset manufacturer accept to create the upgrade, but the operator must agree to distribute it. This means that a lot of devices won't be updated that way. This leads me to my next concern: fragmentation.

Do something about Android fragmentation

Currently the Android landscape is something like 20% Android 2, 25% Android 1.5 and 55% Android 1.6. This is obviously cause for concern for developers and users alike as it means that applications and games need not only to be coded for several screen resolutions, but also for different operating system versions. This makes it difficult for an user to know if he will be able to install the latest games and applications, and games and applications are what many people buy a smartphone for.

Fix Android 3D performance issues

As pointed out by Ars Technica, current versions of Android and of the Android NDK are not correctly optimized for 3D gaming. Nowadays a smartphone or tablet OS must also be a gaming platform, so these things are really important. Another issues is that versions of Android prior to 2.0 only support the mobile equivalent OpenGL 1.3. This may make it impossible for gaming companies to bring their OpenGL 2.0 iPhones titles to Android handset. What it looks like now is that Android handsets usually get ports of the phone versions of games rather than the more polished iPhone version. Look for example at the game Farm Frenzy on Android and on the iPhone, the difference is clear.

Android is still a good platform

Despite all this, Android is still my smartphone OS of choice because of the openess of the platform (at least compared to Apple offerings). I would however like to see all these issues sorted quickly so that Android has a chance to truly rival the iPhone and create real competition in the mobile and tablet market.