Google's Android developer group Dec. 17 released a tool to help developers decide what versions of the Android operating system their applications should support. The dashboard currently lists Android 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and the fresh 2.0.1. Only Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.0.1 are shipping in volume, pointing developers to what they should focus on going forward. But the unofficial reason for the device dashboard is that Google is aware of the increasing fragmentation of Android and wants to help programmers find their way.
Google's Android developer group Dec. 17 released a device dashboard to help developers decide what iterations of the
Android operating system their applications should support.
That
dashboard also happens to show just how fragmented the mobile platform aimed at
challenging Apple's iPhone has become.
The
device dashboard lists the distribution of Android platform versions on devices
running Android Market, said Google Android developer Raphael Moll.
The dashboard currently lists 5 Android instantiations of
varying distribution through the first two weeks of December: 1.1, 1.5, 1.6,
2.0 and the fresh 2.0.1. Only Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.0.1 are shipping in
volume, pointing developers to what they should focus on.
Android 1.6 is the lead OS, coming on 54.2 percent of
devices, including the
T-Mobile G1 and
myTouch 3G. Android 2.0 claims only 2.9 percent in the wake of the fresh
upgrade to 2.0.1, which stands at 14.8 percent. The
Motorola Droid, well marketed by Verizon Wireless, runs on 2.0 and 2.0.1.
The SDK for Android 2.0.1 was released just two weeks ago,
and Moll advised developers whose application uses features specific to Android
2.0 to upgrade to Android 2.0.1 because all Android 2.0 devices will be
upgraded to 2.0.1 before Jan. 1. Android 1.5 units, such as the
HTC Droid Eris and
Motorola Cliq, come in at 27.7 percent.
Google said it will expand the dashboard to include information
such as devices per screen size, and will update the dashboard to reflect
deployment of new Android platforms.
Why is Google offering this device dashboard? Moll's
official reason is: "Our goal is to provide you with the tools and
information to make it easy for you to target specific versions of the platform
or all the versions that are deployed in volume."
The unofficial reason is that Google is aware of the
increasing fragmentation of Android. The mobile-watching world knew there were
these many operating systems floating around for Android.
But to see them rounded up, literally, in a pie chart
showing the varying rates of adoption (or lack thereof) is a sobering experience.
In Android fragmentation, applications written for one OS iteration may not run
on others. Also, apps written for newer Android builds may not run on older
hardware.
In another sign of the fragmentation inherent in Android,
Moll offered a bit of advice for developers of Android 1.6+ apps, noting that
devices can have different screen densities and sizes.
"There are several devices out there that fall in
this category, so make sure to adapt your application to support different
screen sizes and take advantage of devices with small, low density (e.g QVGA)
and normal, high density (e.g. WVGA) screens."
Android Market will not
list apps on small screen devices unless its manifest explicitly
indicates support for "small" screen sizes, so developers must
configure the emulator and test their app on different screen sizes
before uploading it to the Market.
In related Android news, Google Dec. 17 also released new
resources and sample code on developer.android.com. A new
resources tab boasts tutorials, FAQs and sample code. Speaking of which, a new
batch of sample code is available via ZIP download.
The sample code
covers Wiktionary, multiple resolutions and a contact manager, among others.
Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson confirmed for eWEEK that there are 16,000 Android free and paid apps, not 20,000 as others
previously reported.
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