How Carriers and Phone Makers Are Strangling Android (And How Google Could Save It) - google phone - Gizmodo

Gizmodo’s John Herrman has an interesting write up on the reasons behind fragmentation in Android version.  I thought the parallel to the iPhone model was insightful and certainly the concern is there.  Perhaps the Nexus One is Google’s response to the fragmentation.

The problem is in the model. Android updates seed out through carriers, over the air or with special installers. This is because the updates are their responsibility: once handset manufacturers (and carriers, through handset manufacturers) have built their own version of Android, they’ve effectively taken it out of the development stream. Updating it is their responsibility, which they have to choose to uphold. Or not! Who cares? The phones are already sold. And there's very little to motivate a carrier or handset manufacturer to update their Android phones, because the consequences tend to fall on Google: If Android fragments, the App Market doesn't work. The public sours. Android starts to suck. This is where the Nexus One comes in.

via How Carriers and Phone Makers Are Strangling Android (And How Google Could Save It) – google phone – Gizmodo.