GigaOM Reads: A look back at the week in tech

on March 15, 2013

Samsung released S4, which is like S3, except beefier; Google has killed the Reader and we are all upset; Andy Rubin is done with Android and Sundar Pichai is in-charge along with ChromeOS; Apple and Samsung fight is getting feistier + more cool reads.

This week in the Oracle/Google trial: Week 2

on April 27, 2012

One of the biggest trials in the recent history of the tech industry is in full swing, as Oracle (s orcl) and Google (s goog) debate whether or not Google improperly used technology from Oracle’s Java when developing Android. Here’s what happened during Week 2.

This week in the Oracle/Google trial: Week 1

on April 20, 2012

One of the biggest trials in the recent history of the tech industry is in full swing, as Oracle and Google argue whether or not Google improperly used technology from Oracle’s Java when developing Android. Here’s what has happened during the first week of the trial.

Why it’s bad that Android has 850k daily activations

on February 27, 2012

With a year-on-year growth rate of more than 250%, 850,000 new Android devices are activated each day, jetting the total number of Android devices around the world past 300 million.

These numbers are a testament to the break-neck speed of innovation that defines the Android ecosystem.” — Andy Rubin, SVP, Mobile and Digital Content, Google(s goog)

Rubin shared this data in a blog post on Monday, coinciding with the Mobile World Congress event. Aside from some Windows Phone(s msft) news, the MWC show has been a non-stop Android event: multiple phones with quad-core chips, high-definition displays and LTE mobile broadband radios. Rubin speaks to “speed of innovation” as a plus, but it can be just as harmful.

While Google gains from more Android handsets in the wild, handset makers are trying to one-up each other to stand out from the crowd. Motorola (s mmi) tried in 2011 and agreed to be bought by Google as the company couldn’t break out from the pack with multiple handset and tablet models. HTC quickly rolled out many phones last year too, but sales growth stalled, partially due to too many similar variants of the same designs. And then there are the consumers who run the risk of buying a new Android phone only to see an improved model arrive soon after. If you don’t believe that, just talk to a Motorola Razr owner who saw the Razr Maxx launch just weeks later.

The other issue in the ecosystem is software-related. Google is refining Android far faster than handset makers and carriers can test and push out to consumers. Nobody can keep up with Google’s “break-neck speed of innovation”, which is a negative, not a plus. I think this could be hurting developers who may start coding using one set of Android APIs but then see new ones with each Android release.

As a long-time, daily Android user, I like the experience, control and functionality my phone and tablet provide me. But I’m pretty tolerant of change and the fast pace of technology innovation. It’s great for Google that activations are growing, but what’s the cost of such speed? Instead of focusing on activation numbers and a fast development pace, maybe the Android team should take 6 months off and let the rest of the ecosystem catch up.

HTC tweaks devices in response to Apple patent violation

on December 21, 2011

On Monday, Apple won an ITC ruling resulting in an import ban on some HTC smartphones running Android. The patent found to have been violated has to do with a feature for detecting and using data, but HTC says it has already addressed the issue.