Android: the missed opportunities »
Graham Lee argues that Android is not a ‘product’, but a technology:
Using Android in a touchscreen device is an extension of using Linux in any other computing scenario: I might like the solution, but I don’t want to see your working. I own countless Linux boxes: a couple of network routers, some eInk readers, a Drobo, that sort of thing. They all have in common that they take Linux and then build something on top of it that solves a problem I have. While all of these devices are successful products that all use Linux, Linux itself as a standalone thing is not successful among the same people who buy Linux routers, Linux NAS and so on.
He writes that Android as a technology, could be so much more useful than being a ‘product’ in itself.
For example, Amazon uses Android to serve as the operating system on their Kindle Fire, albeit with their improvements and software (with no recognizable Android UI beyond that).
In conclusion, he said:
Android can be a great part of a whole range of different touchscreen products. However it is not, in itself, a product.
I am personally with him on this one, though I don’t think Google would like Android to be used this way.
