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????安迪?魯賓和他設計的Android系統忙得幾乎沒有喘息之機。自從Android系統誕生以來，它幾乎與每家無線運營商和智能手機廠商都進行了合作，在不到三年的時間里，它一躍成為智能手機行業的主導操作系統。微軟的移動視窗（Windows Mobile）系統已經報廢了，塞班（Symbian）系統也已被諾基亞拋棄。Android如日中天，黑莓（Blackberry）和Windows Phone 7只能搶奪市場上的殘羹剩屑。 ????蘋果的iPhone用戶數量雖然一直持續增長，但Android設備的迅猛發展，使得就連iPhone的市場份額也相形見絀。 ????最近當我到百思買（Best Buy）購物的時候，我發現手機柜臺上擺著40來部Android系統的智能機，旁邊只擺著幾部功能手機、還擺著一只古怪的黑莓或Windows Phone 7，以及幾部蘋果的iPhone。如果你到美國無線電器材公司（Radio Shack）或美國大多數無線運營商的展廳里逛逛，情形也大同小異。 ????因此你可能會想，這篇文章肯定是要連篇累牘地說Android的好話吧？ ????事實卻并非如此。 ????今天大部分時間我都在看一些關于Android的負面報道，這些報道指責Android設備要么太便宜，要么用戶界面太難看；而且用戶界面要么太像iPhone，要么太不像iPhone了；Android應用的質量也差強人意；屏幕要么太大，要么太小；電池壽命其短無比，且機身太厚……如此種種，不一而足。 ????但這就是橫掃一切其他操作系統的Android系統。 ????我聽到的兩個最大的報怨，一是稱Android手機的升級更新不夠快（這是真的！），二是許多Android設備的系統功能不完整——這恰恰是第一個問題的癥狀。首先，手機廠商和無線運營商之所以遲遲不愿將手機的操作系統更新為最新版本，是因為他們想賣新手機，而不是讓顧客一直用舊手機。 ????此外，無線運營商和廠商往往會在Android系統上面添加其它復雜的軟件或程序，它們往往具有破壞性，使得這些手機升級起來更加困難。這就是為什么谷歌的Nexus手機如此重要，因為它沒有任何運營商或廠商的添加程序，因此可以迅速更新，并帶給你真正的谷歌式體驗。 ????不過只有一個Nexus是不夠的。 ????《商業周刊》（Businessweek）指出，過去的幾個月里，谷歌一直在努力解決上文提到的后兩個問題。首先，鑒于許多Android設備的系統被廠商人為篡改，導致系統功能不完整，因此谷歌執行了由來已久以來的“反分割”措施，以此告誡運營商和廠商，不要在修改程序上做得太過火。我想谷歌對那些在發布產品后更新了設備的公司可能會相對溫柔些，對那些沒有更新設備的公司大概就不會手下留情了。 ????此前已有許多廠商指責Android系統的“開源”是一張免費車費，讓一些廠商不勞而獲，免費“搭車”。不過此次谷歌縮緊開源平臺的行為并沒有受到這些廠商的普遍歡迎。谷歌在當初起草Android開發許可時似乎頗有遠見，給自己加封了開源平臺的某種控制權，以免開源平臺變得無法控制。 ????早前谷歌曾宣布，在其清理“蜂巢”系統（Honeycomb）的代碼之前，將不會公布“蜂巢”的源代碼，這份聲明也在業界掀起了類似的憤怒聲浪。 ????Android 3.0“蜂巢”系統完全是為了屏幕更大的設備設計的，而且在Android系統最受青睞的小工具、多任務處理、瀏覽、通告和定制等方面都做了改進。谷歌表示：“盡管我們為安裝了Android系統的平板電腦能夠增添這些新的功能而感到興奮，但在我們能夠把它安裝到包括手機在內的其它設備之前，我們還有很多工作要做。我們決定在那之前暫不開放‘蜂巢’的源代碼。我們致力把Android作為跨多個設備類型的開放平臺來提供，一旦準備就緒，我們就會開放‘蜂巢’的源代碼。” ????對于那些想要使用Android代碼而又不愿意遵守谷歌游戲規則的廠商和運營商來說，他們現在有了別的選擇。亞馬遜（Amazon）新開張了一個功能齊全的應用商店，使設備制造商們除了谷歌的應用商店Apps Marketplace外，又有了一種享受各種手機應用的新途徑。而谷歌的Apps Marketplace只面向谷歌認可的設備。 ????CellularSouth公司就剛剛發布了第一款內置亞馬遜應用商店的設備。 ????Facebook和微軟也被谷歌排擠出了Android生態圈子。 ????谷歌的安迪?魯賓表示，“反分割”條款早就是Android開發許可的一部分，不過有些受訪者卻表示，谷歌最近才收緊了其開源政策。例如有兩位不愿透露姓名的人士指出，Facebook一直在研發用于智能手機的Android版Facebook應用，但現在Facebook的高管們對谷歌非常不滿，因為谷歌已經開始針對Facebook對Android系統的修改進行審查。此外另據兩位熟悉內情的人士透露，由于Verizon公司的Android設備使用了與谷歌搜索引擎相競爭的微軟“必應”(Bing)搜索引擎，谷歌也力阻這款設備投放市場。 ????事實似乎很明顯，谷歌的算盤，是希望通過執行Android開發許可中的條款，盡量使這兩家競爭對手無法從Android中獲得好處。不過對于那些簡單地把Android和“開源”劃等號的人來說，他們并不支持谷歌的這種做法。 ????Facebook和微軟都有可能把自己與谷歌的糾紛提交到美國司法部（Justice Department）。 ????一位熟知內情的人士表示，谷歌加緊控制開源平臺的行為，已經促使一些公司向司法部提起了訴訟。谷歌女發言人莎麗?約德爾?道爾蒂拒絕對谷歌、其合作伙伴以及相關訴訟進行評論。 ????不管是不是這樣，過去兩個星期里，在聯入谷歌Android市場的Android設備中，大約有三分之二的設備使用的都是Android 2.2系統，它是Android的一個相對較新的版本。其次的版本是Android 2.1，它和Android 2.2一起，占據了所有Android設備的90%多。 |
????It's hard for Andy Rubin and his Android creation to catch a fair break. Partnering with just about every carrier and smartphone manufacturer, Android has come from nowhere to be the dominant OS in the smartphone industry in under three years. Windows Mobile was scrapped, Symbian was cut and now Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 are in a fight to gain some pittance of market share against the surging Android. ????Android's growth has even made Apple's iPhone, which continues to grow in numbers, flat in market share. ????When I go into a Best Buy (BBY) nowadays, I see about 40 Android devices next to a few feature phones, an odd BlackBerry or Windows Phone 7 and a few iPhones. Walk into a Radio Shack or most U.S. carrier showrooms and you'll see the same thing. ????So you'd think the news would constantly be on what Android is doing right? ????That's hardly the case. ????I spend most of my day wading through reports of how Android devices are too cheap or that the user interface is ugly and either too much or not enough like the iPhone's. The quality of the apps aren't up to snuff or the screens are too big or small, the battery life is horrible and the phones are too thick. On and on. ????This, for the mobile OS that is destroying everything else out there. ????The two biggest complaints I hear are that Android devices don't get updated quickly enough (True!) and that Android devices are fragmented -- which is a symptom of the first problem. Manufacturers and carriers aren't motivated to update their handsets to the latest version of their OS because they want to sell new handsets, not keep their customers on old ones. ????Add to that, carriers and manufacturers add complicated and often crippling overlays to Android, which make it that much more complex to upgrade. That's why Google's Nexus products, those sold free of carrier or manufacturer excesses, are so important. They get updated swiftly and give you the real Google experience. ????But the Nexus initiative wasn't enough. ????According to Businessweek, Google has spent the last few months trying to fix the latter two problems. By enforcing its long held "anti-fragmentation" measures, it is telling carriers and manufacturers that they can't get too crazy with their modifications. I imagine that the companies that upgrade their devices after releasing them are being treated better than those that don't. ????But that doesn't sit well with many who decry Android's 'Open'-ness as a free ticket. Google, which seemed to have some foresight when building out the Android developer license, gave itself some controls so that the open source platform didn't get too out of hand. ????There was similar outrage when Google announced that it wouldn't publish the source code to Honeycomb until it had cleaned up the code. ????Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we've decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We're committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it's ready. ????Other options are opening for manufacturers and carriers that don't want to play Google's game but still want access to the Android code. Amazon now has a fully functional App store which gives device makers a way to enjoy apps without Google's default market -- which only comes on approved devices. ????Indeed, CellularSouth just released the first Android device with Amazon's Appstore in the default install. ????Facebook and Microsoft (MSFT) have also been edged out by Google. ????Google's Rubin says that such clauses have always been part of the Android license, but people interviewed for this story say that Google has recently tightened its policies. Facebook, for example, has been working to fashion its own variant of Android for smartphones. Executives at the social network are unhappy that Google gets to review Facebook's tweaks to Android, say two people who weren't comfortable being named talking about the business. Google has also tried to hold up the release of Verizon Android devices that make use of Microsoft's rival Bing search engine, according to two people (VZ) familiar with the discussions. ????While it seems intuitive that Google would want to limit the benefit that both of these competitors could derive from Android, by using clauses in the Android developer license, it doesn't sit well with people who simplify Android as "open." ????Both of those companies are likely heading to the Justice Department over these issues. ????It's these types of actions that have prompted the gripes to the Justice Dept., says a person with knowledge of the matter. Google spokeswoman Shari Yoder Doherty declined to comment on Google and its partners or any complaints to the government. ????For what it is worth, almost two-thirds of Android devices that have checked into the Android Market in the past two weeks were running Android 2.2, a relatively recent version of Android. The second most popular flavor is Android 2.1 which, combined with 2.2, makes up over 90% of all Android devices. |
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????EETimes把這個問題擴展到了芯片制造商上，指出英特爾公司（Intel）沒有受到谷歌的公平對待。有趣的是，另一方面谷歌又對英特爾優待有加。谷歌推出的基于Android系統的谷歌電視（GoogleTV）恰恰是由英特爾獨家提供芯片——至少目前是這樣。 ????那么，運營商和廠商會做何反應呢？對于其中某些公司來說，他們可以轉向微軟的Windows Phone 7操作系統，也可以開發自己的智能手機操作系統，有傳言說摩托羅拉（Motorola）就在這樣做（在Android時代之前，摩托羅拉有一個Linux分發平臺，不過很少有人接受這個平臺），現在還不清楚是否他們認為自己現在可以做得更好。韓國三星（Samsung）也有自己的Bada智能手機操作系統，三星把它安裝在自己的低端手機上，不過同時三星也銷售Focus等WP 7手機。宏達電（HTC）、華碩（ASUS）和LG的情形也差不多，他們都既生產Android設備，也生產基于WP 7的設備。 ????對于廠商來說，WP 7還是一片未經驗證的戰場。不過隨著最近諾基亞（Nokia）宣布轉戰WP 7，許多其他廠商也不得不思索WP7是否也有讓人喜愛之處。 ????就在本周，有些專家還在報怨Android設備的不完整，而現在谷歌開始著手處理這個問題，他們會怎樣看待谷歌這一舉措？ ????Android已經不再是個開放的平臺了，谷歌開始明確宣稱要對其進行控制。Android的總設計師安迪?魯賓也好，谷歌的副總裁維克?貢多特拉也好，埃里克?施密特也好，他們仨都是卑鄙無恥、說話不算話的偽君子。 ????可憐的老Android，怎么著都是錯。 ????譯者：樸成奎 |
????EETimes extends this concern to chipmakers saying that Intel isn't getting a fair shake. Interestingly, the exact opposite is true for Android-powered GoogleTV, which is Intel only, at least for the moment. ????How will the carriers and manufacturers react? One option for some is heading over to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 or developing their own Smartphone OS. Motorola (MMI) has been rumored to be doing just that (they had a Linux distribution before Android, which was poorly received) so it isn't clear if they think they can now do better. Samsung has its Bada smartphone OS, which it puts on its low end phones, and also sells Windows Phone 7 devices like the Focus. HTC, ASUS and LG are in a similar situation, building both Android and WP7 devices. ????Windows Phone 7 is still an unproven ground for manufacturers, and with the recent Nokia arrangement announced, they have to wonder if there is favoritism there as well. ????What do the pundits, who just this week were complaining of Android's fragmentation, think of the move to clean up the perceived mess? ????Android is no longer open and Google starts asserting control. Andy Rubin, Vic Gundotra, Eric Schmidt: shameless, lying hypocrites, all of them. ????Poor old Android can't catch a break. |
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