Counter argument against fragmentation?

[arkazain]

Every time I hear/read that Android has more choices when picking a phone, but then someone else says that Android is too fragmented because of this.
Is there any counter argument against this?
I.E. if anyone says that Android is too fragmented, is there anything I can say to shut him up, basically?

 

[Frisco]

The biggest argument against Android being "too fragmented," to me, is that it is wildly popular and growing in popularity in leaps and bounds.

Downsides to that could be jealousy or frustration on some people's part over their favorite carrier not having this or that model of Android phone.

Non-compatibility in ROMs once rooted, etc, comes up frequently in the "too fragmented" discussions, but the ROM for your device will come along in due time.

 

[Guamguy]

Fragmentation is overrated. By Apple fanbois standards, Toyotas are fragmented because every model has a different dashboard than the other. Because Toyota dashboards are different from car to car, everyone is an idiot unable to adapt to the differences of the car controls and dashboards, making a Camry undrivable to a Corolla driver. Geez man, look at the "inconsistency" in the controls. Some cars got their hand brakes on a hand lever on the side. Other cars got the hand brake on a pedal to the left. Look how different is the dashboard of the Yaris to a Corolla. Or the Prius to a Camry.

If Apple make cars they will all be consistent, unified. You will only get one freaking model, with squared corners, four doors and only in one color. You can't modify your iCar either; that will void your warranty and we will use screws, nuts and bolts that no tool can use, so your average garage or repair shop can't work on them. Everyone's needs will be satisfied by a single iCar model, no need to create different models for different people.

 

[lunatic59]

Every time I hear/read that Android has more choices when picking a phone, but then someone else says that Android is too fragmented because of this.

Then ask them to define what "fragmentation" is and why it's a bad thing. My guess is that they will fail on both points. Frankly, fragmentation is a buzzword that has been latched onto by the media to have an arguing point against Android. The truth is that having different iterations of the OS and UI on a wide variety of devices is only an issue for a small minority of people. The most important group is the developer community and I don't hear a huge outcry from them. Sure there are occasional grumbles, but with the meteoric rise of the platform, they are too busy making money to care.

Is there any counter argument against this?
I.E. if anyone says that Android is too fragmented, is there anything I can say to shut him up, basically?

No, not really, because they wish to see fragmentation as a bad thing and you can't argue in favor of a bad thing. However, you can always grab their iDevice from their twitching fingers, smash it to the ground in pieces and say "how's that for fragmentation?" (JUST KIDDING, don't do that ... besides being theft and vandalism, it would be littering.)

 

[PSkeptic]

Just tell whomever that the PC market is too fragmented, as well as the Windows market is too fragmented.

Also, let them know the web hosting market is too fragmented. And, Bulletin Board software is too fragmented.

Then, see what they say.

Nobody likes choice, amirite?

 

[arkazain]

Then ask them to define what "fragmentation" is and why it's a bad thing. My guess is that they will fail on both points. Frankly, fragmentation is a buzzword that has been latched onto by the media to have an arguing point against Android. The truth is that having different iterations of the OS and UI on a wide variety of devices is only an issue for a small minority of people. The most important group is the developer community and I don't hear a huge outcry from them. Sure there are occasional grumbles, but with the meteoric rise of the platform, they are too busy making money to care.

So basically, fragmentation is pretty much non-existent for the average user?

No, not really, because they wish to see fragmentation as a bad thing and you can't argue in favor of a bad thing. However, you can always grab their iDevice from their twitching fingers, smash it to the ground in pieces and say "how's that for fragmentation?" (JUST KIDDING, don't do that ... besides being theft and vandalism, it would be littering.)

Yeah, because littering is my main concern in this situation

Just tell whomever that the PC market is too fragmented, as well as the Windows market is too fragmented.

Also, let them know the web hosting market is too fragmented. And, Bulletin Board software is too fragmented.

Then, see what they say.

Nobody likes choice, amirite?

Awesome, thanks.


Thanks for the help you guys

 

[lunatic59]

So basically, fragmentation is pretty much non-existent for the average user?

I would say yes. Once a person has decided on the carrier and device, they are usually only interested in what they can do with it.

 

[dan330]

nope no point in arguing... everyone's points are on target. but no point in arguing, they are already brainwashed with Jobs voodoo.

just say:
you are right.. it is a bad bad thing... if you hate choice...

 

[arkazain]

nope no point in arguing... everyone's points are on target. but no point in arguing, they are already brainwashed with Jobs voodoo.

just say:
you are right.. it is a bad bad thing... if you hate choice...

I really love how everyone immediately thinks of good ol' Steve when I haven't even mentioned him, but I wouldn't blame you, haha
But thanks for the advice, I'll remember that

 

[takeshi]

Then ask them to define what "fragmentation" is and why it's a bad thing. My guess is that they will fail on both points.

+1. People love to parrot what they hear and many times they have little idea what they're actually saying. Ask him what it is, why it's bad and how it directly affects him. Then point out that his preferences aren't everyone's (something that has to be constantly pointed out to all fanboys).

Fragmentation is overrated. By Apple fanbois standards, Toyotas are fragmented because every model has a different dashboard than the other. Because Toyota dashboards are different from car to car, everyone is an idiot unable to adapt to the differences of the car controls and dashboards, making a Camry undrivable to a Corolla driver.

Not really the best analogy. There's no equivalent to the OS on the Toyota side of the analogy.

 

[snapper.fishes]

You can also call it diversity instead of fragmentation. If a virus comes out that affects iPhones, all of them will be affected. If a virus comes out on android, it might not affect all phones because the virus won't run on some models

 

[dan330]

^^^ yeah.. good point....just affects your phone!

 

[snapper.fishes]

^^^ yeah.. good point....just affects your phone!

Well, I am counting on the fact that so many apps had trouble running on the I9000.

 

[Eugene]

Tell them to try windows mobile. Try finidng an app, you need to specify 7, 6.5, 6.1, standard or pro, touchscreen or not, with .net mobile version whatever (some versions of .net will only run on some versions of vm and then the versions they will run on are dependant upon amount of ram and speed of the phone).
Android is only getting a bum rap due to a couple bad companies liek samsung that are refusing to support older phones, but that doesn't mean andriod and better companies are all like that.

 

[Frisco]

You can also call it diversity instead of fragmentation. If a virus comes out that affects iPhones, all of them will be affected. If a virus comes out on android, it might not affect all phones because the virus won't run on some models

Yeah.. stuff like that.

 

[Bnice]

Apple has gone through several os as well, In fact it used to be os 2.0, os 3.0... ect, then they changed to ios 4 and so forth. Not all their os work on older version iphones but many will look passed that and find fault with android..

 

[snapper.fishes]

Apple has gone through several os as well, In fact it used to be os 2.0, os 3.0... ect, then they changed to ios 4 and so forth. Not all their os work on older version iphones but many will look passed that and find fault with android..

What blasphemy. It's your own fault that you are too poor to buy a new apple phone every year. *heavy sarcasm warning*

 

[Guamguy]

Not really the best analogy. There's no equivalent to the OS on the Toyota side of the analogy.

Actually there is. The OS is what controls the device and what interfaces the user to the device. The car's electronic systems and dashboard fundamentally has the same purpose.

API fragmentation is the most important and critical fragmentation of all, and yet it affects Android the least. Most of the Apple fanbois arguments are concentrated on UIs, controls, button layouts. In other words, the dashboard. Its only the exterior stuff they understand, not the fine workings of OS fundamentals.

 

[arkazain]

Android, on the other hand, has a bit of a learning curve. You have to press a button to see all your apps.

lolwut?
By the way, how would you go about explaining what fragmentation is in sort of layman terms to people new to this?

 

[dan330]

^^ to many different phone with too many different android versions..

 

[PSkeptic]

lolwut?
By the way, how would you go about explaining what fragmentation is in sort of layman terms to people new to this?

Not all the apps are on the home screen, that's all. So, you have to tap the app drawer icon

It was a tongue-in-cheek joke.

 

[arkazain]

You can read the Android vs iOS post here if you want to. It favors iOS.

 

[lunatic59]

You can read the Android vs iOS post here if you want to. It favors iOS.

Interesting ... opinion presented as fact with arbitrary ratings ... but interesting.

 

[PSkeptic]

You can read the Android vs iOS post here if you want to. It favors iOS.

Wow. iOS wins out on the first item, because you have to push a button to see all of your apps, and because folders don't "self-name"...

And, from using an iOS keyboard, the stock Android keyboard is on par. And, with all the data entry options for Android; it became a "draw". I stopped reading there.

 

[Stuntman]

You can read the Android vs iOS post here if you want to. It favors iOS.

I love how they evaluated OS's on a heading called "hardware". It goes onto saying how the iPhone 4 has a retina display and is one of the reasons iOS got the edge. Well, I say that just run Android on the iPhone 4 and it should be all evened up there.