What the F*WK? "Android Fragmentation"

According to Nielsen, Google's Android OS runs 43% of America's Smartphones - that's a lot, and sounds like Google should be flying high considering they've only been around for a few years. Not so fast my friends. Android is open source & free, meaning any OEM can leverage it to create the next great Android device. This is great for Google. This has resulted in a tremendously fragmented ecosystem that, according to app developers, presents a significant problem (see chart below).

Michael DeGusta presents this another way: it's also incredibly troubling for the end consumer. Little-to-no high-end devices run on the latest version of Android; how frustrating is it for a consumer to spend $200 on a device that's outdated 3-weeks later?

Image via Phandroid.

Tech Thursday: Google's Good at Risk?

While not really in-line with the original goal of Tech Thursdays (but wait - we've strayed off track before!), today's Tech Thursday shows us that Google is really good at Risk. TechCruch reported today that, in addition to Brazil and Ireland, Google has added Antarctica to it's StreetView product, thus completing its world dominance.

Image via TechCrunch.

Tech Thursday: Windows Phone 7 Review by Wired

I don't have the grandiloquent style that Scott does when it comes to describing the tech world, so I will just introduce the Wired review of the new Windows Phone 7 operating system by saying that I am very interested to see how the competition between Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 shakes out. I can only hope it will result in a better product for the end user as each OS strives to add more features, better apps, and cleaner user interfaces.

This is yet another arena in which the big three tech companies are competing. Thank you Scott for the link. Anyone have an opinion on which mobile operating system will be the standout, and why?

Tech Thursday: Google v China

I started Tech Thursday with a Google-themed post - even a Google v 'X' post - so it's fitting my 4th post returns to Google (wait...what? why is that fitting?). Google and China have not been getting along lately. We all know this; we also all know it's gotten bad enough that Google has "shut down" it's google.cn servers, and is redirecting all users to google.com.hk. I enjoyed Wired's brief FAQ article today primarily due to it's snarkiness, but it also does a good job of summing up the current state-of-affairs for the issue.

Tech Thursday: Google v Apple v Microsoft

It's no secret that I've become somewhat of a tech geek, especially when it comes to mobile tech. Therefore, I'm going to try and start a "Tech Thursday" weekly piece where I'll ramble on about some tech news on which I'm currently geeking. First up: The Big 3 and their battle over the mobile space.

The Wild Wild Tech

Network World posted a report today outlining the 10 toughest rivals Google will meet in the coming years. Being a part of the mobile industry has given me great exposure to the Smartphone battle that has been shaping up since the iPhone burst onto the scene back in 2007 (Google launched the Nexus One yesterday as it's latest foray into the tech world). Network World's article is a fascinating look into how unique and rapid Google's rise in the otts has led them to have a rather odd list of key rivals.

Find a quick rundown and some thoughts after the jump...

Is Google Still the Best?

I really enjoyed today's Business Week article titled Can Google Stay on Top of the Web? It raised a lot of interesting points and talked about the current strengths and strategies of its main competitors in the sphere of dominating the way people interact with internet content. It is a six-page read and it focuses primarily on Google working to improve its search functions.